We have learned how to sync our contacts and our calendars using Google through our iPhone, but now Google Labs has brought us more iPhone functionality. So how do you use Google Tasks on your iPhone? Follow this step-by-step to find out. Everyone has notes on their iPhones, but without the ability to sync those notes to your computer, what happens when you leave your phone at home? What happens if you lose the info in your notes? Where is it backed up if you have not synced lately? Using Google Task on your iPhone will allow your tasks to be backed up automatically to your google account. Set up iGoogle page The first thing that must be done is to set up an iGoogle page. This can be done by going to http://www.google.com/ig and logging in with your google account details. 1. Click ‘Add stuff’ on the right side of the screen. 2. In the search box, type “tasks” and click search. 3. Click ‘Add it now’ under Tasks (Labs) It will now show up on your iGoogle homepage. This page works very well as a Start Page when you start your browser instead of the plain old google page. Once a task is created or updated on your phone, it will sync to igoogle. Wherever you login to this page, your tasks will be available to you. Configure your phone to work with Google Tasks 1. Go to safari on your phone and go to http://www.gmail.com/tasks You will then need to login to this page with your gmail account. 2. Once you are logged in, you will see a simple page. This is your main list. 3. To add a task, click new task and an empty text box will appear. Type in the name of the task and click done. 4. In order to add more information to the task, click on the task again and click the blue arrow to the right of the task. This will bring up a page that will allow you to add more detailed notes to your task. 5. Tap Done then Back and the task will be updated with the notes. 6. Once you have completed a task, click the box to the left of the task. Once the task is completed, you can leave it or you can remove all of your completed tasks by clicking the Clear completed tasks button. 7. When in a task list such as the standard list, you can tap the ‘all lists’ button on the top left of the screen. This will take you to a list where you can make new task lists, each with it’s own group of specialized tasks. Make Google Tasks Easy To Access This sets up the service, but how do you access it easily without going to safari and going to a bookmark? What we are going to do is make an icon of this page for your menu. 1. Now that you are on the tasks page, tap the + symbol at the bottom of safari and tap the ‘Add to Home Screen’ button. Fill in what you would like the button named and tap add. You now have an icon on your desktop that will send you straight to the Google Tasks page and you can edit your tasks quick and they will be backed up in case there is data loss on your phone. Now, just as if you were using your notes app, the tap of an icon brings up your tasks list. It stores multiple task lists, and is available to you on any computer in the world with internet.
