OT: what's the best (notSmart)phone for syncing with the Mac

[Rolando]

I've given up on the iPhone coming to Verizon and I have a lot of misgivings about the ATT network. I don't ever miss the need to access the internet on the road, so I don't really want to pay an extra $30 per month for that privilege.

What I do miss is not being able to have my database program, iData, on the road. But with the iPad, I will be able to sync iData to that, so I'm thinking that I don't need a smartphone, but rather a regular phone that will sync well with the Mac for contacts and calendar.

Since everybody on this forum is a Mac user, at least for drawing, I thought I would ask you for what experiences and recommendations you may have for a regular, Mac friendly, phone. Or does everybody use smartphones?

By the way, right now I'm using an ancient Kyocera 7135 that syncs with the Palm desktop, but I don't expect Palm desktop compatibility to last very long on the OSX, so I'm trying to plan for the future by expecting to use the Apple iCal and Address book applications.

[Alfred Scott]

Apple's WWDC is scheduled for June 7 and at that time many people think that Apple will announce the next iPhone and an alliance with Verizon. So you might want to wait a bit.

Alfred

[Rolando]

I've heard those rumors too, but that would mean being required to sign up for the data plan. For as little as I would access the web on the phone, I don't think it's worth it for me. I think I've moved on from the iPhone, so regardless of what happens with Verizon, I think I still want to get a regular phone as long as it can work well with the Mac.

[Rolando]

Thanks, David, I'll keep that in mind. But is anybody using something that will let them sync to the Apple iCal and Address Book apps? I'm hoping to condense things to one set of contacts.

[pbacot]

I like using the iPhone for its connectivity to the Mac. I doubt there is a closer representation or link to Address Book, iCal, iPhoto, iTunes etc. than the iPhone. You could buy it and jailbreak it. Depending on your needs for the latest technonlogy, you could get an earlier Edge phone like mine. The edge connection is so bad as to be almost useless--I only use it when I am really stuck somewhere and bored. And (slowly) check email on vacation--why am I doing that anyway? Of course there are the details of procuring one without the AT&T ("they make your iPhone unusable as a PHONE") contract, but I guess that's doable.

[Alfred Scott]

I think the iPod or iPod touch will handle the calendar and contacts. But it's not a phone.

Alfred

[Rob C]

I went through the same debate, and decided on the iPhone. In my case it meant leaving Sprint which I was not unhappy with. Getting an iPod touch and a separate phone was my other choice. More often my use of it with the web is WIFI rather than cell, and without SpamSieve, trying to wade through email is almost useless. I do like the apps, and carrying a photo portfolio around with me in my pocket is already proving useful. The GPS is great, and now I've always got a (third party) RPN calculator.

[MikeCharek]

According to the ATT map, Gainesville has pretty good coverage, including 3G. What do you have against ATT?

We switched from Verizon when we got our iPhones about 1.5 years ago, and never regretted it. Apple has made the Mac - iPhone interchange about as seamless and painfree as could be imagined. I even use the Edge network to check email and do some light web browsing, and don't find it that bad. I keep it on the Edge network because I don't do that much data work with the phone and the battery drain is less than 3G.

I can't understand why anyone would want anything else. Unless maybe they lived in an ATT black hole. Of course, if you already have an iPad, I guess that changes the equation. Why not use the iPad for all that syncing? Then you could get one of those phone-only phones.

Palm is dead. HP owns them now.

[How Goes It]

Sure wish the speaker phone was louder on the iPhone.

[raleighross]

I've heard those rumors too, but that would mean being required to sign up for the data plan. For as little as I would access the web on the phone, I don't think it's worth it for me. I think I've moved on from the iPhone, so regardless of what happens with Verizon, I think I still want to get a regular phone as long as it can work well with the Mac.

I rarely access the "web" but my iPhone is transformational to me. I'm out of the home/office a lot and it allows me to keep up without lugging around a laptop. Heck one thing I never considered until I had it was how often I'd use it to look up flight arrival times and status updates. Now I can avoid sitting around checking a computer and just go out and head for the airport on 30 minutes notice and be on time for my wife. (Someone in our family flies nearly every week.)

I use Mint and my bank's web site to check out things. I pay bills while waiting for something when I'm really busy at home. I read on it a LOT. Architects I work with are using Dropbox, Rumpus, Evernote, etc... to allow them to get a lot of work done via their iPhones and similar devices.

And of course I check my email with it.

But if you're at your "desk" 90% + of the time then maybe none of this applies to you.

And while I've heard of Verizon's network being MUCH better than Apple's it is nice to be able to use a data/web application while on the phone. I came from Sprint and just gave up on them for everything although it looks like they may be fixing some of their long standing issues with customer service and whatnot.

[raleighross]

"Verizon's network being MUCH better than Apple's"

Uh, better than AT&T's.

[Alfred Scott]

I'm pretty turned on with the iPhone 4 and plan to get them when they come out. ATT has a deal where if your contract expires this year (which mine does) that I can get the new phone at $199 with a two-year extension of the contract, which I planned to do anyway.

So I thought that I would just have to give the old iPhone away. Then I got the free eBay app and started looking at what my iPhone 3G 8GB models were selling for. You will not believe it. They are selling often for $200 or more! What a no-brainer!

(And have you checked out Glee, where you can sing along with people all over the world? What a world we live in!)

Alfred

[How Goes It]

And have you checked out Glee, where you can sing along with people all over the world?

Coka Cola should work with Apple to do an updated version of the TV commercial -"I'd like to teach the world to sing ...", using iPhones and GLEE.

[pbacot]

Coka Cola should work with Apple to do an updated version of the TV commercial -"I'd like to teach the world to sing ...", using iPhones and GLEE.

gag. How about something more like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xjPODks ... re=channel

[Davydd]

When this thread started Rolando had a concern for paying $30 for data. Now you can get in for $15 for 200 mb max per month. Let me put that in perspective. I travel a lot in an RV putting in over 30,000 miles in about 40 states since I got my iPhone two years ago. The most data I used in a month over 200 mb was once just this last April and that was 210 mb. I was on the road nearly all that month. So the $15 plan looks like a no-brainer to me. Why? Because most of the time I am using the iPhone on my wifi network at home or other wifi networks on the road, and wifi is getting more and more prevalent. Usually only in the auto am I quickly checking for data over 3G or Edge. I don't think anyone else has a $15 plan so AT&T is doing me a favor with their new data plans.

Does anything sync as well or better with a Mac? In a nutshell, NO. If you have MobileMe you have even more of an advantage with the iPhone and Mac combo. It seems so easy to forget but an iPhone is also a full blown iPod. I haven't seen it yet but all indications are the new iPhone 4 might be one super e-Reader with the new 960 x 640 screen. No other smartphone can match the iPhone yet for web browsing. No other smartphone can let you look up something in an app when you are talking on a call. Most other smartphones don't even have the number of apps in total that Apple adds per week (14,000) for the iPhone.

Like I mentioned. I travel the country a lot. AT&T's coverage is better than what the competition would like to imply to you. Their 3G is faster than the competition and Edge is just about everywhere and it surprisingly is no slacker in speed on the iPhone. If you are a business traveler to major cities AT&T probably bests Verizon. If you camp in National Forests and the boonies like I do, it doesn't matter. Usually neither has you covered.