Google extends EAS sevice through July; Microsoft says it’ll update to CalDav/CardDAV
Google is making a nice gesture today by extending the cutoff point for using EAS (Exchange Active Sync) to sync Google services to Windows Phone devices until July 31, 2013. If you’ll recall back to December 2012, Google swiftly pulled support for EAS on Windows Phones, with the service set to expire today, January 30th. Google’s hope was to move everyone over to using IMAP — along with CalDAV and CardDAV for contacts and calendar — to sync all types of devices. Because Android and iOS both support IMAP, CalDAV and CardDAV there were no issues to be had. Windows Phone, on the other hand, didn’t have the extra protocols ready to go and was about to leave new customers out in the cold when they went to add Google accounts to their devices.
Luckily for both Microsoft and its customers, the new deal extends EAS support for Google Account syncing another 6 months. This will give Microsoft time to properly integrate CalDAV and CardDAV into Windows Phone, so that when this new extended cutoff period ends users will not be losing any features.
Source: Official Windows Phone Blog; More: WPCentral