iSync vs. Motorola V600
I just got my hands on a new Motorola V600 and wanted to give it a test drive. Since I’ve been using iSync via bluetooth with my Sony Ericsson T616 I assumed it would be just as easy with this. Not so. iSync doesn’t support the V600 (at least not yet). Looking for a workaround, Google told me that lots of other people are having the same problem. It’s even been discussed here. Now, the V600 is a fairly new phone, so maybe Apple just hasn’t added it yet, but the T616 was included before it was released, so who knows. For now, a VERY GHETTO work around I’ve found is that you can send contacts, one by one, via bluetooth directly from AddressBook, which is OK if you only need a few, but a major pain if you have hundreds. Although, not as big a pain as retyping them all in by hand. Anyone else figured out a suitable way to do this?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Hugh O'Connor said 4:16PM on 6-16-2005
Have you tried this yet?
http://homepage.mac.com/antonioferraioli/onsyncdetails.html
I will give this a shot the nxt time I am home.
Hugh
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sean bonner said 4:16PM on 6-16-2005
I haven't, but I've talked to people who have and it seems to be time prohibitive to actually use. In that it takes FOREVER to sync.
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ae ciepli said 4:16PM on 6-16-2005
Can you post the steps you used to transfer the contacts one by one? I can get my Powerbook to pair with the phone, but nothing else works. I can't send any files, nor browse the v600.
If you can review the steps, both on the phone and computer, that would be great!
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Daniel Lord said 4:16PM on 6-16-2005
1. pair the phone.
2. select contact in Addressbook
3. pull down menu: 'Card' -> 'Send this card...'
4. The dialog that appears will let you select the phone (selct line and press 'select').
5. Be sure to have phone open because you'll nedd to accept the transfer.
6. the phone will beep and show a 'connected' dialog and then progess dialog for incoming record.
76. Accept the transfer.
8. Verify data is in format you want and press 'STORE'.
9. Repeat for each contact you want on the phone or until you are sufficiently steamed that Apple has yet to support the V600 with iSync that you quit in disgust and start mumbling "XP isn't so bad maybe...'. Stop there immediately--if you continue you might make a very big mistake
HINT: I create a 'Mobile' group for contacts I want on the phone. Since contacts can be in multiple groups, jsut drag the ones you wnat into the 'Mobile' group
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Fernando said 4:16PM on 6-16-2005
Motorola does not have the IrMC Synchronization service on bluetooth. This is needed for full isync and addressbook support.
Perhaps a firmware revision for the phone would have it, but don't hold your breath
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Jay said 4:16PM on 6-16-2005
Jeez, if it isn't one thing...it's another. I have been waiting on the v600 to come out, and I purchase it and look forward to having it work with iSync. First thing, I notice then research and read is that iSync doesn't currently support it. I think to myself...come on Apple get an iSync update out. NOW I find out, it isn't Apple, it's Motorola and support of IrMC synchronization. Fernando says a firmware update could fix this but is unlikely. I guess I don't have a question so much as venting. The technology is all right there...it just seems no one is working together as much as they should.
Any others frustrated as I am?
BTW...Cingular Corp. Stores currently only have the V600 as the sole 'bluetooth' phone. Others were there, but have since been discontinued. I wish the Nokia 6600 (like the one with TMobile) would become available with Cingular. It shows full iSync compatiblity. Is that too much to ask?
I feel a bit better. lol.
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jwdsail said 4:16PM on 6-16-2005
"Motorola does not have the IrMC Synchronization service on bluetooth. This is needed for full isync and addressbook support.
Perhaps a firmware revision for the phone would have it, but don't hold your breath"
I sent Moto a question re the IrMC issue to see what they'd say. I will post anything they see fit to send my way.
later alll...
jwdsail
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jwdsail said 4:16PM on 6-16-2005
Well "Don't hold your breath" may be the right view here, depending on what you read into this..
Thanks for contacting Motorola E-mail Support Division,
Regarding your question, unfortunately at this time, due to licensing issues, our pagers, cellular products and accessories do not support Macintosh because we have not tested our phones with their accessories. You can trust that Motorola is diligently working on future products which will hopefully include Macintosh compatibility, but we do not have an estimated time frame. For compatibility with our products please vist the Apple links below:
http://www.apple.com/isync/
http://a784.g.akamai.net/7/784/51/6a61d8106e57f9/www.apple.com/isync/pdf/iSync_Product_Overview-060303.pdf
If you need further assistance please dial 1-800-331-6456 Motorola Customer Care.
Our operation hours are from 8 am to 7 pm CST.
Please visit our web site: http://www.motorola.com and check our new products.
Thanks for choosing Motorola.
Grrrrr.... I'm sending a reply asking if 'future products' means that there is no chance of a flash update fixing this issue in current products like the v525 and v600...
People may also find these links of interest..(been trying to find as much v600/MacOS X info as I can...)
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?s=601f5fba38e9aaa16ee84a31c0df4508&threadid=367992
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?s=601f5fba38e9aaa16ee84a31c0df4508&threadid=381333
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php?s=601f5fba38e9aaa16ee84a31c0df4508&threadid=380334
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Alex said 4:16PM on 6-16-2005
If the v600 doesn't support IrMC then Apple should find another way to make it work. Maybe Apple should put together a plugin architecture for iSync so that 3rd party developers can write their own sync routines to support devices that Apple can't or won't.
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BDM said 4:16PM on 6-16-2005
So I'm trying to follow the steps outlined above for syncing single contacts, and it's not working.
I complete step 4, and then the Mac pops up a dialog saying "Waiting for device" but nothing ever comes up on the phone asking for confirmation, etc.
