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Android does Zimbra Sync, too

February 1st, 2011

Android users (what Verizon calls “Droid”) can also sync to Zimbra but not as seamlessly as iPhones.  iPhones have native CalDAV integration, while we have to use a third-party app to handle the CalDAV calendar syncing in Android.  It’s a free app, however, so it’s not too much more effort.

I own an HTC Evo 4G running Android 2.2 Froyo.  There are a LOT of Android devices out there these days and I obviously can’t test this on all of them (or any of them other than my EVO for that matter) so your mileage may vary, but I think this should be something that should work fairly universally.

First thing we need to do is get the app from Android Market.  Go to the market and search for “caldav” and only one app should show up – Calendar (CalDAV) Sync BETA.  It’s a free app. Download and install it.

Start the Calendar Sync app and enter your settings, the most important of which is your CalDAV Calendar URL.  It uses the format http://m.callcarp.com/dav/{your zimbra username}/Calendar - so, for example, mine is http://m.callcarp.com/dav/gchrist/Calendar since my email address is and thus my username is gchrist.  Pay attention to the capital “C” in Calendar at the end of that address and ignore the warning about not syncing over a secured connection.

Your username is your Zimbra username and the Password is your Zimbra password.

You then need to set your Synchronization frequency (how often it syncs with Zimbra), the range of dates it will sync and which calendar.  I use Google sync to sync my Outlook calendar with my phone so I chose to have the app sync Zimbra with my gmail calendar (see an earlier blog for info on Google Sync).  You can choose whichever calendar works for you.  Save your settings and then try “Synchronize Now” to see if it works.  If it doesn’t, go back and check your settings and make sure you got the URL, your username and password entered correctly.

Now, on your computer go to http://m.callcarp.com and log into your Zimbra account.

Once in your email, click on the Preferences tab and then click on Calendar along the left side of the screen

 

Make sure Enable delegation for Apple iCal CalDAV client is checked.  Click Save in the upper left.

You should now have your Zimbra and Android phone calendars syncing back and forth so that any appointments you set show up in both calendars.

Posted by:  George Christodoulou


 

Sync your iPhone Calendar with Zimbra

January 31st, 2011

This is a two-part how-to for iPhone and Android users on syncing your Zimbra calendar with your iPhone calendar (part one) or your Android Smartphone (part two).

Steve Jobs really has a vision for how things should work and after adding the calendar to an iPhone and then trying to do the same with Android I have to give props to Apple.  First of all CalDAV support is built into iOS on the iPhone (make sure yours is up to date by connecting your phone to your computer and syncing in iTunes) and it just worked – I didn’t have to google the settings or experiment with it.   I now have two-way communication between my iPhone’s calendar and Zimbra’s calendar and changes show up fairly quickly on either device.

Here are the steps on your iPhone (using iOS 4.1):

  1. From your iPhone, tap Settings
  2. Tap Mail, Contacts, Calendars
  3. Tap Add Account, then tap Other, then under Calendars tap Add CalDav Account
  4. For Server enter m.callcarp.com
  5. For User Name enter your Zimbra username. For example, if your email address is dagent@callcarpenter.com then your username is dagent.
  6. For Password enter your Zimbra email password then tap Next in the upper right corner
  7. When it says Cannot Connect Using SSL, etc. tap Continue.

Click Advanced and make sure the port number is 80 – change it to 80 if it is any other number if you still get an error.  I’ve added and re-added the account while making this guide and it set the port to 8080 one time – don’t ask me why.

(Click to Enlarge)

Now, on your computer go to http://m.callcarp.com (did you know that’s the shortcut to log into Zimbra?)  and log into your email.

Once in your email, click on the Preferences tab and then click on Calendar along the left side of the screen

(Click to Enlarge)

Make sure Enable delegation for Apple iCal CalDAV client is checked.  Click Save in the upper left.

Your iPhone will now sync both ways to the Zimbra server meaning any calendar items added to Zimbra will show up on your iPhone and any calendar items you add to your iPhone will show up in Zimbra’s calendar.

