No Google Exchange Active Sync (EAS) mail service through Outlook: Google is not supporting Windows 8 and EAS, which means that you cannot merge and synccontacts and calendar in one program like we are all used to doing in Outlook.
With the launch of CardDAV, it's now possible to build a seamless sync experience using open protocols (IMAP, CalDAV and CardDAV) for Gmail, Google Calendar and Contacts.