Wireless iCal Sync?

A physical connection is required.

Come on apple!!

we rely on the best. I can not sync while on the road with my office computer, this is crazy. there is no gps? there is no voice activated calls, on a phone where you have to use your eyes to dial, not tactile, or voice recording or video recording ... i just do not understand.

Please improve!!!!

Please allow me to add my voice to the cry of people requesting wireless sync. This makes the iPhone functionally inadequate as a credible work phone. I don't want to go back to using Crack(berry). It's my only real complaint about my iPhone.

At a minimum please do something to replace the USB cable with wireless between the computer and the device. I'm constantly forgetting to leave my cable connected to my charger (at home) in the morning, and I can't sync my calendar all day.

Since I'm a software product manager by background, please allow me to suggest a small, prioritized functional description, as a way to express my prioritized list of wants. Hopefully it helps provide some insight into customer use cases.

Please, please, please.........

*Wireless sync - local*
1) The iPhone will perform a "standard" sync (calendar, contacts, images, audio) with a laptop using a "local" wireless transport (substituting transparently for the existing USB transport.) (Note that this description does not address wide-area sync over a wireless carrier network.)
2) End-user functionality remains the same with regard to the sync.
3) The first time a user wishes to pair the iPhone with a computer, an authentication, configuration, and pairing step must be performed (from within iTunes) while the iPhone is physically connected (via USB) to the computer with which the user wishes to sync.
4) The iPhone will use a network-appropriate mechanism of continually monitoring whether it has come into network connectivity with a computer to which it is paired. When it does, it prompts the user whether the user wishes to sync immediately.
4a) If the user responds yes, a sync begins
4b) If the user does not respond before the end of a timeout period, a sync either begins (or not, depending on a preference setting; the timeout can also be set in a preference).
4c) If either the sync is completed, or the user declines a sync request, the iPhone will again execute this discovery/sync-request/sync cycle periodically. (The period can be set in preferences. Default: 10 minutes).

*Network support:*
1) 802.11: The first priority is support for an 802.11 network. Syncs will only be completed when:
1a) The computer and the iPhone have been pre-paired (via iTunes, above).
1b) The iPhone has detected the 802.11 network, and the user has elected to join it, and the iPhone has successfully joined it.
1bi) (This means that when the iPhone detects an 802.11 network, it connects, and performs a lookup for the named computer with which it is paired (e.g. via Bonjour)).
1c) Syncs must be performed using encrypted IP connections (e.g. HTTPS) between the iPhone and the computer.
2) Bluetooth: The second priority is support for Bluetooth. Syncs will only completed when the computer and the iPhone have been previously paired via iTunes & the iPhone / computer link over Bluetooth has been paired (in the Bluetooth sense of the word Paired.)

This is absolutely the most disappointing part of this purchase. It's a real backwards step from blackberry, palm, etc.

Wireless sync is the norm in the industry and a must have. It's a larger issue than just iCal, though that's perhaps the most irritating. Mail should sync, too, which is other phone vendors approach to effectively having a phone with no mass delete. I believe the operational concept of the iPhone is a step backwards - where before I was able to travel with only my PDA, if I tried to do that with iPhone I would be iOutOfContact or iAllAloneByMyself or at a minimum iEmbarrassedThatiMissedTheAppointment ... sigh.

I really would hope that Apple would address this sooner rather than later...

Well...I was looking for the same app and found this:

http://www.nexthaus.com/iPhone/

I don't know if this is what you mean?

Thank you for pointing me to this product.

Perhaps, Apple could add this to their iphone/.mac capability. If they don't fix the issue, then I suppose that I'll have to pay for a 3rd party solution. I'd like something that was more built into the network and wifi capabilities without having to manage the device. More like Palm and Goodlink or Blackberry's solution (although it has its issues...).

Amazing isn't it? I had an original Moto RAZR V3. Wirelessly sync it all day long. You can buy the cheapest bluetooth cell phone and all just about wirelessly sync with a Mac. EXCEPT and iPhone. Weird isn't it?

Thanks, I will try SyncJe tonight. Anyone tried it already ?

Part of the reason is that since the iPhone is designed to be a media player the ammount of time required to sync 8gb of media via BlueTooth would be enormous.

I appreciate the idea that syncing 8GB is not practical.

Rather, other iPhones accomplish the mass sync in similar tethered manners, while allowing the practical needs of smaller sync requirements, e.g. mail and calendar to occur over the low bandwidth non-WIFI networks. Why does Apple want a developer to put out basic function, such as SyncJE, rather than focusing their efforts on user function which is the whole point of switching from Wintel to, I suppose, Mactel? It seems oddly against their marketing message.

While I can't speak for Apple, they have always had a philosopy of simple is better.

Having one method that syncs everything and another that syncs some things would confuse some users.

That being said, I have submitted feedback for a WiFi sync option which would be able to handle the larger data issues. Feel free to leave similar feedback at:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html

Ok, tried SyncJe. This is probably not what the most of us are looking for. You need to have a SyncML server (like Google Calendar, GooSync) and a username / password. I've lookup SyncML on Wikipedia which says:

+SyncML is most commonly thought of as a method to synchronize contact and calendar information (Personal Information Manager) between some type of handheld device and a computer (personal, or network-based service), such as between a mobile phone and a personal computer. The new version of the specification includes support for push email, providing a standard protocol alternative to proprietary solutions like BlackBerry.+

So, if your looking for a solution to wireless sync your iPhone with your Contacts, iCal and Mail on your Mac: this is not it.

SyncML is just a means of transferring information. A server houses the information (your Calendar, Contacts, Tasks, and Notes), the different clients (iPhone, Mac, etc) connects to the server, and synchronizes with it.

You can sync your iPhone to your Mac via SyncML and SyncJe for iPhone, and a sync client in your mac. Your iPhone syncs to the server, your Mac syncs to the server, so you stay in sync.

As an example, if you enter a new calendar entry in your iPhone and sync, the following happens:

-iPhone sends the Calendar entry to the server
-server sends the Calendar entry to the Mac

The reverse is also true.

Makes sense?

Many syncml servers allow for free signup and use of their services. The steps to do this require some extra work right now, but we are trying to make it simpler for everyone. We have guides for doing this, but it can still be simpler. Let me know, and I can help out with more instructions.

Thanks,
Lou
Nexthaus (makers of SyncJe for iPhone)

Lou,

I'm currently using SyncJe & GooSync for my calendar.

What additional steps must I take to sync my Blackberry Contacts with my Address Book on my MacBook?