Windows 8 Tip: Syncing A Windows Phone Or Zune Device

With both Windows and Windows Phone changing fairly dramatically with this year’s major updates, some users are concerned or confused about how they’ll accomplish common tasks. Key among these is PC-to-device sync: Microsoft will deliver a new sync client and new PC-free functionality with Windows Phone 8 this year, but many are wondering how they can sync their existing Windows Phone 7.x and Zune devices.

The confusion is understandable. Back in February, an internal Microsoft video describing many Windows Phone 8 features leaked, resulting in my tell-all article Windows Phone 8 Preview. In that video, Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore said that the software giant would be replacing the Zune PC software, which is currently used to sync music, podcasts, videos, photos, and/or apps and games between your PC and a Windows Phone or Zune device. This has led, naturally, to questions about whether this new sync client was part of Windows 8, whether it was available already, and whether it would be made available for users of older, non-Windows Phone 8 devices.

So let’s examine what he really said first.