Manipulating Apple iOS's use of Google Mail and Calendar Services

I use Google Calendar and Mail extensively. I also use an Apple iPod Touch and iPad extensively. This has created a conundrum for me up until now. Recently I had a light bulb moment, so I took the time to test a theory on how to get the best usability out of Google services on my i-Devices.

Initially I used Exchange account configuration in iOS to configure Gmail/Calendar. This led to problem #1.

Problem 1:

"She Said" and I use Google Calendar to organize our personal lives. With 4 children keeping track of where everybody is supposed to be and when can be a challenge. Each person in the family has a Google Calendar that "She Said" and I have read/write access to. The older two children have their own Gmail/Calendar accounts so they have read/write to their own calendar as well. Incidentally they also have iPod Touches.

When using Exchange account configuration for Google Calendar you can only sync the main calendar associated with the Google account. This made it rather difficult to keep track of our childrens'/spouse's schedule.

So, I switched to the Gmail account configuration in iOS which solved problem #1, but that led to problem #2.

Problem 2:

I like receiving push email with notifications. That is the point of having a mobile device after all, getting email in a timely manner. Unfortunately with the Gmail Account configuration it only uses pull mail, so I have to manually check for new email messages. This is rather disappointing.

I have been living with Problem #2 and not thinking of it as a big deal until recently I came up with a bright idea.

If you are familiar with iOS you will know that you can select which components of an account that you sync to a device. The typical options are Mail, Calendar, and Contacts. Here's when the light bulb came on.

Bright idea 1:

I almost feel like a schmuck now and a little surprised I didn't think of it sooner. I just needed to setup my Google Account twice, once as an Exchange account for Mail only, and once as a Gmail account for Calendar.

So this morning I put my theory to use. I removed mail from the existing Gmail configuration on my iPod Touch and added a new Exchange account for my Gmail for mail only. Thank you Apple for allowing multiple Exchange (activesync) accounts. (If I remember right that was new in iOS3.)

Result 1:

Success. I have my cake and I'm eating it too. I now have the whole family's calendars syncing to my i-Device AND I'm getting push mail for my Gmail account.

...it's great to be a geek.

Geek Said