Any news on ability to sync iPhone 4 with Outlook 2010 or Outlook 2011?

[S In SFL]

I am considering buying a new computer and of course, they all come with Windows 7 and I need 64 bit for my work requirements. I've been syncing with Outlook 2007 just fine all these years, but....Windows 7 doesn't seem to support Outlook 2007. I'll need to buy Outlook (and office) 2010 or 2011 I guess.

Now from what I've read elsewhere, the idiots at Apple don't support Outlook 2010 or 2011. Does anyone have a workaround or any other news on this subject?

I honestly will NOT buy a new computer if I can't sync my iPhone to Outlook since I LIVE by Outlook with notifications, calendar, tasks, contacts all day every day (and when I'm not at the computer, I have my iPhone with me.) AND I need far too much power and transparency in the operating system to ever buy an Apple computer.

I have to say I'm continuously frustrated with developers who don't work and play well together. It's not just Apple and Microsoft (for obvious Jobs-based, ego-driven reasons) but it's also Apple and Adobe (flash issue). iPhone4 is a great product but I still refuse to own any other Apple products because of this entire 'proprietary'attitude and 'the customer doesn't deserve to understand their product' attitude they have.

 

[Hawk]

I have a Win 7 Professional laptop and Office 2010. Everything sync's fine. I brought over my Outlook PST file from my previous PC (XP with office 2003) and used that to setup my outlook in 2010. (Notes/tasks, calendar, contacts) I also have my gmail setup in IMAP configuration, but I don't sync it directly with the phone. It updates when I connect to the server.
Not sure where you are hearing that 2010 doesn't work, as I have no problems.
As far as you needing far too much power and transparency to buy an Apple computer... I have to ask 2 questions.
1) have you ever used a Mac? I cannot speak for the new Lion version past the 10 minutes I used it in an Apple store, but Snow Leopard was very easy to use, once you get past the need for a start menu. 90% of the people I know that went from Windows to Mac, will never go back. And they all said that the most difficult thing about the transition was getting over the windows start menu.
2) have you ever seen the specs on a Mac? The desktop pro models are some of the stoutest machines I have ever seen. the specs generally dwarf other PC's in the same price range. And while the average lifespan of a windows machine is about 4 years before it starts getting clunky and bogged down, the same cannot be said about a Mac. I know people that have macs that are 6-8 years old that are still running quick and strong, with the only upgrade made was an increase in RAM.
I'm not saying that you should run out and buy a Mac. But I do think you should go and check one out before writing it off so easily. It might surprise you.

 

[Watcher]

No company can ever build a strong reputation over a product that's merely all hype, hearsay and show. There must be something uniquely substantial about Apple's products that continue to stand the test of time and capture the needs of the public or else Apple wouldn't have enjoyed, even though briefly, the largest market share for a company in the world. Somehow they are fulfilling a technological need it seems that cannot be quite satiated by anyone else.

 

[S In SFL]

I have a Win 7 Professional laptop and Office 2010. Everything sync's fine. I brought over my Outlook PST file from my previous PC (XP with office 2003) and used that to setup my outlook in 2010. (Notes/tasks, calendar, contacts) I also have my gmail setup in IMAP configuration, but I don't sync it directly with the phone. It updates when I connect to the server.
Not sure where you are hearing that 2010 doesn't work, as I have no problems.
As far as you needing far too much power and transparency to buy an Apple computer... I have to ask 2 questions.
1) have you ever used a Mac? I cannot speak for the new Lion version past the 10 minutes I used it in an Apple store, but Snow Leopard was very easy to use, once you get past the need for a start menu. 90% of the people I know that went from Windows to Mac, will never go back. And they all said that the most difficult thing about the transition was getting over the windows start menu.
2) have you ever seen the specs on a Mac? The desktop pro models are some of the stoutest machines I have ever seen. the specs generally dwarf other PC's in the same price range. And while the average lifespan of a windows machine is about 4 years before it starts getting clunky and bogged down, the same cannot be said about a Mac. I know people that have macs that are 6-8 years old that are still running quick and strong, with the only upgrade made was an increase in RAM.
I'm not saying that you should run out and buy a Mac. But I do think you should go and check one out before writing it off so easily. It might surprise you.

Thanks for the feedback on Outlook 2010. Did you previously sync on 2007 and import your old PFD file to the Outlook 2010? I'd have not posted here if I'd not checked out the MAC options to begin with. I will be calling Apple hoping to get an intelligent answer, but unfortunately, their techs really are good at telling you to push buttons or "uninstall and reinstall" instead of getting into the guts of a problem. They're really quick to say "We don't support....." I'd hoped to get some real-time experiences here on this board and hope to hear more.

