iPad – Google Calendar Sync

The successful combination of two great tools, like the iPad and Google Calendar, is a beautiful thing. In the case of these two, achieving the joint venture is also amazingly simple, and productivity, organization and the end user are the beneficiaries.

Prior to the iPad, I remained a big fan of a paper appointment book. Not a compact organizer, but a bound, notebook-sized calendar. It was easy to read, not too bulky and I didn’t need to write in small print.

I love my iPhone, but the calendar, as well as everything else, is small. Yes, I keep it in my pocket and it’s always with me, but entering appointments on the calendar is tedious. That difficulty is magnified when under pressure or when I’m in a hurry, due to the small screen size and keypad. For some time I had been maintaining two calendars, one paper and one on the iPhone synced with Google.

iPad to the Rescue

One of the primary reasons for my own iPad purchase was the viewable screen size. In my local Apple Store, I saw in the iPad the potential for a larger Safari browser, email composition, and, yes, a bigger calendar. iPad was thin and lightweight. It could immediately take the place of my paper calendar, simplify lots of daily tasks and free up more of my time.

It struck me then (slow, I know) that I could sync the iPad with Google Calendar, just like with the iPhone. Since our family uses the same Google Calendar, it’s amazing the coordination of plans required for two children, it would now be more useable. I envisioned tossing the paper calendar, but reserved doing so until the new excitement was a reality. After all, with me and technology, nothing is ever as simple as it seems. In this case, it was just that simple.

Linking and Syncing iPad and Google Calendar

The process, if you can call it that, works much like that of the iPhone. If the iPad is, or is to be, your first Apple device, then you’re in for a treat. If you don’t have a Google account, set one up then follow these steps.

Step 1: Find your Settings icon and tap.

Step 2: Tap “Mail, Contacts, Calendars.”

Step 3: Tap “Add Account.”

Step 4: Tap the Gmail graphic

Step 5: Fill-in the form, i.e., your name and Google account information.

Step 6: When prompted, make sure to slide the “Calendars” to “on.”

You’re iPad calendar will now automatically sync with Google. It may not show up immediately, but it will synch shortly. It really is that simple.

After getting your Google account linked with the iPad, you can now add-to and adjust your calendars from anywhere; from your iPad, iPhone or any computer. It’s the perfect tool for students, busy families and business people.

Image courtesy Brett Lider.