This month Microsoft complained that Google was blocking it from offering a “fully featured” Windows Phone YouTube app, and the mobile version of Google Maps.
Sadly the one of the biggest pieces of news came last month when Google announced plans to stop offering the Exchange ActiveSync-powered Google Sync to new users on Jan. 30, recommending instead that consumers use the CalDAV and CardDAV protocols for syncing calendar and contact information and IMAP for mail.
Unfortunately for Windows Phone users, Microsoft’s OS doesn’t support CalDAV and CardDAV, meaning that new Windows Phoners that try to set up their devices after Jan. 30 won’t be able to sync their Google-based calendars and contacts with their handset.
The good news is that, according to a new report from The Verge, Microsoft is planning to bring CalDAV and CardDAV support to Windows Phone. There’s no word yet on when the support will come or when Microsoft will announce its plans. Interestingly, The Verge’s sources claim that Microsoft first learned of Google’s plans last summer while finishing up Windows Phone 8. Delaying WP8 at that point would’ve put its holiday debut in jeopardy, though, and Google’s mid-De
cember announcement didn’t give Microsoft much time to create a solution before Jan. 30. It’s said that Microsoft is asking Google to push its Sync end date back six months so that Microsoft can release CalDAV and CardDAV updates and make sure existing Gmail users on Windows Phone don’t run into issues. Google has reportedly not answered Microsoft’s requests yet.
