Frustrated with MobileMe and can't seem to find the answers.

[TheMooch]

I'm sure I'm not the first and definitely won't be the last, but after scouring numerous forums, crawling the interwebs and talking with a "Genius" I still have yet to get any real definitive answers. Maybe you guys can help.

I recently switched over to an iPhone (early Xmas gift) and am trying to get all of my syncing set up so I can decide if I'm really going to spend the money on MobileMe. Here's where I'm at and what I want/need to sync:

1.) Work Laptop:
- Windows XP
- Outlook 2007 on MS Exchange.
- This is my MAIN calendar and contact data.

2.) Home Laptop
3.) Yahoo Premium Account
4.) iPhone 3G


I've already seen the errors saying that MobileMe will not sync with Outlook because it's on an exchange server. Does this mean it's not even going to READ and upload it? Does anyone have a workaround that doesn't involve yet another fee based service? Right now I'm stumped since there doesn't seem to be many solutions for syncing just from outlook to Yahoo. If I could do THAT I could wedge something together with MobileMe.

 

[Duvi]

Are you on the $45 data plan for the iPhone?

 

[Jeremy]

You are correct. MobileMe will not sync with another calendar or address book if it is connected to a exchange server and vice versa.

What you could do is save the vCard files from your calendar and address book from work - and upload them to MobileMe from the web interface. Then sync it back down to your computer and home along with the iPhone. Hope this helps you out.

 

[TheMooch]

Are you on the $45 data plan for the iPhone?

I'm on a $30 iPhone data plan. They never mentioned anything about a $45 plan, but I have "Unlimited Data"

 

[TheMooch]

You are correct. MobileMe will not sync with another calendar or address book if it is connected to a exchange server and vice versa.

What you could do is save the vCard files from your calendar and address book from work - and upload them to MobileMe from the web interface. Then sync it back down to your computer and home along with the iPhone. Hope this helps you out.

Thanks Bad Ash. That's kinda what I figured. It guarantees that I won't be buying MobileMe. I'm working on trying to find some sort of loopy round-about way to sync everything. I'm thinking Google Calendar Sync to push calendar from Exchange/Outlook to Google then NuevaSync to pull calendar down from Google. Contacts will be the tricker pice though since neither Google or Yahoo appear able to get anything on the street for that.

 

[BenGillam]

I kinda have a workaround for the exchange stuff. Check my website funys.net (on my phone otherwise iwould cut and paste.

Basically it allows me to sync my work mail calendar and contacts with exchange active sync but also sync my own personal calendars seperatly.

Hope this helps.

 

[TheMooch]

Thanks funy, but I think I'll pass on that. I'm not a fan of messing with profiles and the fact that in this age of wireless that I have to plug in to sync means that the iPhone is an epic fail unless you're a Mac user or completely committed to switching everything to MobileMe. It's not even perfect then since you can't even READ something that's on an exchange server.

I find it amazing that Microsoft, Apple, Yahoo, Google and Palm are all incapable of basic syncing like this. It's no wonder RIM is kicking their posteriors inthe smartphone market!