[selowitch]

My wishlist for a phone isn't that long:

1. iSync supported
2. Decent coverage in my area (Rockville, MD)
3. Doesn't cost an arm and a leg
4. Includes GPS
5. Has option not have e-mail or web access (otherwise, my wife will kill me)
6. Bluetooth or USB

But I'm telling you, finding a phone that fits those criteria is driving me batty because there's always some fatal flaw, like the fact that RAZR phones offered by Verizon are apparently NOT iSync compatible.

Aaaaugh!!!

[ghporter]

RAZRs are indeed iSync compatible-but Verizon doesn't like its customers very much and disables a buttload of functions, including things like Bluetooth file transfers and the like. On the other hand, using the AT&T version of the RAZR, I am able to do those things, sync with my Macs, and so on. The only thing on your list that my phone doesn't do is GPS. The regular retail on it from AT&T is $239, but you get so many discounts and rebates as a new customer that it is actually free. Using AT&T's "coverage viewer," it looks like Rockville is saturated for AT&T customers.

I'm not in any way connected with AT&T, except as a customer, but I've been really happy with the service I've had with them over the years. Think about it.

[selowitch]

Helpful as always, ghporter! I guess I could go with a separate GPS unit and get the RAZR for virtually free and I won't even need The Missing Sync. I'll definitely need GPS because I'm coming to an entirely new state from Maine, that doesn't have many multilane highways -- suburban Maryland is a little scary.

Hey, it looks like I might indeed be able to get GPS for this thing --- something called TeleNav? But getting a GPS feature that carries a monthly fee would be a drag. Aren't the standalone GPSes largely free of monthly fees?

[vmarks]

The standalone GPS systems have yearly map updates that you have to buy if you want to keep current.
Pick your poison.

[selowitch]

Originally Posted by vmarks 

The standalone GPS systems have yearly map updates that you have to buy if you want to keep current.
Pick your poison.

I imagine, though, that if a previous year's map still does the job for you, you don't absolutely need to update, right?

[ghporter]

How much are the streets going to change from year to year? How much are the highways going to change? Once you find your way around, you'll know whether you want to update the maps on a GPS device. Are you thinking of this for all navigation or just while driving? A handheld GPS is more flexible than a car-mounted one, and often has decent street-level maps built in. I have a Garmin eTrex that works great and makes it easy to find places I can't just by sight (take a look at a map of downtown San Antonio some time-I need GPS to tell where I am sometimes because the THREE major Interstates that go through downtown are really confusing...

[selowitch]

All interesting points. I think I will probably just need the GPS for driving. Rockville's not too hard to figure out. Washington, DC and Baltimore, MD are different stories, but I won't be in those places very often.

Could I take a device like the Garmin Nuvi 660 out of my car and take it around on foot or bike?

[ajprice]

I'd go for a separate GPS, as 3 and 4 on your list don't really mix. Also, I don't think Apple keep the list on the iSync webpage complete and up to date, I'm sure there's a few phones that work fine with iSync and aren't on the list.

Off topic.. Rockville? really?

[selowitch]

Originally Posted by ajprice 

Off topic.. Rockville? really?

Yes, and I have to chuckle because the only time before know that I ever heard of Rockville was from that wonderful R.E.M. song. I take solace in that the song's context: It's Mike Mills' plea to his then-girlfriend in Athens, GA not to go back home and leave him behind. So, he's trying to make the case that Rockville sucks out of self-interest.

It's actually a very nice place, in my opinion. Having lived for the last eight years in very-rural Maine, I look forward to living somewhere with good Wi-Fi and cellphone coverage, good restaurants, activities for my kids, etc. There's a much larger Jewish community there, too, which appeals to me, and much greater ethnic diversity. My wife has a new job in Washington, DC, which is why we're moving....

Back on topic, the fact that Apple doesn't update the iSync-supported phone list is rather disturbing. So now I'm supposed to buy a phone and *hope* that it works with iSync? How aggravating. Any way I can predict if it'll work based on its chipset or something?

[ajprice]

In my experience of phones and iSync - Sony Ericsson seem best, a variant of the K800/W850 should be fine, like Nokia, a lot of their phones are variations of similar basic hardware, but with better camera/more memory/music software to make different models. Then Nokia (especially the series 60 'smartphones'), Motorola not so good, Samsung not so good, if at all. Windows and Palm will need the Missing Sync software.