I do see that the phone gets a bluetooth icon - so it's connecting. Similarly, the bluetooth connection monitor on the Mac says that it's connected to the device. But no data seems to be transferred.
Anyon have any thoughts on this?
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Scott Petrie said 4:16PM on 6-16-2005
I just got my V600 today and as many of you found my isync didn't find it. but using someone's suggestion to "send card" from address book I gave it a try. then i highlighted all the contacts in my address book at once and sent them they went over no prob in a couple of seconds ( I have about 200 contacts). give it a try. if the address book is the main thing you wanted to sync with it seems to work well.
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Francis Vaughan said 4:16PM on 6-16-2005
The answer seems to be pretty simple, and I'm glad to say encouraging. Despite the dreadful answers from Motorola - who should be ashamed at the poor and confusing advice given, they probably have the right idea.
The v600 does not support IrMC and almost certainly never will, and neither should it. It does support SyncML, as do just about all the other newer phones out there. Apparently Steve Jobs even said that iSync would use SyncML - but it currently doesn't. But the market forces are such that Apple will be forced to go with SyncML - and one would guess are already are working on it. I would bet that the next major release of iSync will work perfectly with a v600. (It had better - guess who has one that is a few hours old?)
I found these two links rather worthwhile.
This one for a quick overview of the history
http://jane.mahalito.net/pipermail/zaurus-osx-sync/2003-April/000081.html
And here to get a quick feel for the way the market is going.
http://www.weblicon.net/html/mobile_devices.html
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Francis Vaughan said 4:16PM on 6-16-2005
And to add further - quoted from the iSync product overview at:
http://www.apple.com/uk/isync/pdf/iSync_Overview-060303.pdf
What is SyncML,and does iSync support it?
SyncML is an open-standard synchronization protocol supported by the Open Mobile Alliance. It is based on XML and open data formats and is designed to work with everything from servers to desktop computers to mobile phones. Apple is a strong advocate of open standards and has publicly endorsed SyncML as a future direction for iSync, but iSync does not support SyncML as of this release.
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Jorge Monday said 4:16PM on 6-16-2005
OK so the iSync doesn't work, what about sending pictures to my powerbook, or vice versa? Uploading Ringtones? Please help. I was thinking about buying the phone now I'm not so sure.
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Arno said 4:16PM on 6-16-2005
i got a v525 and i can do everything (contact sync, sending sms via mac) using this shareware : http://www.traud.de/gsm/remote/
Read all available standard phonebooks
Sending long SMS via phone
Export & Backup all standard phonebooks
Editing of the SIM and mobile phonebook is a three click task.
Very powerful but easy to use import function
Drag & Drop contacts via vCard standard
Extensive use of Balloon help
Support for a wide range of different mobile phones
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v600 user said 4:16PM on 6-16-2005
Try "OnSync" software from http://homepage.mac.com/antonioferraioli/index.html
I use this software successfully and find it pretty good. It uploads the apple adress book into the phone and allows for subsequent management and sychronization. You can upload all contacts, or select certain groups like you can in iSync.
One issue that arises with this phone is that when importing, multiple names are entered into the phone due to the the "flat" file structure of the phone verses the more modern interface of the Apple Address Book.
In other words, for every phone number and/or e-mail listing beside a name in your address book, a name will be added to your phone. If "John Doe" has 3 phones and an e-mail on a single apple v-card, the phone will add (and display) four listings for "John Doe", one for each number or e-mail address. This is very annoying and slows down the process of finding a contact's number in the phone.
One thing that I noticed is that when the phone is indentified in the window, it comes up "Motorola CE, Copyright 2000". The phonebook in the phone database in the phone seems to be over 4 years OLD! I don't understand why a manufacturer would hobble a "flagship" phone with such an old database standard.
This software will also display the phone's firmware, which may be useful.
The software cannot sync the calendar in the phone, because it is an unsupported format.
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David Sierra said 4:16PM on 6-16-2005
Perhaps Motorola didn't implement the proper firmware for isync on purpose as a way of getting back at apple for their breakup...
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BlueTooth-less in Colorado said 4:16PM on 6-16-2005
Seeing these comments about workarounds for this phone make me want to think on this some more before I buy anything. While the address book is really my primary goal for syncing, I would also like to have the option for calendar reminders. So, while I ponder that, I have a more fundamental problem:
My PowerBook G4 predates built-in bluetooth hardware. I've briefly looked around and see that I could obtain a USB dongle "bridge" for about $27-$32. Reasonable price, but would it work in syncing to cellphones under OS 10.2 or OS 10.3? Has anyone tried this? Additionally, I see that it operates on the 2.4 GhZ frequency range. I already have a WAP and cordless phone that periodically battle in that range. I suppose I am I going to further saturate that frequency, but does it have sufficient channel hopping that helps to avoid "collisions"?
Another question is that I see the v600 has a USB port on it. Will syncing work off of that as well?
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David Sierra said 4:16PM on 6-16-2005
Here is what I have found after prowling the web for hours. You can use your addressbook to export your addresses to your phone as written above, and if you can't get your computer to connect to your phone for file browsing. Try going into the phones menu>initial setup>master reset and click the master reset and enter code. Now turn bluetooth back on in the connection>bluetooth>setup menu. Now try connecting again. I have yet to figure out how to convert an mp3 to play properly on the phone but hopefully soon. also if the phone starts to lag excessively just turn it off and on again and see if that helps.
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Sean said 4:16PM on 6-16-2005
I too was very disappointed when i found out isync didn't work with my v600 and have since given up trying to sync my address book using the v600. what i do now is put my chip back in my Sony Ericsson T616 and sync it that way. Then i choose to save all the addresses to my sim card and then replace it back in my v600. It may not be the best way of doing it but it does work.
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