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If you want to run things locally, you can use sync4j. This is what scheduleworld uses on their servers. You can sync between your PocketPC, Outlook, Evolution, and some other stuff. Scheduleworld is just easier to get started with, and it includes a stand-alone client. Also, look at MultiSync and SynCE if you use linux.

...to working on adding features to something like Sunbird (PDA Sync anybody?).

Sync support is planned eventually, but some of us are starting to look at it now.

Thanks for the plug :)

We have our not quite up-to-date list of supported devices here. Note that doesn't include SyncML, which works with P800/P900 phones. Nokia phones that sync via SyncML with WBXML aren't really working yet.

Indeed.

It's Opie-based PIMs will support synchronization with Lycoris's Desktop operating systems...

Some of us have been working on that [1] [2] for a while. I'm hoping they plan on using that and contributng back.

I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt - nothing wrong with providing "customizations" on top of Opie, but they need to provide code back. I haven't seen anything yet to say whether this will occur or not.

Too bad nobody at Sharp was listening about the sync portion at least. Syncing with Opie is possible but not great, but at least we are trying to improve it out in the open, rather than changing formats in a closed way like Sharp did.

If you look at the way that Opie and Multisync are headed I think that we will get there eventually on the sync front.

I think the resources would be a tradeoff. Certainly it would be more of a strain on the core developmental resources, but if Evolution were available on Windows it would enable a more mature and well-known set of plugins. I think projects like MozillaFirebird have benefited greatly from Plugin developers that work on non-Linux platform, which helps make it a better product for Linux people too.

For example: I want to sync my bluetooth phone with a contact manager on my laptop. The phone manual suggests that it only works with Microsoft Outlook, ignoring the great work that the MultiSync project has done for providing that same functionality for Linux. If the same functionality was present on Windows there would be a much higher chance that the phone manual writers would include it as a potential option for synching contacts, gaining more exposure to the Evolution project and helping make it a better program.

There are other reasons for Evolution to support Windows, especially now that it is owned by Novell. If corporations could adopt Evolution cross-platform it would be a great advertising boon for their Linux offerings and reduce the costs of switching platforms which again benefits Novell. As well, a Windows client would generate revenue via the Exchange connector because Windows is a much larger installed base and they have a product should be interesting to any corporation trying to maintain outlook compatibility without shelling out hundreds of dollars for MSOffice if they only need the Email functionality for some of their employees.

I would have to agree. Bluetooth may not take off the way the designers intended, but in North America I am seeing it start to take off for mobile phones and handheld devices:

• Wireless headsets for phones.
• Connecting the phone to a handheld (Palm, etc.) to use as a GPRS/CDMA1X modem.
• Synchronizing (shameless plug) your phone or handheld with another device.

It is way too soon to write off Bluetooth completely.