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Google Takes Mobile Fight To Microsoft's Doorstep

Google's latest mobile software offering takes aim at the heart of Microsoft Exchange. Google has made it possible to sync your Gmail, applications, your own domains, and now your Google calendar with your BlackBerry's on-board calendar application. No pricey Exchange servers and licenses required.

I work for a small company. Rather than spring for expensive e-mail servers, my employer has set up our corporate e-mail through Google's Gmail. It has worked flawlessly for as long as I've used it, which is going on several years now. We also use Google's calendar application to schedule meetings and so on. Though Google made the calendar available to smartphones via mobile browsers, it was a little awkward to use and you couldn't sync it with your mobile device. Well, now you can.

Google has added calender syncing to its list of mobile capabilities. You can now sync appointments, meetings, and events from your Google calendar to the calendar application on your BlackBerry smartphone. Excuse me for a second while I say, "Woo-hoo!"

All interested users need do is install a calendar update patch from BlackBerry and go to Google's mobile services page. Google will walk you through the steps and before long, Bingo! You're all set to sync your calendar wirelessly to your BlackBerry.

Does Microsoft already offer this functionality to BlackBerrys? Yes, it sure does. But at a price. Not only do you have to buy the servers (which start at $700 and jump to $4,000 very quickly), but you have to license the software to each user, starting at $67 a pop. Google offers all this for free, gratis, nada, zip, zilch, nothing.

Google has really stepped up the pace of innovations of late. Microsoft, are you paying attention?

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