Sync your Google Calendar with an iPhone using NuevaSync

The iPhone may capable of many things, but working well with the cloud isn’t one of them. Out of the box, it can synchronise calendar and contact details with Apple’s own (and somewhat beleaguered) MobileMe online service, but it won’t play nice with Google – which is a bit of a problem if that’s where you keep your calendar and contact information.

If you’re a Mac user, there is a roundabout way to synchronise Google Calendar via iCal, but this only works when you perform an iTunes sync – and it doesn’t handle contacts. What’s needed is a way for the iPhone to synchronise Google Calendar and Contact information over-the-air (just like the ‘syncs-with-everything’ Palm Pre, in fact). That’s just what the free NuevaSync service offers – find out how to do it after the cut.

NuevaSync is a beta service that provides over-the-air synchronisation for a number of different online services and smartphones. We’re covering Google and the Apple iPhone here, but it can also work with Windows Mobile, too.

NuevaSync is free to use and supports both iPhones and the iPod Touch, as long as they’re running v2.0 or later firmware. It can synchronise multiple Google Calendars (including other people’s calendars that you subscribe too) and Google Contacts. It also supports Google Mail, but since NuevaSync hasn’t rolled out its planned push support yet, you might as well stick with Google’s IMAP access on the iPhone.

Once you’ve configured NuevaSync for your Google Account, your Google Calendar and Contact information will be synchronised automatically over any available internet connection – EDGE, 3G or Wi-Fi. You don’t need to install any software on your iPhone, nor do you need to jailbreak it – the synchronisation is all done will standard protocols. Oh, and did we mention that it’s free?

There is one gotchya. NuevaSync uses the Microsoft Exchange to sync data with the iPhone, and the iPhone only supports one Exchange account. So, if your iPhone is already configured to work with, say, your office’s Exchange server, you won’t be able to sync your Google Calendar and Contacts with NuevaSync.

Right, that’s enough waffle – let’s get syncing.

Step 1
The first thing to do is sign up with NuevaSync – you can do this on your iPhone if you have internet access. Click the Signup link and register for a free account. You’ll need to click a link in a confirmation email to complete the process.

Step 2
Once you’ve registered with NuevaSync, login to the site.

Step 3
You’ll be presented with a simple Status and Setup screen. To synchronise Google Calendar with your iPhone, click the change link next to Calendar in the list of services.

Step 4
Select the Google option, and then click the Change button.

Step 5
Next, click the Click to configure your service… link.

Step 6
You’ll be prompted for your Google Account ID – this is your Googlemail/Gmail address. Click the Request Account Access to continue.

Step 7
You’ll be redirected to a Google web page that asks you to confirm whether you want to grant NuevaSync access to your Google Calendar. If you’re concerned about what data NuevaSync has access to, read its privacy policy before clicking the Grant Access button.

Step 8
You’ll then be returned to NuevaSync – click the Continue link.

Step 9
To synchronise your Contacts, click the change link next to the Contacts entry.

Step 10
This process is almost identical to the Calendar sync set-up – select Google and click Change, then repeat steps 6 to 8 to grant NuevaSync access to your Google Contacts.

Step 11
If you have more than one Calendar in your Google Account, you can choose to synchronise any or all of them. Click the setup link next to Calendar on the Status and Setup page.

Step 12
Tick the boxes for the Calendars you want to sync, and then click the Submit button. That’s it for the NuevaSync setup. Onto the iPhone configuration.

Step 13
On the iPhone or iPod Touch, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars.

Step 14
Under Accounts, tap Add Account… (remember that you can’t do this if there’s already a Microsoft Exchange account set up).

Step 15
Tap Microsoft Exchange.

Step 16
Enter your Googlemail/Gmail email address and your NuevaSync username, then scroll down the screen and enter your NuevaSync password and a name for this account.

Step 17
Tap Next and you may get a certificate error – tap Accept.

Step 18
Enter the server as www.nuevasync.com, and then tap Next.

Step 19
Select the data you want to synchronise – we suggest disabling Mail and using Google IMAP access on the iPhone instead. Tap Done. That’s it!

Step 20
Your iPhone will synchronise your Google Calendar and Contacts data whenever you open the appropriate application and have an internet connection. Depending on how much data you have, the initial synchronisation may take a few minutes