Thunderbird, iPhone, iPad & iCloud

[mdrdsr]

Hello! Has anyone else accomplished the following and if so how?

I own an iPad 2 and iPhone 4s both running iOS5 and I am using iCloud
I use Mozilla Thunderbird for both Contacts and Email
I use Google Calendars for Calendars

I am able to synch the Google Calendars with Thunderbird, iPhone and iPad without any issues. This is good to go, I just use the Exchange account setup. I know that this way the calendar doesn't synch to iCloud but that is ok -- it is on Googles Cloud

Email is not a problem, just using POP protocol and that works fine.

My issue is how best to continue to use Thunderbird for Contacts and have them sync to iPad, iPhone and iCloud. Is there a solution? I would like to be able to synch both ways -- Thunderbird to iPhone/iPad/iCloud and also the other way iPhone/iPad/iCloud back to Thunderbird.

Has anyone done this successfully? What seems to be the best approach. I would really like to continue to use Thunderbird for email client, contacts and calendar as I am doing now. Just need to solve the Contacts sync.

Thanks in advance,
David

 

[Slimewowgrogga]

Zindus

Hi There David,

I can't answer all your question and I have a few questions of my own, but I can lead you in maybe the right dirrection for what you want. There is a plug-in called Zindus which syncs thunderbird email contacts with Google contacts and then you have to sync your itunes contacts with Google which completes the chain. I am sorry but I don't know the whole details of how to set this up but google "zindus, thunderbird and iPhone contacts" and you should find the solution.

Now things I don't know are...

If creating a contact on Thunderbird pushes it with Zindus to Google then to your iDevices as a new contact.

Things I do know...

I do know that any contact on your idevices will definitely be in your thunderbird address book.

Using this system can be very problematic. Doubling up of Contacts can certainly happen. For instance in the circumstance of fields on a contact labeled with iphone, google doesn't have a corresponding field for that and that will cause double ups. Also using fields on profiles for "Business Names" rather than using the regular "Name" field google also messes things up.

I have been using this system for a while and I am frankly over it.

I am trying to work out how to avoid google altogether now that icloud is here with thunderbird. I don't want Outlook. I have no interest in it at all and frankly it goes the same for google.

There is an option on iTunes to sync contacts with Windows Contacts.

Does anyone out there know how to sync Windows contacts with Thunderbird. If this can happen I think a lot of the problems I mentioned above might be solved. I maybe wrong but you never know until you try or someone else has done it before and can guide you in the right dirrection.

You might find the Zindus Solution a good idea David. Good luck and let me know how you go.

I personally hate having to link contacts in my address books over and over again because they have duplicated on my idevices to find a few days late I am back to square one and they need linking again.

 

[fins831]

Can't you use your thunderbird contacts to sync to google contacts, then use the app 'google sync' to sync google contacts to your iphone, then iphone to icloud....or am I missing something...never actually used google sync

I just use exchange to push email...but thats how I would try to go about it

 

[Freyqq]

I do something similar. Basically, google can handle contacts and calendars if you let it. I use thunderbird with zindus, which is an extension that syncs thunderbird's contacts with your google account.

 

[peshko]

I do something similar. Basically, google can handle contacts and calendars if you let it. I use thunderbird with zindus, which is an extension that syncs thunderbird's contacts with your google account.

Zinfus does not use sync the groups that you created in Google Contacts. That disclaimer should be everywhere...to me and to many others this is a showstopper.