BlackBerry Desktop Manager support for Outlook 2010 32/64-bit

RIM announced they will support Outlook 2010 32-bit some time in August 2010.  They will release support for Outlook 2010 64-bit in 2011.

BlackBerry owners who need to sync their Outlook contacts, calendar, tasks and notes rely on BlackBerry Desktop Manager to do this.  People looking for an immediate solution can use CompanionLink Express.  It supports both Outlook 2010 32 and 64 bit.  In addition to Outlook, CompanionLink can sync from other PC software like Palm Desktop, Lotus Notes, GroupWise, ACT! by Sage and Goldmine.  CompanionLink Express costs $49.95, one-time, and comes with free phone support.

Alternatively, CompanionLink also develops a $9.99 product called O2g, which will sync Outlook to your Google account.  The Google Sync service (offered by Google) will then sync Google Contacts and Calendar over-the-air with BlackBerry devices.

Duplication checking for sync

CompanionLink products have robust duplication-checking built right into the software.  We’re working to update our algorithm to catch many new cases that arise when synchronizing  between PC and the latest smartphones, tablets and mobile devices in the market.

Why does duplication occur?

Duplication is commonly seen when data is previously imported into a contact management or CRM database. For example, let’s say you want to sync Outlook to Google. If you have already imported data from Outlook into Google, the first “sync” you engage using CompanionLink for Google or using O2g will combine everything in Outlook with everything in Google.

Other times, there are issues with name matching. Are “John Smith” and “John R. Smith” the same person? CompanionLink contains logic to try to match names. However, we still find cases where Prefix, Middle Name or Suffix can throw things off. In addition, CompanionLink looks at phone numbers in duplication checking. The presence or absence of a number can impact whether a name is duplicated.

Updated duplication checking is coming soon to a CompanionLink and O2g build near you!