How To Sync Outlook 2013 Calendar With Iphone 5

What's the difference among Outlook PC, Outlook.com and Office 365? It's not surprising many people ask this question. Just looking at Microsoft's Office products website sounds confusing with the following options:

Office 365 Business.
Office 365 Home.
Office 365 Personal.
Office for students.
Office for PC or Mac.
Office Online.

And we haven't touched on business solutions. Then there's Outlook.com. Technically, it's part of Office Online, which is easily confused with Office 365. Outlook is usually one of the apps in the Microsoft Office suite whether online or computer-based.

Office for PC or Mac runs on a computer, notebook or a laptop. Typically, the information stays on your computer or wherever you store your data. However, Office 2013 can connect with your online Microsoft account. Office 365, a web-based service, can run both on a computer and online. No wonder people are confused!

Comparison of Office and Outlook apps

comparison-of-office-and-outlook-apps

Let's see if we can clarify the differences.

Outlook.com: Formerly known as Hotmail, this is a free Web-based email service that lets you access Outlook through a web browser. Outlook.com is part of Office Online, a web-based pared-down versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. It stores your information in the cloud.

Outlook for PC: Outlook for PC or Mac is email software with Calendar, Contacts, Tasks and Notes that runs on a computer without the cloud. It's included in the Microsoft Office suite, such as Office 2007, Office 2010, Office 2013 and so on. Although Office 2013 can be used with Office Online and Microsoft's OneDrive online storage, this feature can be turned off. (Just don't log into the cloud.) Older versions of Office do not connect with Office Online or OneDrive. Beware that Office 2013 for Students does not include Outlook. Users pay a one-time fee and use it for as long as they like.

Office 365: Web-based suite of Microsoft products that includes Microsoft Outlook. The suite runs in the cloud and requires paying for a subscription on a monthly or yearly basis. It also allows users to use Office on their computer and tablet. The number of devices depends on the plan. The service ceases when payments stop. The personal option has two plans with different features and pricing: Office 365 Personal and Office 365 Home.

Microsoft offers three business plans: Office 365 Business Essentials, Office 365 Business and Office 365 Business Premium.

Office Online: It's a collaboration and file sharing service that runs in a web browser. Anything you create in Office Online programs will be stored in the cloud on OneDrive. (Formerly referred to as SkyDrive.) Office Online programs allow people to work together at the same time and see each other's changes. It doesn't have as many features as Office 365.

Here's a comparison chart:

Features	Outlook.com / Office Online	Outlook PC	Office 365*
Cloud vs. PC	Cloud	Both	Both
Payment option	Free	One-time purchase	Subscription-based
Calendar and tasks	Yes	Yes	Depends on plan
Contacts	Yes (People)	Yes	Yes
Tablets and phones	No	No	1 tablet and 1 phone or 5 tablets and 5 phones
Full Office apps	No	1 PC	1 PC/Mac or 5 PCs/Macs
Sync calendar and contacts with devices	Web-based access	Requires third party software	Web-based access

*Based on the two personal plans.

How to sync Outlook with phone

When you use Outlook.com, you're using a web-based service. To access it through phones and tablets, you go to Outlook.com on your device's browser. There, you can access your calendar, tasks and contacts (People). That's not as convenient as being able to access the information within your device's own calendar and contacts apps.

Office 365 Personal can sync with one tablet and one phone. Office 365 Home lets you sync with up to five phones and five tablets. You can only access Outlook email on your device's equivalent apps. (No Contacts, Calendar, Tasks or Notes.) Furthermore, the data is stored in the cloud.

Microsoft Office 2010 and older do not keep any information in the cloud. All of your Outlook data for Calendar, Contacts, Tasks and Notes are stored on your PC. However, you can't take the information with you on phones and tablets without third party software like AkrutoSync.

Microsoft Office 2013 comes with the ability to store your data online on Microsoft's OneDrive. It also lets you sign on to Office Online to access your Outlook data and Office files from anywhere. The downside is that it stores your private information in the cloud. You can avoid using the cloud and online features by not signing on Office Online through Office 2013.

Clear as mud, right?

If you use Microsoft Office 2013 and wish to sync Outlook Calendar and Contacts with Android, Windows Phone, iPad and iPhone, Akruto does that for you without going through the cloud. It also works with Microsoft Office 2010, 2007, 2003 and 2002.

You also have a choice in how you want to pay for Akruto. You can either do a one-time purchase or pay a low monthly subscription fee. Whether your devices have a data plan makes no difference because Akruto can sync Outlook wirelessly using Wi-Fi (no data plan) or Internet (data plan).

Akruto Outlook sync software benefits

In addition to synchronizing Outlook Calendar and Contacts with your device's built-in calendar and contacts apps, Akruto wirelessly syncs Outlook between computer and devices. Two of the advantages of the cloud are the ability to move information without cables and being able to access it from anywhere. The big downside is that it keeps your data in the cloud.

Akruto gives you a convenient way to always have your updated information with you without involving the cloud. You don't need a cable to sync and your data stays private. Think of Akruto as a facilitator of your data. It transfers Outlook contacts and calendars between computer and unlimited compatible devices.

Because there's no cable, your data syncs wirelessly and automatically. Using a cable for sync means having to connect your device to the computer and pressing a button every time you want to update your Outlook data. It won't take long before this becomes tedious.

And finally, most importantly, Akruto syncs everything. You can have thousands of entries and long ones too. You won't find any data cut off, duplicated or missing, a frequent problem with cloud sync and competing products. Should you accidentally delete or change an entry, you can restore it with the sync history feature.

Get your free trial to see how you like Akruto. The trial contains the full version of AkrutoSync Windows PC Outlook sync software. The seven days begin after you install it. You can download it now. When you're ready to try it out, install it to make the most of your seven days.