Not long ago I switched BlackBerry® devices. A normal routine thing right? As I set up the “new” device naturally I added my email accounts and applications. I went through adding keycodes to the applications where needed. I then checked my contacts list and sure enough it was sync’d via my Gmail® account. On checking my calendar I was a bit disappointed. No sync on my calendar. This got me thinking “there has to be a sync option for the calendar.” Naturally I hit Twitter with the question “can I not sync my BlackBerry® calendar with Gmail®?” Of course I mentioned @blackberryhelp. I received a reply from one of my followers that in fact Google has an application for BlackBerry® that would sync both contacts and calendar called Google Sync. After a moment of “dooh! Why didn’t I think of that?” I hit the download link and installed the application. Did it work? Most certainly it did. Perfectly sync’d my calendar and the content of my contacts list. After a few tweaks to a couple of the contacts all was well and right in my world again.
Now this morning I received a direct message from @blackberryhelp. I was referred to this LINK on the BlackBerry® website. Much to my pleasure, I suddenly learned that I had no need for an application to do what I wanted. Its all in the settings.
My findings after using both the native BlackBerry® Sync option found in Setup and the Google Sync Application are as follows. Both do the intended job which is to sync contacts & calendar entries between device and pc. Both give the user the option to sync either or both the calendar and contacts. Google’s app gives the option of manual synchronization as well as an automatic mode. Which can be set as often as every two hours. The native Synchronization option found in email setup in my opinion is superior. While it lacks the option to manually sync this is really unnecessary. Like emails, calendar entries are automatically pushed between device and web. Changes made on your device are almost instantly reflected on your pc. However, I’ve noticed a several minute delay for entries made on the web to show up on my device. Pick one. Make a choice. You won’t be wrong either way. Personally, I ended up staying with the native option as for me fewer apps are better.
The following is the article I had been referred to. I hope this makes your life just a little bit easier when switching devices.
–@QBall45
Article ID: KB24204
To enable Google® calendar synchronization with the BlackBerry® smartphone, the Gmail account must first have the calendar enabled. To enable the calendar for the Gmail® account, log into the web interface through http://gmail.com and then access the Calendar option on the top left side of your screen. Accept or update Name and Time Zone information if required. If you have previously used the Gmail calendar, these steps may not be required.
Once the Gmail calendar has been enabled, the following steps can be completed on the BlackBerry smartphone:
1. Launch the Email Settings application within the Setup application or Setup folder on the BlackBerry smartphone.
2. If applicable, select Internet Mail Account.
3. Select the Gmail address and select Edit.
4. Scroll down and expand Synchronization Options.
5. Select the Calendar check box and click Save.
6. Confirm the Gmail password, and click OK.
Information will start to synchronize. Please note that data synchronization may take several minutes to update on the BlackBerry smartphone. The BlackBerry smartphone user will be notified when synchronization is complete, as demonstrated in the following example.
Orignal source: Google® Calendar Synchronization with the BlackBerry® Smartphone
