I recently got an iPod Touch, and while it does plenty of things well, one feature sorely lacking was good calendar syncing. I don't ask for much- I want events scheduled online to be reflected on my ipod, and events scheduled on the ipod to be reflected online the next time it connects to the web.
Unfortunately, Apple doesn't want me to do this with Google Calendar- they would rather have me pay $99 a year for their so-far-not-so-hot MobileMe service. Because of the lack of a cellular data connection, I can't just use Gcal through Safari (plus, I like a lot of the features of the native calendaring app, like alarms), and if I used my work's Exchange server, it would overwrite my personal calendar.
Enter NuevaSync. This free service offers "direct, over-the-air, native synchronization of certain smart phones and PDA devices with public PIM, and calendaring services including Google Calendar." Setup is easy:
1) Create a NuevaSync account
2) Tell it whether to sync your Google Calendar, Contacts, or both (no tasks support right now)
3) Add it as an Exchange account on your ipod or iphone.
So far, I'm sold- the service is in beta, but I've been using it for about a week with no problems, and it does exactly what it's supposed to do: let me see and edit my calendar wherever I am, regardless of web access. Add an event in the subway station on my ipod? Once I get wi-fi, it's in my google calendar. Add an appointment from Gmail? It shows up on the ipod. Just another entry in the saga of how the ipod Touch is good enough for most of us.
Life on the ipod isn't quite perfect yet, though. There's still the issue of how I can't send mail from every address I want to, like in gmail, and I need to sort out which contacts I really want access to (less than in my gmail address book, essentially, but more than and from different circles than my company exchange book).
