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I already have my work email setup using Exchange ActiveSync, but I would also love to be able to sync my Google Calendar using Google Sync. This seems like somewhat of an artificial limitation to me - does anyone know of a technical reason(s) why Apple limits the iPhone to one Exchange account? Better yet, does anyone know of a work-around?

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Synchronisation is non-trivial. Even Microsoft supports only sync setup to an Exchange server from Windows Mobile. Why then would Apple do more? (Would be cool if it were possible, though, for both platforms.) – peSHIr Jul 17 at 13:01

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Doing synchronization the right way is very hard. It would be error-prone and very difficult to synchronize all your contacts and appointments with different server copies. I was running into problems even running only one synchronization (duplicate birthday reminders, time-zone problems...)

Ask Jon Skeet who writes that kind of things for his living. ;-)

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That is a pretty weak reason to not allow for multiple email addresses, contacts, and calendars. They already allow multiple accounts, this wouldn't be their first rodeo... – RSolberg Jul 16 at 15:22
Very true, I can understand how difficult it could be to sync multiple calendars from multiple sources and keeping everything straight. Although in my case, I'm not syncing my work calendar, just email. – bcwood Jul 16 at 15:22
@bcwood: you can do this today with a single mobile me account and a single exchange account... This would not have been anything new... – RSolberg Jul 16 at 15:26
@RSolberg: I was aware of MobileMe, but am unwilling to pay for the service at this point. Being able to sync my iPhone calendar with my Google Calendar isn't worth $99. I'm already able to do it using NemusSync, it's just not an ideal solution. – bcwood Jul 16 at 15:31
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Actually iPhone is not the only platform that limits it. Windows Mobile also only allows one Exchange ActiveSync account. I unfortunately don't have much information as to why.

I have both Exchange ActiveSync and MobileMe Push running at the same time without any problems on my iPhone. However this covers all my needs.

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If it's just the Google Calendar you want, you can add your Google Calendar without using the Exchange account, using CalDAV:

  1. Go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars
  2. Tap "Add Account...", then "Other"
  3. Under Calendars, "Add CalDAV Account"
  4. Enter account information: * Server: www.google.com * User Name: [your username] * Password: [your password] * Description: [e.g. Personal]
  5. Tap "Next"
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Not a bad option, but it won't really work for my needs. I have multiple calendars setup in my Google account, but I only want some of them synced with my iPhone calendar. Using the CalDAV method doesn't allow you to select which calendars to sync. – bcwood Jul 18 at 6:19
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Actually it does. CalDAV is a per-calendar thing. See Google's info at google.com/support/calendar/bin/… – dyve Jul 18 at 6:55
It also doesn't allow invitations to be sent... – Alexis Hirst Jul 22 at 13:29
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I'm guessing that it may have been an attempt to get folks on MobileMe. What business wouldn't try to get you to spend $99 a year for calendar, email, contact, and photo management?

The Exchange ActiveSync was probably added just to get business accounts (it did get my attention after all)...

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I happily pay and use MobileMe. For keeping all my machines in sync and being able to access everything from anywhere is worth the price for me. It is also the only external mail account allowed on our corporate network. – Diago♦ Jul 16 at 15:24
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@Diago: You could always say it was the last external mail account allowed on our corporate network too :) I'm not saying that MobileMe is flawed, just that limiting the number of exchange profiles on an iPhone fits nicely with their goal of getting MobileMe users... – RSolberg Jul 16 at 15:25

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