Today's the day that Google had planned to cease offering its Exchange ActiveSync-powered Google Sync service to consumers, but it looks like the feature will live on a bit longer for Windows Phone. Microsoft has announced on its official Windows Phone Blog that while Google will continue to support the new Google Sync connections for the Windows Phone platform until July 31. The Redmond company also confirmed that it's busy baking support for CalDAV and CardDAV into Windows Phone, which will allow users to sync their Google-based calendar and contact information with their Windows Phone devices after the July 31 deadline.
Google's decision to postpone its shutdown of Google Sync for Windows Phone is good news for Microsoft's mobile platform, as it means that any consumers that pick up a new Windows Phone device through July 31 will still be able to easily sync their Google-based mail, contacts and calendars with their new handset. Had Google not delayed the Sync shutdown, new Windows Phone users may not have been able to connect to Google's services on their devices, which wouldn't sit well with folks that are tied into the Google way of doing things. Windows Phone is still a young, growing platform, so it needs be attractive to new users and get them hooked into its ecosystem, which is something that'd likely be tough to do without the ability to connect to Google's calendar and contacts services. Here's to hoping that Microsoft is able to push out its CardDAV and CalDAV support soon.
