Sync the Kindle Fire with ACT!

Is the Kindle Fire the “iPad killer” that many proclaimed it would be? Maybe not quite. But I think it’s a great device at a great price, and quite a few people agree with me it would seem. With an estimated 5.5 million Fires sold last quarter, it’s safe to say this is one hot tablet! But how do you make this great little tablet work for you when it comes time to get down to business? That’s where CompanionLink comes in!

Syncing the Kindle Fire with ACT! is made easy with CompanionLink. You’ll need DejaOffice on your Kindle Fire to get started, so grab it from the Amazon Appstore if you haven’t already. It’s free.

Once you’re set up with DejaOffice, you’ll need to ensure you have either CompanionLink Express (download | upgrade) or CompanionLink Professional (download | upgrade) installed on your computer. Then, simply select Android as your device in the CompanionLink setup window. Next, choose your sync method. We offer Direct USB sync, Local WiFi sync, and Secure Hosted Wireless sync. Finally, select ACT! as your database and configure as desired. For full setup instructions for ACT!, click here.

So there you have it – a quick and easy way to sync ACT! with the Kindle Fire. Now you can take your data with you, wherever you need it.

Over 25 New Smartphones and Tablets Unveiled At CES 2012

The 2012 Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas may be winding down, but things are just getting started at CompanionLink. By my count, over 25 new smartphones and tablets were announced at CES this year. They range from high-end smartphones to budget-friendly tablets, and from Android to Windows Phone.

As these devices are released over the next few months, we’ll be taking a closer look at them and testing them to ensure compatibility with CompanionLink and DejaOffice. It is our intention to support all of these new devices announced at CES. Stay tuned to the blog for updates on this!

And for those interested in what was announced at CES, but haven’t had time to parse through the countless articles, here’s a short list of just some of what you can look forward to over the next few months:

The Galaxy Note

The Galaxy Note from Samsung has been around internationally for a few months, but is finally coming to those of us in the US. Described as a “phablet” by some, this phone features a beautiful 5.3” screen and a stylus. It’s great for productivity buffs and creative types alike.

The Galaxy Nexus on Sprint

Another bit of good news from Samsung – the Galaxy Nexus is expanding its userbase to Sprint customers. No longer a Verizon exclusive, the Galaxy Nexus will be landing on Sprint’s new LTE network sometime in the next few months. With top-of-the-line specs and Android 4.0, it’s sure to be a popular phone among Sprint customers!

The Lumia 900 and Titan II

Not to be overshadowed by a host of Android announcements, the Windows Phone platform is gaining two great new devices. The Lumia 900 from Nokia improves upon the already quite popular Lumia 800. With a bigger screen, more cameras, a better battery life, and more, the Lumia 900 is sure to be a big hit.

HTC has put out a Windows Phone sequel of its own, as well. The Titan II may look similar to last year’s model, but it packs some exciting features of its own. Chief among them are 4G data and a 16-megapixel (yes, you read that right!) camera. Yet another Windows Phone device that is sure to do quite well!

The Eee Pad MeMO

While its name may sound a bit unassuming, the Eee Pad MeMO is a serious tablet. ASUS has worked a bit of magic on this one, you could say. It features a 7” screen, Android 4.0, and a quad-core processor (read: fast!) all for just $249. For those keeping score, that’s just $50 more than a Kindle Fire and the same prices as the Nook Tablet. If this tablet lives up to its specs, it will likely be quite difficult to keep on the shelves!

The Year In Review

2011 was a big year for CompanionLink. We added numerous new features to our mobile CRM app, DejaOffice, while surpassing 100,000 active installations globally. We rebuilt our website from the ground up to make it even easier to find the sync solution you need. We released CompanionLink 5 with new features and a refreshed interface. And we’ve released new software, as well – CompanionLink for Windows Live.

But 2011 wasn’t just a big year for us – it was a big year for mobile technology! All year long, we worked hard to support some of the best phones and tablets yet: from the iPad 2 and iPhone 4S to the DROID Bionic, DROID Razr, Galaxy S II, and Galaxy Nexus to name just a few!

