Could Thunderbird contact and calendar data sync directly with either HTC M8 or Samsung Galaxy S5?
I am planning of getting S5 or M8 but I can't find any info if those can sync directly with Thunderbird. When I used Outlook my phone would just plug into my computer and sync my contacts, calendar, and notes without any need to take any additional steps. Does anyone know of a way to configure that? I can't use my google account to sync contacts - it mixes up all the fields creating complete chaos in my address book.
Opaite Mbohovái (1)
Nope, Thunderbird is a client program, so is your phone. Software that tries to sync clients invariably is the cause of drama because sync is truly very difficult to program successfully and free apps from phone vendors are not quality products and almost invariably support one program and one version of that program.
So using a third party server is the correct approach. If syncing Google contact to a phone causes issues, that is more than likely the sync software used not an inherent problem with the process.
If you do not wish to use Google your more than welcome to install and run your own ldap server to sync contact to. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightweight_Directory_Access_Protocol
or Go the whole hog and host your own groupware server including calendars http://www.sogo.nu/about/overview.html