You can adjust the sync interval and how much of your calendar to sync on your iPhone  (like, Events 2 weeks back, 6 months back, All Events) by tapping Settings, Mail, Contacts, Calendars and scrolling down to the Calendars section.  Tapping Default Calendar lets you choose your Zimbra calendar as the default for your iPhone.

Next, Android…

Posted by:  George Christodoulou


 

Tweak, Modify and Soup up your Smart Phone

August 31st, 2010

It was sometime around the summer of 2009 that I became dissatisfied with the ancient mobile operating system on my phone and decided to seek out the rumored leaked updates that were floating around the Internet.  Thus began my near obsession with tweaking and souping up my smart phones.  I started with the HTC Touch Pro, upgraded to the Touch Pro2 and now on my HTC Evo 4G running Google Android.

Carriers like Sprint, Verizon, AT&T and T-mobile don’t have a whole lot of incentive (or very likely the resources) to keep updating older smart phones to the latest and greatest versions of Windows Mobile or Android.  The one exception being Apple and the iPhone but even they don’t push updates to the original iPhone anymore and the iPhone 3G didn’t get all the upgrades available in iOS 4.  The carriers want you to buy new phones every year or two and, of course, resign those two-year agreements that keep you tied to them for around $1,000 a year on the average smart phone.  There are also limits on how much an older phone can run – for example, the iPhone 3G I own runs dog slow with the newest Apple operating system on it because it’s made for the iPhone 4 with its slick 1GHz processor and extra memory.

However, don’t let any of that stop you from loading up your six month old smart phone with the latest, greatest and processor busting software!  The two websites I go to fairly often (and by “fairly often, you should read “twice a day”) are ppcgeeks.com and xda-developers.com.  They specialize in Windows Mobile and Android smart phones such as the Motorola Droid, Samsung Captivate and most of the HTC models like the EVO, Incredible and Touch Pro2.

Both sites have user forums where you can post questions, search through previous posts (highly recommend that you search for your solution to make sure it wasn’t already addressed) and, most fun, download updated or unique software.  Last summer I was tired of running the dated, and by then ancient, Windows Mobile 6.1 on my touch screen smart phone.  I wanted the newer, more touch-friendly Windows Mobile 6.5.  After finding ppcgeeks.com, I had Windows Mobile running on my Touch Pro within a couple hours.

For my Android cell phone I have downloaded programs to underclock and undervolt the 1GHz processor in my EVO to conserve power and extend battery life, interface tweaks, free wifi tethering, different lockscreens – you name it, someone has probably already looked for it and someone else probably already posted a solution.  I couldn’t imagine going back to the stock operating system on my phone.  You don’t have to make wholesale changes – for example the Android operating system is very complete as-is and so is Apple’s iOS 4 – you can tweak just that one program you don’t like and really personalize your smart phone to how you like to use it.  If nothing else, you’ll learn something about how your phone works or breathe new life (and save some money) into your slightly older than new smart phone.

Posted by:  George Christodoulou


 

Wirelessly Sync your Mobile and Desktop World with free Google services

August 23rd, 2010

In the age of smart phones, laptops and on the go Real Estate agents, an easy way to keep your separate devices synchronized is with free Google services like Google Calendar and Google Desktop Sync.  I use these free services to synchronize my Android powered smart phone with my work laptop running Microsoft Outlook 2007.

Using an Android phone there is literally no setup.  On first startup the phone asks for your Google account and password and then the phone takes it from there, automatically syncing your contacts, calendar and email.  On Windows MobileiPhone or Blackberry you have to add your Google account via Microsoft Exchange services which Google licenses from Microsoft (click on your respective phone for Google’s instructions to sync your Google account with your phone).

For your laptop, download Google Sync to get your Outlook calendar and contacts synchronized between your personal computer and Google’s servers.  It’s a small app that runs in the background on your computer to handle the sync.  You give the app your Google username and password, set the update frequency and you’re done.

I have never connected my smart phone to my laptop to do a sync and any time I add an appointment to Outlook it automatically shows up on my phone and vice versa automagically.  As a nice side benefit, if you happen for whatever reason to be away from your phone and your laptop you can log into your calendar online at google.com/calendar and check your schedule from any Internet connected computer.

Posted by:  George Christodoulou


 

 

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