Android phones sync up with Google products seamlessly. They sync up when ever the phone is connected to the internet via WIFI or 3G - no cables or PC software required.
At the date of writing this FAQ, my android phone did not sync with Windows Live calendar, mail or contacts very well.
So I ditched Windows Live and started to look for alternatives. I looked at the Google Apps - but the problem is that Google has not made a decent offline PC application. Google Apps relies on your web browser and internet connection.
Then I found Mozilla Thunderbird. Thunderbird has loads of open source add-ons that you can install (like Firefox). Also - with Google also being open source - some cleaver people have made programs to sync Google and Thunderbird together. The add-ons needed to sync with Google Calendar, Contacts and Task are...
- Lightning - the Calendar Add-on for Thunderbird
- Google Calendar connector. Connects Lightning to use Google calendar
- Google Contacts Add-on. Connects Thunderbird to GMail contacts
- Remember the Milk Add-on - Connects Thunderbird with Google Gmail Tasks
So, you can easily manage your Google Calendar, Contacts and Task using Thunderbird from your PC - and your Android phone will stay in sync.
As an added bonus - if you loose your phone - you won't loose your Contacts. You can also upgrade phones without having to mess able with phone software. You could probably even have multiple phones with the same, updated Contacts.