CIO.com confirms rumors that I've been hearing for at least six months: RIM is preparing to release native BlackBerry utilities for Mac users. According to CIO.com's source, who requested anonymity, the software tools are being prepped for the first half of 2009.

This is great news for any BlackBerry user who also happens to be a Mac fanatic. It's hard enough to reconcile using a 'Berry when all your friends and colleagues are on iPhones -- but the desktop software situation can make even the most die-hard CrackBerry fan reconsider his or her mobile device choice.

Right now, there are two ways to connect the BlackBerry with OS X: PocketMac, which is free and just got an update, and The Missing Sync, which is $39.95. Neither option allows you to upgrade your BlackBerry's onboard OS, make backups of your programs or settings, or reliably install software directly onto the device. You can sync your contacts and calendar (but be careful, the wrong step might nuke them), access and transfer photos and music, and charge the BlackBerry, but that's pretty much where the Mac experience ends.

As of right now, the only way a Mac user can actually upgrade the OS on his or her BlackBerry is to use BootCamp or a virtualization program like VMWare Fusion or Parallels. It's the kind of PITA that prevents people like me from hacking around with their phones, unless I have a fully updated VM handy. If you don't have an Intel Mac or you don't have a Windows license -- you've basically got to find someone who does, and borrow their computer.

Thankfully, not only does it look like native Mac tools are FINALLY going to arrive, future OS updates will be done OTA (over the air), putting an end to this sort of nastiness once and for all. Frankly, I can't wait until I can actually manage my BlackBerry without having to run a virtual machine.

Mac sync software developer Mark/Space has announced the release of The Missing Sync for Symbian. Designed to sync Mac apps to Symbian S60 and UIQ smartphones, the new $39.95 product (electronic download) has a unique feature -- Proximity Syncing. When your Mac and Symbian phone are within Bluetooth range (about 30 feet / 10 meters), they automatically sync to insure that both are up-to-date.

The Missing Sync for Symbian syncs personal information such as contacts, calendar tasks, and events, and also uses proprietary Call Log and SMS applications to move the phone's call log and text messages to the Mac. Video, photo, music, and document files can also be synced.

If you think that the iPhone is the only smartphone on the market, it's important to realize that well over 100 million Symbian-based phones have been sold worldwide, with Nokia, Sony Ericsson, and Motorola being the biggest vendors. As a result, the Missing Sync for Symbian is available in English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish versions.

In the interest of full disclosure, I wrote the help system for this application under contract to Mark/Space.

When I saw that Mark/Space was planning to release a version of Missing Sync for iPhone my first reaction was: what for? But as it happens I think they've hit upon some needed features that are actually missing from the out-of-the-box iPhone experience. First is a Migration Assistant for moving contacts, calendar entries, and photos from a Palm, Windows Mobile, or Blackberry device onto your Mac and thence to the iPhone. It also syncs your SMS messages and call log to your Mac so you don't lose information when you hit the storage limits on the iPhone. Best of all, perhaps, is Notes syncing, which will allow you to view iPhone notes in Yojimbo, Entourage, or Mark/Space's Notebook application. Unfortunately, however, it appears that it's only one-way, from the iPhone to the Mac, and not vice versa. This lack two-way Notes syncing remains a puzzling lacuna as far as I'm concerned, and I'm looking forward to somebody, whether it be Apple or Mark/Space, filling this obvious hole in the iPhone feature set.

Missing Sync for iPhone won't be available until the 4th quarter and will sell for Mark/Space's normal price of $39.95, but crossgrades will be offered from other Missing Sync products.

[via MacNN]

It's sad but true; not everybody can have an iPhone. But for those poor souls with a supported Windows Mobile device, things just got a little bit better as Mark/Space has released version 4.0 of their Missing Sync for Windows Mobile with support for the new Windows Mobile 6 platform. New to version 4, Mark/Space has added plugins for video support (both ways), call logs, and SMS messages. And as always Missing Sync continues syncing support for iCal, Address Book, iTunes, iPhoto, etc.

Missing Sync for Windows Mobile is $39.95 and upgrade pricing is $24.95 from a variety of Missing Sync products.

As a Palm user I've been jealous ever since Missing Sync for Windows Mobile added support for syncing notes from Yojimbo last year. Fortunately, Mark/Space has finally stepped up to the plate and the newly released version 6.0 of Missing Sync for Palm adds Yojimbo syncing as well (Mark/Space's own Notebook and Entourage 2004 are also supported for notes). Other new features include some Treo specific features for importing video as well as the Treo's SMS message history. Also new is video encoding support. All in all this looks like a substantial upgrade for Palm users, particularly those with Treos.

The Missing Sync for Palm OS is $39.95 and an upgrade from the previous version is $24.95.

It is ironic that I just recently found this new beta of Missing Sync for Windows Mobile, as a BlackBerry Pearl is arriving today to replace my Samsung BlackJack, which I can no longer stand. Nevertheless, I know there are plenty of Mac users out there who are rollin' with Mark/Space's Missing Sync to get their Windows Mobile device to sync with Mac OS X, and I thought y'all might be interested in a new beta that takes Flight Mode out of the picture. Though it isn't specifically listed in the release notes for this current version (3.0.2b6 as of this writing), Windows Mobile users no longer have to shut off the phone radio (what is known as Flight Mode) to perform a sync over Bluetooth. This is great news since turning off the phone radio, as handy of a UI as it may be, is still a clunky and annoying process. Support for a few more devices has also been added, as have the typical batch of bug fixes, so check out Mark/Space's testing page for a download link and release notes with more details.

Now, where's FedEx with that Pearl...