Hawk, I've looked at specs on a MAC many times over the past 31 years and they will come no where close to doing what I need to do and certainly not for a reasonable price. I've been in computers since 1979 and I watch every detail on the hardware end. So, just fyi, I need a 17" notebook and MAC doesn't even give me the specs I need. For $2,949, I can get a MacBook Pro 17 " with HALF the storage that I can get in a PC (I want 1.5 TB DUAL DRIVE and the biggest they offer is 750 Gb in a single drive), with a lesser processor. I can get something with far more features, higher quality for $1400 +/- AND most all of my old software will run on a PC and it won't run on the MAC. If I bought a MAC, I'd have at least $1200 in additional software purchases - AND another issue is that the technology used in my businesss does not support MAC ever. They won't do it. So it just makes no sense to buy an 'ego machine' that doesn't do the job.

As for where I heard about this problem, if you Google 'does Outlook 2010 with iPhone 4' you'll get pages and pages of problems.

Some say 'just try it' but to be honest, I'm not about to invest in new technology if it isn't going to do what I need it to do. That's why I came here.

 

[S In SFL]

No company can ever build a strong reputation over a product that's merely all hype, hearsay and show. There must be something uniquely substantial about Apple's products that continue to stand the test of time and capture the needs of the public or else Apple wouldn't have enjoyed, even though briefly, the largest market share for a company in the world. Somehow they are fulfilling a technological need it seems that cannot be quite satiated by anyone else.

The key phrase in your post is 'briefly'. Perhaps you don't know the history of the arrogance and ego of Steve Jobs. Back in early 80's my husband owned a chain of about 12 computer stores and they initially sold Apple and IBM PC. They sold something like 90% PC and 10% Apple. Apple told them to dump PC or they couldn't be dealers. They dumped Apple. They made a fortune because of this ill-advised demand. Apple went to the bottom of the heap for a long, long time and only staged a comeback because of the iPod in 2003 (+/-) and then the subsequent iPhone (and then let's not forget the GIANT phone called iPad). But they've got a long history of egotistical decisions, and they treat their customers like ignorant fools. Just try to ask an Apple tech about where to find something on their file system. They'll transfer you up three levels to a supervisor who still can't answer a simple question.

So, sure - they've come up with a few great products. I love the iPhone but I'm not about to change my businesss and my life just for one gosh-gee-wiz product. If I can't make this all work, I'll start looking at Windows smartphones.

Apple is definitely riding high right now and that's good for them. But just like history in ALL areas, it is going to be cyclical and what goes up will eventually go down. It's the nature of the beast. And the best 'magical' presentation by a guy in a black turtleneck isn't going to make a difference in the long run. Either the products work well with ALL technological systems or they don't. It's a choice that Apple, as well as all other companies, makes.

 

[Hawk]

Thanks for the feedback on Outlook 2010. Did you previously sync on 2007 and import your old PFD file to the Outlook 2010? I'd have not posted here if I'd not checked out the MAC options to begin with. I will be calling Apple hoping to get an intelligent answer, but unfortunately, their techs really are good at telling you to push buttons or "uninstall and reinstall" instead of getting into the guts of a problem. They're really quick to say "We don't support....." I'd hoped to get some real-time experiences here on this board and hope to hear more.

Hawk, I've looked at specs on a MAC many times over the past 31 years and they will come no where close to doing what I need to do and certainly not for a reasonable price. I've been in computers since 1979 and I watch every detail on the hardware end. So, just fyi, I need a 17" notebook and MAC doesn't even give me the specs I need. For $2,949, I can get a MacBook Pro 17 " with HALF the storage that I can get in a PC (I want 1.5 TB DUAL DRIVE and the biggest they offer is 750 Gb in a single drive), with a lesser processor. I can get something with far more features, higher quality for $1400 +/- AND most all of my old software will run on a PC and it won't run on the MAC. If I bought a MAC, I'd have at least $1200 in additional software purchases - AND another issue is that the technology used in my businesss does not support MAC ever. They won't do it. So it just makes no sense to buy an 'ego machine' that doesn't do the job.

As for where I heard about this problem, if you Google 'does Outlook 2010 with iPhone 4' you'll get pages and pages of problems.

Some say 'just try it' but to be honest, I'm not about to invest in new technology if it isn't going to do what I need it to do. That's why I came here.

Well obviously Apple wouldn't be a choice if there is a software compatibility issue. I don't know of many laptop manufacturers that make a laptop that can fit dual hard drives, so that type of hardware necessity is very specific, and Apple doesn't do special custom hardware like that.
I did not use outlook 2007. I have a "portable" copy that is just the basic 4 programs. For Outlook, I went from 2003 on XP to 2010 on Win 7 with my pst file and the only problem I have ever had was using Google calendar sync. It locked up outlook and I had to kill it in the task manager. Otherwise no problems between iTunes and outlook 2010 at all.