Google today announced that its Google Sync service would no longer be available to new devices as of January 30th, 2013. The service allowed users to access Gmail, Calendar and Contacts through the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync protocol.
With the recent launch of CardDAV, Google now offers similar access via IMAP, CalDAV and CardDAV, making it possible to build a seamless sync experience using open protocols.
Microsoft currently does not support CalDAV and CardDAV in Windows Phone 8. It remains to be seen if it will come up with a workaround to this development. New Windows Phone 8 users may want to look at Microsoft’s new Outlook.com service (which supports Exchange ActiveSync) instead of Gmail.
Fortunately for current users, Google will continue to support existing Google Sync connections. Google will also continue to fully support Google Sync for Google Sync for Google Apps for Business, Government and Education.
Google made the announcement as part of a larger announcement. It is also shutting down “several less popular Google Calendar features” such as Appointment slots and Smart Rescheduler and Add gadget by URL. The Punchd Android and iOS apps, used to keep loyalty punch cards on smartphones, will be shut down on June 7th, 2013 along with merchant support for these.
Read more: Google Official Blog