Rejoice, o ye owners of Pearls and such: Mark/Space's Missing Sync for Blackberry is out of beta and on sale today. $40 for new licenses, $20 for cross-grades from other Missing Sync editions... but wait, you say, isn't PocketMac for Blackberry free of charge now? Yes it is, and you get what you pay for. (Kidding. Much love, PocketMac.)

A couple of key features in MSfB for the road warriors among us: iTunes and iPhoto syncing for capable devices (eh), you can charge your Blackberry via your laptop's USB ports (yay!), and Notes sync now includes Yojimbo as a data source (YAY!). Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be a demo download available at the moment, so I suppose you pays your money and you takes your chances.

One of the key features of .Mac is extensible application syncing. Sure, there have been roll-your-own-.Mac contests, plenty of solutions for individual apps and even a guide for switching from .Mac to Google, but none of these have offered a serious replacement for the entire syncing umbrella that .Mac offers. SyncTogether from the makers of Missing Sync, looks to change all of this.

This new syncing app from Mark/Space works with many of the same fundamental apps, such as Address Book, iCal, Mail and Safari, but it employs some unique features. For example, you can chose specific groups in Address Book (instead of simply 'everyone'), and you can then share this information with other users on your home network. Want to let mom, dad and the kids all collaborate and add iCal events for Macworld 2008? SyncTogether has you covered, though it might be a little clunky to work with: local syncs sound easy, but the system requirements state that you must know a machine's physical IP if you're going to sync remotely while you're away from that machine.

For now, SyncTogether is planned to drop Q1 of 2007, and until then, there is least one major question that I haven't been able to answer from Mark/Space's product page: Will it be open to 3rd parties like Apple's Sync Services? As far as pricing is concerned, users who are unhappy with .Mac's yearly subscription model will probably rejoice that SyncTogether's price is already set at a flat $49.95, but those are all the details we have for now.

[Update: Our own Mat Lu clued me in (via email) on the fact that SyncTogether is very likely the product of Mark/Space's acquisition of MySync. MySync, for those who aren't familiar, *did* support any extra 3rd party apps that plugged into Apple's Sync Services, so in theory, apps like Yojimbo and Transmit should already be along for the ride, with no extra work on Mark/Space's part necessary. However, Mat also pointed out, and I agree, that it's kind of strange that SyncTogether's page makes no mention of this extensibility.]

If you haven't yet made arrangements to sell your Blackberry to an unsuspecting family member on May 31, you might be interested in some syncing options that are more, shall we say, fully featured than the free PocketMac 4. Sync ninjas Mark/Space are working on 'black(berry) to the Mac future' with The Missing Sync for Blackberry.

No specific shipping date other than 'Q1 2007,' but when it does arrive it will allow direct sync with iCal and Address Book plus a standalone notebook app; other PIM apps will sync through via iSync and hence to the Blackberry. If we can get a pair of eyes over to Mark/Space's booth at Macworld, we will check it out.

Thanks Jeff L.

Due to a SonyEricsson phone that recently passed away, I took a leap of faith and purchased a Windows Smartphone device, primarily because I want push email and I think the BlackBerry OS was beaten beyond death with a fugly stick (yes, I know it's still all the rage with the kiddies these days). Device and OS debates aside, I was pleased to discover that the most recent 3.0 version of Missing Sync for Windows Mobile supports syncing items from Yojimbo, though there is a limit - bookmarks and PDFs don't seem to sync; just text notes (to Missing Sync's credit, however, browser bookmarks can be synchronized through a separate included plugin).

I'm not sure how long it's done this, since I helped test the 2.5 beta back during the summer and I don't remember Yojimbo being on the list. Regardless, it's a welcome addition and alternative to syncing mostly Apple and Microsoft apps, however I should warn you of one more catch: Smartphone devices (which I bought) don't seem to be able to edit these notes (just like they can't edit Office docs either; only view them), though full-fledged Pocket PC/Windows Mobile can edit them just fine. I've found a few 3rd party apps that might be able to overcome this hurdle, though I haven't had the chance to give any of them a run-through just yet. If anyone knows any better, you know what to do.

Mark/Space, purveyors of the Missing Sync line of software which allows all kinds of non-iSync compatible devices shake hands with your Mac, has released Missing Sync for Windows Mobile version 2.5. This update includes support for a wide array of Windows Mobile 5 devices. This update also includes improvements to syncing with Address Book, iCal and Microsoft Entourage 2004.

I helped test out the alpha a couple of months ago, back when I temporarily lost my senses and *gulp* actually owned a Windows Mobile 5 device (the Cingular 8125, if you're interested). While I ditched the device because I couldn't stand the Windows Mobile OS (or: 'regained my senses'), I must say: the syncing worked well, and I would realistically recommend this app for anyone who wants or needs to make a Windows Mobile device work with their Mac.

Missing Sync for Windows Mobile 2.5 is a free upgrade for owners of version 2.0, and a $20 upgrade for owners of version 1.x. A fresh licenses costs $40.

Mark/Space, purveyors of popular Missing Sync middle-man software that lets more than just iSync-friendly devices shake hands with your Mac, has just announced yet another version in their lineup: Missing Sync 1.0 for the PSP. In addition to all those games, movies and music files you're lugging around with Sony's hot little gaming machine, you can now synchronize Address Book, iCal events and tasks, notes (with their included Notebook app), WebSnacks™ (a website downloader that can include RSS feeds for offline viewing), iPhoto albums, iTunes playlists, game backups, and even track content across multiple memory sticks. To top it all off: Mark/Space even included a Universal Binary video encoder if all those other goodies are already boring you.

If all of this has your PSP thumbs 'a tappin' and you're ready to download a demo, you might be disappointed by a Mark/Space tradition that's always irked me: as far as I can tell, no demo is available; you either have to take the plunge and drop the $29.95 for a license, or gaze at the product page from afar, never to open a Missing Sync for PSP .DMG file of your very own.