While the past year has certainly kept us busy, we’re not taking a break anytime soon! In fact, 2012 is already shaping up to be our biggest year yet. What can you expect from us in the coming year? A completely revised look for DejaOffice, an entirely new cloud sync service, support for even more great phones and tablets (think the rumored DROID 4 and iPad 3), and CompanionLink 6! We can’t go into the details on these things just yet, so be sure to watch the blog for updates!

All of us at CompanionLink want to thank you for helping make 2011 a great year. As you head out this weekend to ring in 2012, we wish you a safe and happy New Year. See you in 2012!

Switching to Android: A Quick Start Guide

It’s no secret that Android is an increasingly popular platform. In fact, over 700,000 new Android devices are activated daily! Many of these are from people who are switching to Android from Blackberry, iOS, or webOS. If you’re on of them, then this “Quick Start Guide” is for you. It is designed to give you a quick overview of the Android platform, and then point you in the right direction for learning more! So, what are you waiting for? Read on to get started…  Continue reading

How To Sync The Kindle Fire With Google

The Kindle Fire doesn’t allow you to sync your Google Contacts and Calendar, but CompanionLink does! Here’s a quick guide on exactly how to do it:

  1. Download DejaOffice for free from the Amazon Appstore.
  2. Install CompanionLink for Google on your computer. This works with DejaOffice to sync Kindle with Google.
  3. In CompanionLink configuration, select Android as your device.
  4. Select Direct USB as your sync method.
  5. Select Google as your database from the final drop-down list.
  6. Follow the setup wizard in DejaOffice and you’ll be syncing in no time.

Note: Due to the way USB currently connects to the Kindle Fire, you’ll need to follow a specific pattern to begin the sync:

  1. Connect the USB cord to your Kindle Fire
  2. Unmount the SD card via the Notification Tray on the Kindle Fire
  3. Open DejaOffice
  4. Tap Sync

That’s it! So, whether you are the proud owner of a Kindle Fire today or are hoping to get one soon, rest assured that we’ve got you covered when it comes to syncing your data!

CompanionLink for Google comes with a free 14-day trial. When you’re ready to buy, use the affinity code SYNCKINDLE and you’ll pay just $39.95. If you already own CompanionLink 5 for Google, just make sure you have the latest version by checking our updates page.

Sync the LG Nitro HD

The past month or two have brought a number of top-tier Android phones: the Motorola DROID Razr, the HTC Rezound, and the soon-to-be-released Samsung Galaxy Nexus. This week, the LG Nitro HD joins the pack.

Sporting a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 4.5” HD screen, 4G data speeds, and Android 2.3, the Nitro HD can compete with the best of them. While the Razr, Rezound, and Nexus are all Verizon phones, the Nitro HD brings its power to AT&T. Check one out in stores today.

If you’re thinking about picking one up, rest assured that CompanionLink will sync the Nitro HD with Outlook, ACT!, Salesforce, and more. And if you’re upgrading from an older device, just download DejaOffice to the Nitro HD and in one sync you’ll have access to all your contacts, calendars, tasks, and memos.

Questions? Comments? Shout out in the comments below!

An Update On the Galaxy Nexus (With Video!)

In anticipation of Verizon’s upcoming release of the Galaxy Nexus, I wanted to post a quick update. We actually got our hands on the UK model for testing and have had some time to play around with it. Check out our thoughts in the video below!

As for syncing the Galaxy Nexus – the situation is as we expected. Local WiFi, CompanionLink Secure Hosted, and Sync via Google all work as intended. The Galaxy Nexus does not have an external SD card slot, which means that USB sync will not work with DejaOffice on this device. That said, we’re already working on a fix, so stay tuned. In the meantime, sit back and enjoy the video we’ve made.

Sony Shutting Down The Sony Ericsson Sync Service

Image Credit: WikipediaSony recently announced that it is shutting down its in-house Sony Ericsson sync service at the end of the year. In their announcement, they suggest exporting your contacts and importing them into Google for future use. Google works with all Android devices, which is where Sony devices seem to be headed.

While this option should work well for some users, we recognize that not all of Sony’s customers will want to store their data on Google’s servers. For those people, CompanionLink has another option.

