With the advent of smartphones and tablets, calendar and contact syncing has become more important than ever. You can use iCloud on Apple to sync these things, as well as bookmarks, mail, and more just by plugging it up to Mac. But what about if you want to sync these things up to a non-iOS device? You can use a service like Google, but many people may not want to send all their stuff to the cloud, may fear Google’s new privacy policy, or just want to stick to using their desktop apps. Or maybe these devices don’t have an alternative. Is there a middle ground? How about SyncMate?

SyncMate is a tool that allows you to sync a lot of stuff from your Mac to a variety of other devices. You can sync your Android phone or tablet, Windows Mobile phone, BlackBerry, PSP, as well as flash drive, another Mac, or Windows computer. You can also sync your information to web services as well, such as Dropbox, your Google Account, and SyncMate’s own 50 Meg online storage service. Personally I think 50 Megs is small these days compared to other services, and they could really bump this up.

SyncMate is fairly simple. Install it on your main computer, and set up what information you want the app to sync. Then select the devices or accounts you want to use as well, and provide any needed login information. In the preferences, you can select what file types for video, music, etc. that you want to sync, how often to remind you to sync, and even what IP

ports you want the app to use. Then all you have to do is hit the big “Sync” button to begin the syncing process. If you’re syncing to a mobile device like Windows Mobile, Android, or iOS, you’ll need to download the SyncMate mobile app. Otherwise you’ll have to plug in the device to sync the information.

There are two versions of SyncMate. The free version syncs your basic personal information, like contacts and calendars, and you manually have to sync your devices. Then there is the expert version, which allows you to sync to more devices, like the PSP, but allows you to sync your devices automatically, sync Firefox and Safari Bookmarks, sync Mail and notes from Entourage, Outlook, & Apple Mail, and encrypt your data, among other things. You can read more about the differences here: http://mac.eltima.com/sync-mac.html?tab=3

While I think the ree version could really use some more features, they’re all added in the expert mode. I do find the reminder pop ups very annoying, especially if I haven’t been using the app for a while. You can download the app at http://mac.eltima.com/sync-mac.html. There is the limited free version, or you can upgrade to the paid version for $40.00, which gives you licensing or two computers. The download of the apps are free otherwise. It is available for Mac’s running OS 10.5 or higher, as well as Windows XP and higher, and a variety of mobile systems. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions about this or any other topic, leave a comment below or email me at easyosx@live.com You can also check me out on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube by hitting the buttons on the top of your screen. You can also check out my Google Plus Page. Thanks!