If you have an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch you’ll want the latest information that you have available on each one as well as on your laptop, work and home computer.  There are a number of ways to synchronise them, but here’s my suggestions as to the best solutions. I’ve choosen the best solution for each area that needs syncing. 

Address Book: Use MobileMe.

MobileMe provides simple and easy over-the-air automatic syncing of Address Book. It even syncs your Address Book photos! Read how to here.

iCal: Use Gmail

Gmail can sync calendar information very well. You can either share a calendar read-only so others can view it but not edit it, or you can do a full two-way sync across your own computers. Read how to here.

Notes: Use Notational velocity and Simple Note. Read how to here.

Mail Accounts: Setup your computer account using IMAP (not POP) then manually sync it across to your iPhone with iTunes using your USB cable. You only need to manually sync the setup ONCE, then the built in mail apps will automatically keep the email in sync. This is why you don’t need a MobileMe solution. All MobileMe does is sync the Mail Account information (username and password etc), it doesn’t sync the actual email.

ToDo lists

OmniFocus  is a great task manager with automatic syncing – I hope to do a review soon. Unfortunately ‘Things’ doesn’t have auto sync yet.

Tis approach means that you need to set up each area separately, but when it’s working, it’s great! Here is what the setup might look like on your iPhone, I’ve shown calendars (MobileMe) and contacts (Gmail).

Using MobileMe on the iPhone to sync JUST the Address Book

Using Gmail on the iPhone to sync JUST the Calendars

If you are moving from another mobile phone to an iPhone, if you first sync your old phone to your Address Book it will bring all your numbers into your iPhone. Likewise, you can copy all your address book contacts onto your mobile phone from your iPhone or Address Book.  Here’s how.

On your Mobile turn on bluetooth and make sure the phone is discoverable.

On your Macinotosh go to System Preferences:Bluetooth.

If it’s off turn it on.

Click on the + sign to add a new device.

Your phone should appear: select your phone.

You will get given a password on your screen and your mobile will ask for a password. Type it onto your phone.

Open iSync (Applications:Utilities:iSync)

select the menu Devices:Add Device

When the phone appears, double click it.

Now your phone will appear in the isync window. Set up the settings as you want them.

Finally click ‘Sync Devices’ and it will fill your phone with all your Address book contacts.

Here is a list of all the phones that will sync with iSync:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2824

plus these:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2520

My search for a good notetaking app has been a little on the obsessive side, but to me, the one thing a computer should be able to do well is take notes. I have spent 2 years on this one. I’m talking about an application where I can make a short note to myself and come back later and find it easily.

The combination of Notational Velocity on the mac, synced with Simplenote on the iphone, is for me the winner.
Step 1. Install Simplenote on your iphone.

Step 2. Sign up for a Simplenote account.

Step 3. Download Notational Velocity

Step 4. Enter your simplenote account details into the preferences of Notational Velocity.

Step5. change Notational velocity preferences to store the notes as rtf files in a folder instead of a single database file so that spotlight can find them.

That’s it! Now  all the notes in simple text on your iPhone will be synced with notational velocity on your  desktop computer.

Why I like these apps.
Simplenote is very SIMPLE, and Notational Velocity is soooo FAST. They are both elegant, and the best thing of all – they don’t get in the way.

Notational Velocity is a bit of a head spin the first time you use it. It’s so simple and it only has one box to type in – whether you’re writing a new note or searching for an old note you type in the same box!

And it is so FAST to search – the results appear INSTANTLY. It’s almost as if it’s reading your mind!

I use notational velocity for all kinds of things…

- writing down how I did something so that next time I need to do it I can remember.
- storing trivial information like the ranking of poker hands, or a list of things to take on holidays.
- lists of birthday present ideas for people
- poems and song lyrics
- lists where things are stored
- menus, letters, vision-setting, bits of computer code and so on.

I currently have 355 notes in it, and I don’t need to remember note titles, keywords or anything, I just type a word and it finds the note. It’s great.

For a long time SOHO notes was my favourite, but the worst problem is that you have to manually sync the iphone with the desktop app – I never remember to and get caught out looking for a note that is not yet synced to!

Likewise, Shovebox is a nice app  to capture notes into, but harder to search and browse them once they are in.