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Monday, July 9, 2007
I feel like I first have to preface this post with somewhat of a defense. Yes, I love my iPhone and yes I am relieved to be off of the Windows Mobile platform. Those two things are true, but I can’t help long for Microsoft’s ActiveSync. While it has it’s deficiencies, it sure syncs a lot faster than iTunes 7.3. How is it that every time I sync my iPhone, it takes forever to just get through my Calendar? Contacts takes a good amount of time, too. But when I use to “fresh” sync my Microsoft-based phone (docking the phone since a prior sync), ActiveSync never took as long as iTunes does to search for changes and sync them. I’m at a lost why iTunes takes as long as it does. Man, it’s unsettling!
Truth is, because of the long sync times, I’ll most likely only sync once a day, which sucks for a business professional like myself in which a single day could demand many syncings to keep both the desktop and portable device up-to-date. (If over-the-air syncing, via Direct Push, was supported, this wouldn’t even be an issue.) But with such lengthy times to get the iPhone up-to-date, stale information is most likely what the phone will have through the day.
Now to be fair to iTunes, I do sync a full year of events which is a lot. But again, iTunes should make an index file to allow the iPhone to check it for changes and then only change the differential, not the entire year of events. It seems like the same thing is happening with my 362 Contacts as well. Apple, there is a better way of doing this, so let’s see it! 
July 9th, 2007 at 20:29
How long will it be before The Missing Sync works with it?
July 9th, 2007 at 21:02
Sven, I don’t know what’s going on with your iPhone, but my iPhone syncs REALLY quickly. I just performed a sync (with no new appointments, but all my calendar info dating back to 1998 on the iPhone), a couple of new photos, a couple of new contacts to my list of 345 contacts, in less than 20 seconds.
Is it possible there’s something in your settings?
July 9th, 2007 at 21:20
Hi Sven,
I also had a problem with the Calendar properly syncing.
I deleted old calendar events and tried again.
Now it syncs so fast it’s amazing.
They should update the software to properly ignore old events.
Thanks,
Andy
July 10th, 2007 at 11:53
JT, I just have the basic settings. Sync all Address Book and Sync 365 days of events. Nothing special. Maybe it’s what Andy is saying. I do have a ton of events (lots of re-occurring) but if you have stuff all the way back to 1998 (about what I have), I don’t get the hang up.
July 13th, 2007 at 8:50
Sven,
I have a similar issue, many times my sync takes forever but I get hung up at different parts of the syncing process. Sometimes its contacts, sometimes bookmarks and I do *not* use iCal, so that isn’t the issue. Its very odd and frustrating since I sometimes have problems just getting a podcast synced.
I’m certainly interested in solutions as others I know with iPhones don’t have this issue.
August 15th, 2007 at 9:19
Same problem here.
I have ~1,600 contacts (I only add a few a week, though), and only sync 7 DAYS of cal. Yes, a few megs of music but not changing it every time. Lots of email but that seems to go fast. The result? My syncs often take over an hour. Not kidding.
Can someone explain Andy’s sol’n in more detail:
“I deleted old calendar events and tried again.”
What’s the most efficient way to do this? I have created an “Archive” calendar (not sync’d) and dumped lots into it. But I have lots of recurring events like bdays that I don’t want to kill. Also, I get and send lots of mtg notices, so I need to make sure I don’t screw them up. Thots? Thanks in advance.