CompanionLink is able to sync contacts, calendars, tasks, and memos to your Sony device. We support popular contact managers like Microsoft Outlook, Palm Desktop, Lotus Notes, and many others.  And we offer a variety of sync methods, as well as our free Android app, DejaOffice, for managing your data on the go. CompanionLink also offers free phone support. If you ever get stuck with your sync, just give us a call – we’re here to help!

The latest version of CompanionLink currently supports all Sony phones and tablets running the Android OS, and we intend to continue supporting new Android-based Sony devices as they are released. Should you ever upgrade to a new phone that doesn’t happen to be a Sony, rest assured your data will come with you. We sync with Android, Apple iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, and more.

If you’d like to try CompanionLink as an alternative to Google Sync, head over to www.companionlink.com/android and download a 14-day free trial!

Rearranging Your Calendar Is Easier Than Ever With DejaOffice 1.12.5

DejaOffice 1.12.5 just hit the Android Market and we’ve added some great new features to both DejaCalendar and DejaContacts. We’ve also fixed some pesky bugs, which you can read about after the break. Let’s look at what’s new…

DejaCalendar

We’ve brought two great new features to DejaCalendar. If you don’t use DejaCalendar to plan weekend events, then our new 5-day week view is for you. By trimming the weekends, we have more space to display the details of your current work week. We’ve also made rearranging your schedule significantly easier. To move an event to a new date or time, simply tap and hold the event in day or week view, then drag it to your desired date and time. Try it out for yourself – it’s really easy!

DejaContacts

In addition to the calendar enhancements, we wanted to make adding contacts even easier. So we added the ability to send and receive vCards to DejaContacts. If you haven’t heard of a vCard before, think of it as a digital business card. You can simply email or text your contact information in a format that many contact applications are able to read. Sharing your information or adding contact details for a new client is now fast and easy with vCard support in DejaOffice.

If you’d like to start using these great new features, just head over to the Android Market to download DejaOffice 1.12.5 today! Continue reading

Give the Kindle Fire a Productivity Boost with DejaOffice!

Image credit: AmazonWe just finished putting the Kindle Fire through its paces, testing both CompanionLink and DejaOffice on the affordable new tablet from Amazon. The results? DejaOffice runs well, and sync with the Kindle Fire works perfectly!

In fact, everything is working as we expected, with the exception of USB sync, which requires a small, but simple workaround. The Kindle Fire automatically mounts its SD card. You must Disconnect from USB Storage, then open DejaOffice and hit sync. We’re looking into a fix to eliminate this step, however.

After testing the Kindle Fire, I think it is important to remember that it’s first and foremost a Kindle – great for consuming media. But with a few easily downloaded apps like DejaOffice, you’ll have transformed your Kindle Fire into a business machine, filled with your contacts, calendars, tasks, memos, and more.

Syncing the HTC Rezound

It’s a great time to be in the market for a new smartphone, especially for Verizon customers. With the DROID RAZR now available and the Nexus Galaxy around the corner, the carrier has quite the holiday line-up. But they’re not done yet. The HTC Rezound, released today, completes the trio of powerful Android phones available from Verizon this season.

The folks over at The Verge have an impressive review of the Rezound available, and I’d encourage you to check it out if you’re interested in learning more about the phone. If you’re interested in learning more about syncing the Rezound, however, you’re in the right place.

As with most any Android device, you’re able to sync contacts, calendars, tasks, and memos from a whole host of CRM software to the HTC Rezound. Learn more about your options at https://www.companionlink.com/phones/htc-rezound.html or head over to our downloads page to get your 14-day free trial and start syncing today!

An Update On Syncing the DROID RAZR

The DROID RAZR is now available! We’ve been busy testing ours to ensure complete compatibility with CompanionLink and DejaOffice, and I happy to report that it performs as expected.

To sync the DROID RAZR with Outlook (and more), just make sure you’re running the latest version of DejaOffice (1.12.3) and connect the RAZR in “Charge Only” mode. After that, you should be set to sync.

If you’re new to CompanionLink and DejaOffice, we have some great resources to help you get started. Visit our Getting Started page to learn how to set up a reliable sync. Check out our Android Setup Guides for help configuring our software. And head over to our Support Center if you need more help getting everything up and running. Whether your a seasoned Android pro or are new to the platform, we’re here to help!

Now go on and enjoy your sleek new phone!