I have MS Vista Home Premium, I have a Windows Mobile phone (6.1), there should be absolutely no reason why I should have to purchase a $100 software such as Outlook, just to back up my contacts. I feel this is rediculous.

 I'm impatiently waiting for Microsoft Phone Data Manager to be released. It should have been relesed years ago.

 To make matters worse, if you attempt to make a copy of you pim.vol, and then replace it the WM phone won't even boot, forcing me to completly format it and reinstall the Mobile OS. 

 There are other 3rd party software apps, such as Sprite Backup. Still its $30 that I should not have to spend.

 What are your thoughts?  

Welcome to The Connection, Jona.

I do sympathise with what you are saying. If you simply want to backup your PIM data, then you do not have to purchase OUTLOOK.

Many devices come with Sprite Backup pre-installed - have you checked for this? Another good backup program is Spb Backup which is $24.95.

 

I have and have used outlook for years. I wouldn't want anything else. On my personal and work computers MS Office is an absolute must whether I have a phone or not so this has never been a problem for me.

 

Jona:

I have MS Vista Home Premium, I have a Windows Mobile phone (6.1), there should be absolutely no reason why I should have to purchase a $100 software such as Outlook, just to back up my contacts. I feel this is rediculous.

 I'm impatiently waiting for Microsoft Phone Data Manager to be released. It should have been relesed years ago.

 To make matters worse, if you attempt to make a copy of you pim.vol, and then replace it the WM phone won't even boot, forcing me to completly format it and reinstall the Mobile OS. 

 There are other 3rd party software apps, such as Sprite Backup. Still its $30 that I should not have to spend.

 What are your thoughts?  

 

Back in the old days, when Windows Mobile devices were called "Pocket PCs"and were powered by steam (ok, through Windows Mobile 5), they used to include an "obsolete" (older) copy of Outlook.  This allowed users to have all the neccessary software to back up PIM data, without hurting sales of Outlook's current versions to business customers.

So what happened?  IMO, blame Vista... 

My theory goes something like this: WinMo 6 debuted shortly after Vista, and Vista had a problem- it didn't get along well with the old copies of Outlook (2000 and 2002) MS bundled with WinMo devices, putting Microsoft between the proverbial rock and hard place- they could continue bundling 2002,,offering a mobile package that had compatiilty issues with their new OS, giving users one more reason NOT to upgrade, or include a currect copy of Outook, hurting business sales, since for every WinMo phone a business bought represented a copy of Outlook they didn't have to buy.  MS chose the 3rd option- stop giving away Outlook with WM devices entirely. (Unfortunately, they missed the obvious 4th choice- made the sync software sync with Vista Mail and Calendar, giving WinMo owners a good reason to upgrade to Vista!) 

Ok, the "conspiracy theory" segment of our show is over, so the question is what should you so about it?  That one's simple- go to Mail2Web.com and sign up for one of their free Hosted Exchange accounts.  It'll back up your contacts and calendar to their servers over cellular or WiFi, and let you access/edit them from your PC using OWA, (Outlook Web Access) a browser-based online version of Outlook.  As a bonus, you'll also get a free Push email account.  Now you'll have most of the features of Outlook (at least when you're online) at no cost.

If you're a Google calendar user you might look at Google's new sync service, instead, at http://www.google.com/mobile/winmo/sync.html which syncs GMail Contacts and Google Calendar using the Activesync software already on your device, just like Exchange would.

 

 

 

Thanks for the post, Jona. And thanks to all for the great suggestions here. As they say, it's not an ideal situation - Windows Mobile sync functionality was largely designed around Outlook, so without it, it's a challenge. However, there are the great alternatives people have already mentioned, and I also want to suggest that this is clearly something MS is taking very seriously - the just-announced My Phone Web-based sync service addresses this problem exactly, and should solve the problem for many, many users when it is officially released. It actually goes beyond Outlook sync in some ways, enabling you to sync and manage text messages, for example.

For now, you can check out the My Phone beta site to learn more, and sign up to be on the waiting list for invitations to join the beta.  New invitations are regularly sent out, so there's a very good chance you could be up and running with My Phone soon. And keep an eye on the My Phone blog for information and updates about availability.

Please let us know how it goes! Thanks.

Wow, you people are amazing for being so on top of this with some really good answers. I agree that MS Outlook is an excellent program, and I do use it every single day, that I'm at work. However, it is a very expensive program for a home user to purchase simply just to back up one's contacts. For the home its overkill. I mean, the moment I have to submit a meeting request to another person my household to have dinner or some other domestic activity is the moment I'll join a commune and grow hemp and never again use a computer. (Joke)  

 Lets compare how WM6's competition handles backing up contacts through Microsoft Windows.

 Competition           Y/N                Method

Apple iPhone:          Y                   The iPhone will back up your contacts to both Windows

                                                    Address Book and Outlook Express

Google Android:       Y                   Android with a web browser to G-Mail,  G-Talk and the PC.

