Synchronizing Hotmail Calendar, Outlook 2003, and Windows Mobile 6

[Nathan Sokalski]

I want to synchronize my calendars from Hotmail and Windows Mobile 6. I am
aware that I need to do this by using Outlook and Outlook Connector as a
"middle-man", which is what I am currently doing, but it doesn't seem to be
synchronizing with my hotmail calendar. Why does Microsoft have to make
Outlook Connector so complicated? If I could ask for something, it would be
one of the following:

1. Something that directly synchronizes Hotmail and Windows Mobile (maybe a
feature of ActiveSync if not a separate piece of software)
OR
2. Something that can help create a brand new account in Outlook with all
the settings set for a Hotmail account and with Outlook Connector
automatically installed (sort of like a template)

Somehow I don't think I'm ever going to see either of these, at least not
before Windows Mobile 6 and my mobile device model become obselete. These
are all Microsoft products/services (Hotmail, ActiveSync, Outlook, and
Windows Mobile), so they have complete control over whether an update or
patch is made available.

Anyway, back to my Hotmail <-> Outlook synchronization problem. The only
things I really care about synchronizing are my calendar and contacts. I
don't care if other things DO get synchronized (I don't really have a
shortage of space on my desktop, in my Hotmail account, or on my Windows
Mobile device), but calendar and contacts are a must. However, the list of
folders in Outlook has more than a dozen folders under my account, two of
which are named "Birthday calendar" and "My Calendar". This is obviously not
what I want, since Hotmail only has one calendar. Also, I could not find
anywhere to specify what components I wanted synchronized. Could someone
please help me here? Thanks.

 

[Roady [MVP]]

Somehow I don't think I'm ever going to see either of these, at least not

before Windows Mobile 6 and my mobile device model become obselete.

Then you are probably happy to know that pretty much all the things you
asked were already there long before Windows Mobile 6 was released. With WM6
and the latest release of Live Hotmail Calendar and the Outlook Connector,
things only have become easier.

1. Something that directly synchronizes Hotmail and Windows Mobile (maybe
a feature of ActiveSync if not a separate piece of software)

You don't even need a computer for this. See;
http://blogs.msdn.com/outlook_mobile/archive/2008/06/05/using-hotmail-with-windows-mobile.aspx

2. Something that can help create a brand new account in Outlook with all
the settings set for a Hotmail account and with Outlook Connector
automatically installed (sort of like a template)

Download and install the latest version of the Outlook Connector to add
support for syncing the Calendar with free Hotmail accounts and to upgrade
your Hotmail Calendar to Live Calendar;
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=9A2279B1-DF0A-46E1-AA93-7D4870871ECF
Then go to Control Panel-> Mail-> Show Profiles-> Add
When you need to select a mail account type, choose Other and select the
Outlook Connector.
Fill in your Windows Live ID and you're done.

Note that if there is no mail profile created yet and you are installing the
Outlook Connector, it will automatically create a mail profile for you with
a Hotmail account.

Also, I could not find anywhere to specify what components I wanted
synchronized.

That is something you can specify in ActiveSync. Which options are available
to you (like choosing categories for example) completely depends on the
manufacturer of your phone. They can choose to put in such features or not.