Just before Microsoft is going to launch its My Phone cloud service next week, Google today announced the public availability of Sync Beta which is also working with Microsoft Windows Mobile smartphones but also with Apple iPhones or any SyncML mobile phone.
One of the hardest parts about switching phones is getting your address book and calendar to your new device. Google is making that process a little easier by releasing a beta version of Google Sync for the iPhone and Windows Mobile phones as well as a contacts-only version for phones that support SyncML.

For iPhone and Windows Mobile devices, Google Sync allows you to get your Gmail Contacts and Google Calendar events to your phone. Once you set up Sync on your phone, it will automatically begin synchronizing your address book and calendar in the background, over-the-air, so you can attend to other tasks. Sync uses push technology so any changes or additions to your calendar or contacts are reflected on your device in minutes. The connection is always on so you don't have to manually sync your phone after Sync has been set up. This means that when your colleague changes the time of the next meeting, you'll know about it right away.

Since Sync is a two-way service, you can make changes on your phone or in your Google Account. Your calendar and contacts are always up-to-date, no matter where you are or what you're doing. Also, since your data is automatically backed up to your Google Account, it's securely stored even if you lose your phone.

For devices that support the open SyncML protocol, Google Sync will allow for two-way contacts synchronization only. The BlackBerry version of Google Sync was already launched some time back.

Interesting enough is the fact that Google Sync uses the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync protocol. However, while Google is now basically giving away a free Microsoft Exchange account it yet lacks support for Exchange push E-Mail functionality (which might comes later anyway?).
Anyway, setting up a new Exchange ActiveSync account on your phone could mean that all existing contacts and calendar events may be removed (from Outlook Mobile). Therefore lease make sure to back up any important data (using ActiveSync/Windows Mobile Device Center on your PC) before you set up Google Sync.

Cheers ~ Arne