If you are like me, then syncing your iCal and Address Book with Yahoo’s web-based PIM has been virtually impossible. Given Yahoo’s long standing apathy for MacOS had sent many of us into the warm, comfortable embrace of Apple’s own .Mac service. Of course, a cuddle costs $99 a year, but given our limited options, it was okay to pay the Jobs-tax! Still, I bet there are many Mac users who refuse to pay that tax, and would like to sync your iCal & Address Book with Yahoo eMail/PIM account. If you have one of the nine Nokia handsets listed on this page, then you might be in luck.

Go to Yahoo2Go website, download the Yahoo2Go client, and install it on your mobile phone. It is relatively easy if you have a bluetooth module built into your Mac. (Most, if not all new Mac users have bluetooth on their machines.) Send the Yahoo2Go client to your phone using Bluetooth File Exchange (You can find it in the Utilities folder.) It will send you a text message and you can follow instructions to install the application.

After you set-up Yahoo2Go, shutdown and restart your phone, and then open the Yahoo2Go application, fill out your Yahoo ID and password. That’s it. If you choose automatic settings, the phone will soon synchronize data on your mobile phone (including the phone numbers in your phone PIM) to Yahoo’s PIM.

Next step: pair your phone with your Mac, and set-it up to use iSync. This also will install a tiny iSync app on your phone. Again shut down and restart your phone, and sync the phone with your Mac using iSync. You will find that all the entries that were in Yahoo Calendar or Yahoo Address Book are now on your local computer. You can do the reverse and Yahoo calendar is updated accordingly. My experience with “tasks” is less than ideal, and I cannot figure out why. I get repeat entries, so be careful.

It has worked for my set-up: Powerbook G4 1.67 Hz, and a Nokia N70 phone. I think it will work for others as well. I backed up the data on my phone and on my computer before I tried this experiment. I urge, you do the same and be safe than sorry. All the pain might be worth it, given the Ajax-y goodness of Yahoo Mail/PIM.