[Danoir]

I have been trying to find a replacement for my Siemens S56 for a while now and apparently my modest needs to not align with what the world offers in terms of phones.

I have an iBook with an internal BT module. I would like to use this to sync my contacts and calendars.

I like small phones, but I enjoy reception (which the Siemens did not have).

I own a digital camera, so I don't care about the phone in my phone.

I have big hands, and so non-miniscule keys are a plus.

I am with Cingular now, but I could switch as I am out of contract (or will be when I return my new phone)

The flip style has not been all that appealling to mean until recently when I experienced some serious scufs on my S56 screen. It's not a deal breaker, but I can go either way on the form-factor.

About a month ago I bought a Sony Ericsson T637. I was happy with it until a few quirks became unbearable. First, when the screensaver is on, there is no visual indication that someone has called, or that I have a voicemail or text waiting for me. I have to unlock the screensaver, or just go to the main screen to see that. For me, this an extra step I'd rather not take, especially with the screensaver is just a digital clock and so there is oodles of room on there to display the information I seek.

Secondly, every time I would sync it with my iBook, all of my events in the phone would be an hour later than they are on iCal. Needless to say, this is unacceptable. I was also annoyed by the way in which speeddial numbers were assigned, but I could live with that.

So now I'm on a Motorola V551. Let me say that much about this phone is great. The size, the size of the keys, the screen, the interface, beautiful! However, it doesn't meet up with some of my basic criteria such as BlueTooth support with iSync (BT does me little good if I can't sync it with my iBook), and it doesn't even have a calendar.

I understand that none of the Motorola phones work with iSync as Moto's BT spec is non-standard. Therefore, Apple lists the USB cable as necessary to sync the few phones they support.

So, I'll be taking this back before long. Did I just missing a setting with the T637? Does the Nokia 6620 fit my needs? What about one of those Pocket PC phones (you see, I'm desperate)? Would those work with PocketMac or MissingSync? Do I have to plunk down a huge pile of money just to get the most basic features? Is this all Apple's fault for not updating iSync to work with a reasonable number of phone (check out the number of Nokias supported. Pathetic!). Any help would be appreciated.

Slightly ornery,
D

[mishakim]

I can't answer all your questions, as I'm also looking for a new phone, but here's a partial answer:

I have similar concerns, and I'm currently leaning toward the v551. It uses SyncML, which Tiger is supposed to support, so syncing's just a matter of time. The Nokia 6620 (my other choice) has about the same features, but also only uses SyncML (they cut the other syncing scheme that other Nokia's use with iSync). As to your statement that Moto's sync in non-standard, that's not really accurate. SyncML is a standard, it just isn't uniformly supported yet (i.e. by iSync). It appears to be spreading, which is why I lean toward accepting it and waiting for Tiger.

Other threads have said OnSync works with the v551 for BT syncing of contacts at least; I haven't tried it myself, as I don't have the phone yet.

I wasn't aware that the v551 lacked a calendar - are you sure about that? It's not a deal-breaker for me, but just seems an odd oversigt.

[subego]

Originally posted by Danoir:
I understand that none of the Motorola phones work with iSync as Moto's BT spec is non-standard. Therefore, Apple lists the USB cable as necessary to sync the few phones they support.

FWIW, it's the other way around. Apple's current BT implementation is hosed, not Moto's. This will supposedly be fixed in Tiger, so waiting is an option.

As someone who has a S55, I have to ask, why are you changing? As much as I want a new cellphone, I can't even force myself to change, the other options all (comparatively) suck that hard.

[electric monk]

Actually it's a little of both. Apple's iSync is hosed without full SyncML support. Motorola however uses a weird OBEX despite chairing the committee standards.

Should be solved with Tiger though.

Oh and Zoolander rocks.

I'm not a fan of Nokia anymore, and Samsung, LG et al are a giant collection of similar looking phones. i.e. silver flips.

Therefore the only phones I'm up to date on are Motorola and Sony Ericsson, and you don't seem to be looking for a smartphone but if you are there are:

*Sony Ericsson P910
*Motorola MPX series, A780
*Nokia 9500
*Treo 650

Disclaimer: I own a Motorola RAZR V3.
Oh, and some of these phones aren't out yet - the ones that are out will have a *

Phones:

Flip/Swivel/Slider:
Style:
*Motorola RAZR V3
Motorola PEBL V6
*Sony Ericsson S710a (Swivel so the screen is exposed, but it has some wicked coating on it)
*Samsung D500 (Slider)

Normal:
*Motorola V551
*Motorola V635


Candy Bar
Style:
Motorola SLVR V8
Sony Ericsson W800 (No 850 GSM band; Required for Cingular/Rogers)
Sony Ericsson K750 (As above)

Normal:
*Sony Ericsson K700
*Motorola E398




Hope some of that helps, if you want more details - ask.

[Arty50]

For bluetooth syncing with your Moto phone check out OnSync.

[electric monk]

Yeah but it only works with contacts and in the future the calendar.

[mishakim]

I went ahead and got the v551 this weekend. With the exception of some number-porting grief from Cingular, since resolved, I'm happy with it.

OnSync did an acceptible job of moving numbers. One complaint is that for contacts with multiple numbers, it created a separate contact for each on the phone. I'm not sure of that's an issue with OnSync or the phone, since the phone's directory seems to treat contacts that way even if it's set with mulitple numbers in a single contact. I'm still working out how to properly organize the numbers on the phone.

The mac saw the phone and set up tethering, but I haven't tested that yet.

Addressbook sees the phone, and I understand it should give a popup when there's an incoming call, but that didn't happen in the limited testing I did.

BT file transfer works fine, I can browse the phone, push files on to it. All I've done so far is wallpapers. I need to find some ringers, as I don't like the few built-in ones.

Signal seemed better than my old Sprint phone, but I haven't had enough time to really test that.

Battery was fully charged Sunday morning, it's now dead (Tuesday morning). I used it a lot getting things set up during that time, so probably reasonable that it's now dead. I just wish I had checked before leaving home this morning