Catalyst Design Services Blog

Google has done it again. Another excellent FREE product it offers for syncing your Google contacts and Calendar done Wirelessly.It works with the following devices currently

* iPhone
* BlackBerry
* Nokia S60
* Nokia standard
* Sony Ericsson
* Windows Mobile

Here are some of the features it boasts

• Synchronize your Contacts with Google
• Depending on your phone, get Google Calendar events to your phone
• Make changes either on your phone or on the Web

Previously With the iPhone USB connection to Itunes was your lone pathway to syncing. No longer! Now, you can do it over the air and its always updated whether you update in Gmail or Google Calendar and vice versa if you do it on your phone. Check it out for yourself at http://www.google.com/mobile/default/sync.html or watch the video below.

Google Apps has been a savior in so many ways for my business.

Your Domain Email Hosted by Google + Google Talk for FREE
One of the first things you will enjoy when joining is the fact you can host your domain email (youremail@yourdomainname.com) with Google Email Servers. So you get all the benefits of Gmail’s mastery of destroying spam, setup your email via POP or IMAP with Outlook & /or your portable device & the best Webmail client ever with Gmail. Finally, there is Google talk the IM program you can utilize for anyone inside the company or outside if you so do choose. Google talk can be downloaded to your computer or if you do not want to use your hard drive you can use Google talk and login online. And all is FREE, because its Google.

Google Calendar for Your Company
In addition you can get a free online calendar for all those in your business to communicate. Not only can you communicate via the web, but you can sync it to Outlook going in both directions or one or the other. And you can create multiple calendars that are designated for whomever you choose. You can also invite people outside your domain or business to join your calendar. Finally, you can even embed your calendar onto your website with easy copy and paste code.

Google Docs and Google Sites
Finally there is Google Docs and the most recent addition to Google Apps, Google Sites. With Google Docs you can upload your Microsoft Office application(s) such as your Excel Spreadsheet, Powerpoint Presentation or Word Document and collaborate/edit these docs online with others. You can then export them later if you so do choose to your computer.

Finally Google Sites is rather similar except this will deal more along the lines of projects collaboration which include handing assignments, ability to upload files, creating quick WYSIWYG websites etc. Great online collaborative tool for those projects where people aren’t in the same office.

So to conclude, Google Apps is a must and its all FREE. These are just some of the highlights of the services. It will prove, like it does for me, an extremely valuable tool for your small business.

To get started, visit www.google.com/a

A fantastic online calendar i highly recommend is Google Calendar. There are many reasons why, one of which is the fact you can sync your Outlook Calendar with your Google Calendar and vice versa. You need to only download the Google sync program and set it how you want it sync, whether automatic or manual and which direction you want the sync. And of course its FREE cause its Google. This is a perfect solution when you are out of the office or on vacation.

• For More info on Calendar Sync Check out http://www.google.com/support/calendar/bin/answer.py?answer=89955
• To start using Google calendar visit: http://www.google.com/calendar