Cross-platform mail and calendar?

[joshlalonde]

I have a Windows Phone, a MacBook Air and a Surface RT.

Is there a mail and calendar alternative that would allow me to use all three devices and still have calendar reminders and e-mail between them. Windows Phone supports iCloud (though i don't have the ability to push mail) but Windows 8 mail and calendar do not.

 

[Lloydbm41]

I have a Windows Phone, a MacBook Air and a Surface RT.

Is there a mail and calendar alternative that would allow me to use all three devices and still have calendar reminders and e-mail between them. Windows Phone supports iCloud (though i don't have the ability to push mail) but Windows 8 mail and calendar do not.

Gmail and Google Calendar? Works for me on Android, WP, Win 8, iOS and Mac.

 

[xraydoc]

Outlook.com


It uses ActiveSync/Exchange, so it's well supported on iOS, Android and Windows/WinRT/Windows Phone.

 

[Jibbajabba]

Office365 is fantastic ....

 

[ozaz]

Gmail/Google Calendar or Outlook.com are probably your two best options.

However, in my experience there are some issues with Outlook.com on Android, and issues with Google contacts and calendar on Windows 8.

I don't have any issues with either Google or Outlook.com on iOS.

I wrote up the issues I've had with Outlook.com on Android here:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/android-4-4-kitkat/385091-syncing-outlook-com-android-4-4-a.html
However, I no longer use Outlook.com and these tests are a few months old, so things might have improved since then.

Gmail and Google Calendar? Works for me on Android, WP, Win 8, iOS and Mac.

My experience with Google on Windows 8.1 is different. Gmail is supported well enough. But there is no native support for Gmail Calendar, and only partial support for Google Contacts.

Google contacts is accessed by connecting your Google account to your Microsoft account. But this only provides read-only access to your Google contacts from within the Windows 8.1 People app. Google Calendar is not supported in the native Windows 8.1 Calendar app. However, there are 3rd party apps in the Windows Store which provide Google Calendar support (e.g. Gmail Calendar, OneCalendar).

I expect Microsoft will provide full native support for Google Contacts and Calendar in Windows 9 (since full support was added to Windows Phone fairly recently).


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EDIT: Just noticed in your original post that you don't used Android. So the limitations I mentioned of Android for Outlook.com probably not relevant to you. However, I've left them in this post because they are relevant to the title of the thread. In your case (non-Android user), Outlook.com is probably best.

 

[maflynn]

Another vote for outlook.com

I prefer that over google.

 

[joshlalonde]

How can I use outlook.com with Calendar/Mail though? I want a level of system integration, not just a webpage.

 

[ozaz]

How can I use outlook.com with Calendar/Mail though? I want a level of system integration, not just a webpage.

You just enter your Outlook.com email address and password, just like you would enter your iCloud email address and password if you were connecting it to the iOS/OSX mail/calendar apps.

Outlook.com might be a confusing name for an email/calendar service but we're referring to it as Outlook.com instead of Outlook to distinguish it from the Outlook desktop email client.

 

[joshlalonde]

You just enter your Outlook.com email address and password, just like you would enter your iCloud email address and password if you were connecting it to the iOS/OSX mail/calendar apps.

Outlook.com might be a confusing name for an email/calendar service but we're referring to it as Outlook.com instead of Outlook to distinguish it from the Outlook desktop email client.

More specifically, to get it working with Calendar. I suspect I'll have to set it up manually, but I'm not sure how.

 

[xraydoc]

More specifically, to get it working with Calendar. I suspect I'll have to set it up manually, but I'm not sure how.

I don't think manual configuration is required, but there are instructions all over the internet easily discovered. This plays best with Windows Phone. Google mail/contacts/calendar no longer use ActiveSync on free accounts (it is offered for paid Google Apps accounts, however).

 

[petvas]

If you don't mind paying a few bucks per month, then Office 365 is the best choice. It uses Exchange for all messaging features.

 

[joshlalonde]

I have an Office 365 Subscription. How do I get it to work in Mail? Oh nvm, I'll look it up.

 

[petvas]

I have an Office 365 Subscription. How do I get it to work in Mail? Oh nvm, I'll look it up.

Just go into the preferences->Internet Accounts and configure a new Exchange account. Follow the instructions..OS X will detect and configure the settings needed.

 

[alphaod]

Normally I prefer Google.

However now I live in China and unfortunately just about everything is blocked.

So I've moved to Outlook/Hotmail. Things work great. And it works on all the major platforms.

 

[ozaz]

More specifically, to get it working with Calendar. I suspect I'll have to set it up manually, but I'm not sure how.

If you're struggling with Windows, this page is a good launch point for information
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/support#1TC=windows-8

On my Windows PCs, I sign in with my Microsoft Account
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-8/microsoft-account-tutorial

If you do this, I think mail/people/calendar apps automatically get connected to your Outlook.com service.

If you sign in to Windows with a local account (i.e. not a Microsoft account), then you probably have to go to the app settings for mail/people/calendar to add your outlook.com details. e.g.,
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-8/add-accounts
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-8/calendar-app-faq

If you don't mind paying a few bucks per month, then Office 365 is the best choice. It uses Exchange for all messaging features.

In terms of email/contacts/calendar is there any benefit of Office 365 over free Outlook.com? My understanding is that free Outlook.com accounts have Exchange support.

 

[joshlalonde]

Just go into the preferences->Internet Accounts and configure a new Exchange account. Follow the instructions..OS X will detect and configure the settings needed.

Didn't work :/

 

[petvas]

If you're struggling with Windows, this page is a good launch point for information
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/support#1TC=windows-8

On my Windows PCs, I sign in with my Microsoft Account
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-8/microsoft-account-tutorial

If you do this, I think mail/people/calendar apps automatically get connected to your Outlook.com service.

If you sign in to Windows with a local account (i.e. not a Microsoft account), then you probably have to go to the app settings for mail/people/calendar to add your outlook.com details. e.g.,
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-8/add-accounts
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-8/calendar-app-faq




In terms of email/contacts/calendar is there any benefit of Office 365 over free Outlook.com? My understanding is that free Outlook.com accounts have Exchange support.

You can use your own domain and get 50GB mailbox.