Bad news if you use Gmail on a Windows Phone-powered blower -- Google has announced it'll soon drop support for Microsoft's Exchange ActiveSync, making it harder to get emails on your phone, The Verge reports.
Existing accounts will carry on as normal, and iPhone and Android users will be fine, as they have dedicated Gmail apps. But new Windows Phone devices won't be able to use the protocol with Gmail, meaning it won't support push email.
Google announced it will drop the support from 30 January next year, by getting rid of Google Sync as part of its winter cleaning -- although it will still be supported for people paying for Google Apps for business, government, or education purposes.
Why is it though that only those with Windows Phone devices will suffer? Android and iOS natively support the standards CalDAV for syncing your calendar, and CardDAV for contacts, but Windows Phone 8 supports neither.
After the end of January, anyone wanting Gmail on their Microsoft-powered mobile will be able to sync just their emails (no calendar or contacts), by setting up an IMAP connection, but it won't support push email, and will only sync every 15 minutes. It's not great if you're waiting for an important missive, and it leaves Microsoft in a bit of a quandary.
There's no Gmail app for Windows 8, and Google has gone on record saying it doesn't intend to support the platform beyond the search app that's already available. This means Microsoft has about six weeks to sort something out, or anyone checking their Gmail on a Windows Phone mobile will have to make do with syncing every 15 minutes -- which is a bit of a step backwards.
Do you own a Windows Phone device? And if so, do you feel as though you're being punished? Let me know what you reckon in the comments, or on our Facebook page.
Android App 
RSS Feeds 
iPhone App 
Newsletters 
Comments 11
Add your comment
mamaar007 15 December, 2012 14:18
And this is way I have already moved my Gmail account contacts to my new outlook account.
anonymous 15 December, 2012 15:41
Or just stick with gmail as its a much better email than outlook which still doesn't support IMAP. I used hotmail for years but I just got tired of the spam and the ancient pop3. Microsoft will never get IMAP for its general public hot mail so what's the point? Unless you like poor syncing between your phone and outlook. I think Google have done the right thing here. They should just focus on the two biggest os for smart phones iOS and android.
anonymous 15 December, 2012 17:21
Don't get how it's a call for Google, CNET? Like you point out, iOS and Android both have Gmail apps, if Microsoft want to be a big name in the smartphone industry then they need to actually offer at least what Apple and Google offer plus something unique. Apple has entertainment and brand name (though they're losing their appeal on both as Google and Samsung really step their games up), Google has search, free services like Navigate, and well, Gmail. Oh, and widgets, which are making a lot more sense note that screens are getting bigger and phones more powerful.
What exactly does Windows Phone offer? Not a lot that I can see other than a UI that looks kind of cool but seems a little awkward as well for a user with many apps. The integration with XBox and your Windows computer seems fairly useless on a phone. Ultimately cross platform sync only really makes sense to me for photos music and email. Outlook, whilst pretty is average and nowhere near as nice to use as Gmail.
anonymous 15 December, 2012 18:41
Im not very tech, so bare with me. Can I then use my hotmail/microsoft email account & just fwd emails from my current in use gmail account to the hotmail. Or do I need change my email address with everyone. Might seem a silly question to most but someone please advise.
Ian Syms 15 December, 2012 19:43
does it really matter as windows is a minor os in terms of mobile
anonymous 15 December, 2012 22:30
@anon-18:41
Trying to help...
It really depends on the best arrangement for you. If you really need to know exactly when each message arrives, you could set up your GMail to forward a copy to your Hotmail account. You can also decide whether GMail should keep its own copy of the forwarded email or delete the message which has been forwarded to Hotmail.
To set up automatic forwarding for any messages arriving in your GMail inbox:
1. Log into GMail.
2. Go to Settings (the little cog in the top right > settings).
3. Choose the "Forwarding and POP/IMAP" tab.
4. Under "forwarding" (at the top), you can choose (a) whether to forward a copy of any incoming message to your Hotmail, and (b) what GMail should do with its own copy - keep a copy in your GMail inbox, mark as read, archive or delete to the bin.
If you're not really into technology, you might prefer to just wait for your account to update itself every 15 minutes. Alternatively, there may be a way to "manually" sync to check for messages in your GMail account. You might not want to create multiple copies of the same message in your GMail and Hotmail accounts.
Anyway - hope this helps. We should learn more as Google implements these changes in the New Year.
Good luck!
Daniel.
anonymous 16 December, 2012 02:04
So if Microsoft released an update such that Exchange only worked on a protocol used by Windows Phone and Outlook, making Blackberrys, iPhones, and Driods not viable for corporate mail anymore, would that be ok? Careful starting a war like this Google. You're good, but not that good.
anonymous 16 December, 2012 14:28
Cheers Daniel, for the help, got it set up & working fine for now! anon 1841
anonymous 16 December, 2012 16:29
@anon 1841
No worries - happy to help.
anonymous 16 December, 2012 18:11
Exchange is already a nightmare to set up on Android and Microsoft have developed a hotmail app for Android, never mind an Outlook one. Microsoft and mobile have never gone well together.
anonymous 17 December, 2012 10:25
GMail supports push over IMAP.