Saying that one of the advantages of storing information online is being able to access it from anywhere, on any device, Google has released Google Sync Beta, a tool for Windows Mobile and Apple iPhone devices to sync Google Calendar and Gmail contacts with the pre-installed calendar and contacts applications.

The contacts and calendar synchronisation happens two-way iPhones and Windows Mobile devices, and two-way contacts sync for mobile devices that support SyncML, an open standard for synchronisation between devices and computers.

Google says this will be a particularly handy improvement for people who regularly use Google tools, like corporate employees, university students, and busy families.

Sync uses push technology, which means that any changes made to a user's calendar or contacts from the browser or phone will be reflected on the device within minutes.

For all of these devices, synchronization happens automatically over the air, without having to manually sync your phone. The connection is always on, which means your information is always up-to-date, no matter where you are or what you're doing.

This new service is being introduced in beta, and in the spirit of early testing of these products the company warns users to review a few known issues for the iPhone and Windows Mobile devices. This also includes the fact that any data on a mobile device will be replaced with data from the Google servers - make sure to backup your existing information before trying the service.

Google Sync for iPhone and Windows Mobile was made possible by a licensing agreement that sees Google using Microsoft ActiveSync technology.