Microsoft Phone Data Manager Beta Released

[neilm]

Microsoft have released a Beta version of their Phone Data Manager under their MSN Specials and Windows Live family.

This adds to the functionality of ActiveSync by allowing the user to sync media content and Windows Live Contacts.

Allows Sync over USB or Bluetooth.

Details and Download Here

Quote:
What is it ?
Microsoft® Phone Data Manager Beta is an application that is designed to take away the worry of losing data on your phone - specifically contacts, music, pictures and videos. It does that by synchronizing your phone contacts with Microsoft's Windows Live Contacts store in the cloud, or by helping you download files from the phone to your local computer.

Contacts: Microsoft® Phone Data Manager Beta synchronizes the contacts present in your phone with your contact store on Windows Live Contacts, which is the same store that your Hotmail contacts uses. This way, your phone contacts are always present on the internet, accessible via the contacts link on Hotmail. If you lose, or simply change your phone, all you need to do is to synchronize the contacts using Microsoft® Phone Data Manager Beta, and all the contacts that you stored in your Windows Live Contacts store will be downloaded to your phone. You can synchronize your contacts as many times as you like so that the changes you make (edits, additions or deletions) on your phone, or on the computer on Windows Live Contacts are always reflected on both your phone and the Windows Live Contacts store.

Music, Pictures and Video: In its current form, Microsoft® Phone Data Manager Beta will download the music, pictures and videos present in your phone to a local folder on the computer you are using this application on

Communication with your phone: Microsoft® Phone Data Manager Beta can communicate with your phone via a wireless standard known as Bluetooth, or via a USB cable.

In order for you to synchronize contacts, you will need to have a Windows Live ID (any Hotmail ID is a valid Windows Live ID). If you do not have one, you will be prompted to create one while you use the application.

With acknowledgements to MoDaCo for the original story

[windows]

I wonder if this is a drive towards replacing WMDC / AS?

[neilm]

We can only hope so

Reports suggest that the Live Contacts Sync doesn't work; certainly didn't for me, but I only have Pocket Outlook/Exchange contacts, so not sure if they use a different protocol?

[firstbuddha]

Live Contacts sync worked with the latest release of Windows Live Mobile - but if you delete the contacts from device it deletes them from the server.
(I stopped sync-ing contacts with Live after Dashwire played up and messed up all my contacts, so just on Exchange now - and still need to clean up the contacts of duplicates with split data).