Welcome to the 411, my column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have similar queries, too. At times, I might solicit answers from readers if I'm stumped. Send your questions and comments to me at nicole.lee@cnet.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, let me know in the e-mail.
Question: I'm using an HTC Touch Pro, which syncs with my computer. Will any of the Droids do that so I can do ALL entries via computer? I put everything in Outlook and then sync to my phone. -- Sylvia, via e-mail
A: The important thing to know about all Android phones is that they really do want you to use Google products like Gmail and Google Calendar to handle your e-mail, contacts, and calendar information. This way all of your information is handled via the cloud, and you can change your calendar information from any computer as long as it has an Internet-connected browser. If you'd rather use your own personal e-mail address rather than Gmail, you can enter in your POP3 or IMAP settings in the general E-mail app found in most Android phones. Though it won't transfer e-mails from your computer to your phone, it'll just get the e-mails over the server instead.
As for the calendar syncing, here's where we strongly recommend getting a Google account. This way, you can simply download Google's own Calendar Sync program that will sync your Outlook Calendar to your Google Calendar, which you can get on your Android phone. If your version of Outlook is older than 2003, however, you'll need to export your calendar to a .CSV file, which you can then import manually to your Google Calendar. This isn't really "syncing" though, as it's a one-way transfer. The same goes for transferring your contacts; you'll have to export your contacts into a .CSV file, and then import them to Gmail. The process is even hairier with Notes and Tasks, as there doesn't seem to be a way to transfer those over to Google at all. You might have to use a third-party program like Evernote or Remember The Milk instead.… Read more
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