Personal Background: Luis Larrea is the general manager of The Finca-Hostería El Retiro hotel, which is located in the Ecuadorian coastline, in the town of Olón at the heart of the “Ruta del Sol”. This is a small (13 rooms) and exclusive beach hotel that targets middle to high income families looking for a place to relax or younger guests interested in doing adventure sports.

Victoria Veligodsky: What challenges made you search for this kind of software?

Luis Larrea: I needed a way to synchronize my smartphone with information that I have previously synchronized to my work PC (With Outlook) to my home Mac, so that I can have my contact and calendar information available with me anywhere.

Victoria Veligodsky: How did get to know about SyncMate by Eltima?

Luis Larrea: I follow many blogs about smartphones and Macs, I read about SyncMate on some software blog. If I remember correctly, it was Solsie.com or Download Squad. Then later I kept up to date on SyncMate’s progress by following Eltima Software blog.

Victoria Veligodsky: Did you try other products for the same task before choosing our solution? Why did you prefer SyncMate to other products?

Luis Larrea: I have not tried other products, but I did consider Missing Sync. I choose Eltima’s SyncMate because it offers more options for syncing (like Wi-Fi sync or Internet sharing, for example) and because it has been free during the beta stage.

Victoria Veligodsky: Please, describe how you are using our product now.

Luis Larrea: Since my hotel is very small I am the person who keeps track of reservations. I use Outlook Calendar on my PC which I sync to my phone with ActiveSync. I then Sync my phone to Google calendar so that I can have that information on the Web if needed. I use GooSync for this.

Sometimes I need to update this information while at home, and then SyncMate is useful. I sync my smartphone (HTC 621) to my Mac and then I am sure to have the same information in Outlook, iCal, Smartphone and Google Calendar. I only need to find a way to synch Google Contacts to Outlook or Addressbook.

Victoria Veligodsky: How did you benefit from using SyncMate?

Luis Larrea: I am able to update information to my calendar or contact list wherever I am. If at home, I can do it on the Mac, if outside the office on the phone, if in the office on my PC. I can have all my information where I need it and when I need it. Additionally I can sync documents or photos automatically through the phone between Mac and PC.