Palm:                      Y                   I verified the Treo Pro comes with Sprite Backup

Blackberry:              Y                   The Blackberry comes with a program called Desktop Manager

WM6+                     N                   One is required to purchase separate software

And so being that working with one Microsoft OS to another, it is ironic to me that I am simply not allowed to even copy and past my pim.vol or back up my contacts with out paying more money. This is outrageous to me.

I'm not sure that the above is a fair comparison. Outlook is SO much more powerful, and as others have said - well worth the money. Micosoft offer discount prices for teachers and students. They have an amazing offer at the moment to students with a .edu email address or attending one of the listed colleges. They can purchase Microsoft Office Ultimate which includes

		Word 2007		Groove 2007
		Excel 2007		Publisher 2007
		PowerPoint 2007		Access 2007
		Outlook 2007		InfoPath 2007
		OneNote 2007		Accounting Express 2008

For just $59.95. That's 91% off E.R.P.

You can check this out here.

I just wants to add something : Windows Live...I use it to sync all my contacts with my live account, wich is sync with my PC also using messenger and windows live mail. All those are free... Ok I have to admit that it's not as easy as ActiveSync to use and that it doesn't provide exactly same functions as activesync does but really works nice.

I also use the new MyPhone for some time now and it's really nice for backup of data (contacts and more).

I totally agree with you that contacts sync shouldn't require Outlook, but I also think there are many other ways to do it without. Like many people here I really hope that next version of activesync / winmo will provide more options!

Jona:

Wow, you people are amazing for being so on top of this with some really good answers. I agree that MS Outlook is an excellent program, and I do use it every single day, that I'm at work. However, it is a very expensive program for a home user to purchase simply just to back up one's contacts. For the home its overkill. I mean, the moment I have to submit a meeting request to another person my household to have dinner or some other domestic activity is the moment I'll join a commune and grow hemp and never again use a computer. (Joke)  

 Lets compare how WM6's competition handles backing up contacts through Microsoft Windows.

 Competition           Y/N                Method

Apple iPhone:          Y                   The iPhone will back up your contacts to both Windows

                                                    Address Book and Outlook Express

Google Android:       Y                   Android with a web browser to G-Mail,  G-Talk and the PC.

Palm:                      Y                   I verified the Treo Pro comes with Sprite Backup

Blackberry:              Y                   The Blackberry comes with a program called Desktop Manager

WM6+                     N                   One is required to purchase separate software

And so being that working with one Microsoft OS to another, it is ironic to me that I am simply not allowed to even copy and past my pim.vol or back up my contacts with out paying more money. This is outrageous to me.

While I agree with the "outrageous" part, I'd like to point out that Windows Mobile has the same sync-to-Google cloud functionality (provided by Google Sync) that the Android phone does, but you've given the Android a "Y" and WinMo a "N."  Unless I misunderstand the Google Android sync functionality, the Android phones only sync with GMail/Google Calendar, and not the desktop directly.  You sync with the desktop (if desired) by using 3rd-party plug-ins to import/sync the Google cloud-based info with your desktop PIM software.  That same sync-to-Google cloud scenario works with WinMo, using just the included Activesync program preinstalled on all WinMo devices.

 

 

Well you know I have Windows Live Mail & I have Live Search on my phone. In the contacts portion of Live Mail there is an option to import and export. So I'll explore those options.

The 59.00 Deal is incredable. That is a steal! Wish I was enrolled as a student just for that.

As I said befor, you all have provided me with some great information, thank you again.

Microsoft MyPhone is up and running. I understand your previous frustration but give that a shot and see if that meets your needs.

http://myphone.microsoft.com

 I just wish that they had this up and running sooner. You should be able to send a download link to your device Via sms.

 Enjoy

You absolutely do not need to purchase Outlook!

If you are a Google user, you can synchronise Contacts and Calendar or free (you don't even have to use Gmail for email) with Gmail and Google Calendar. My wife uses this with great success!

Or if you don't want to sync online, you can synchronise with Thunderbird/Sundbird by using BirdSync. This works ok, but has some quirks in the setup...

 

Also, regarding the pim.vol backup, check out this little utility:

PIMBackup

It's free and does exactly what you're asking. I personally use it to backup my SMS, MMS and call logs but it'll also do contacts etc as well. Superb application, kudos DotFred.

WM can sync out of the box to Exchange (Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Email), Windows Live (Contacts, Email),  Free download Microsoft MyPhone (Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Text Messages, Documents, Photos, etc.), Sync with Google (Calendar, Contacts, Email as Gaute mentioned), Blackberry Server via Blackberry Connect, Good Mobile Messaging

There used to be a free hosted Exchange service where you can sync with an Exchange 2003 SP2 server for direct push of Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, and Email.  The down-side is that it does not let you sync with full Outlook.  http://live.mail2web.com/

It looks like they may have stopped offering the free version of that service now though.  :(

 

Definietly do not have to purcchase Outlook. I had the same problem and have so many remedies for the problem. My Phone was a huge, huge, massive help. But there are other programs that I use to backup all the data on my device. So essentially, I have several backups of contacts, calendar, tasks, etc. all without paying a dime. But My Phone is the best solution currently, or Flexilis if you want remote security options for your device. The Goolge Sync is decent but if you have a work e-mail account setup through Active Sync then that will not work for you.