Sticking to Verizon - Droid or Palm Pre for syncing with Mac?

[eternal_capture]

The boyfriend has an iPhone and while I enjoy using his, I just cannot make the switch to AT&T because guess what cell phone he uses when he actually wants to make a call from our apartment...that's right...my old Verizon Razr.

I am considering the Motorola Droid or the Palm Pre, but all of the reviews I am finding compare Droid vs. iPhone.

Any personal experiences with syncing either to your mac or web resources comparing the two? Any features one has over the other one making it more convenient or mac friendly?

I appreciate any insight you may have! Hate to be stuck with a phone for two years if I make the wrong call...

 

[fade]

I'd go droid personally. Although, I've heard roomers of the CDMA Google Nexus 1 passing FCC tests so If you can hold out a bit, you will have another option to consider.

 

[cwa107]

I would also go with the Droid, but I would recommend the Droid ERIS (HTC). I had an opportunity to play with both and the ERIS IMO is the better phone overall (which is surprising because normally I hate HTC).

My contract is up in April - can't wait to see if I can get one for free.

 

[Kash]

I would recommend checking out both in person. Play around with the phone, see which one feels more natural to you.

 

[XJ-linux]

Subscribed. I'd like to know which has better luck syncing with OS X. I'm jumping off the iPhone ship if the next hardware release is still AT&T bound. I'm aware of the features of the two, but am particularly interested in the realities syncing of the phone with the OS.

 

[eternal_capture]

Subscribed. I'd like to know which has better luck syncing with OS X. I'm jumping off the iPhone ship if the next hardware release is still AT&T bound. I'm aware of the features of the two, but am particularly interested in the realities syncing of the phone with the OS.

Yes! Exactly! I've played with both in person...they're easy to navigate...they're both pleasant to use, but you can't take your Macbook Pro in there and sync them to see which is easier/more efficient. I mean, even if they would let me do that, I don't want my contacts and calendar on some demo phone.

 

[MYmacROX]

Yes! Exactly! I've played with both in person...they're easy to navigate...they're both pleasant to use, but you can't take your Macbook Pro in there and sync them to see which is easier/more efficient. I mean, even if they would let me do that, I don't want my contacts and calendar on some demo phone.

IF you could get the store to allow you to bring your Macbook in and practice syncing with the phones...
You could just create a guest account on your Mac and set up a handful of fake contacts and calendar events. That way your personal info is safe and you can just delete the guest account when you get home. No harm done.

 

[eternal_capture]

IF you could get the store to allow you to bring your Macbook in and practice syncing with the phones...
You could just create a guest account on your Mac and set up a handful of fake contacts and calendar events. That way your personal info is safe and you can just delete the guest account when you get home. No harm done.

Doh! So simple, yet I never would have thought to do it like that. I have a friend that works at the store so if I can pull some strings, I'll report back what I find out!

 

[Kash]

You can use the Google Sync option for both the Palm Pre and Droid, where iCal and Address Book is uploaded to Google and then that info is added to your phone.

As for direct syncing with a USB cable, you can get The Missing Sync for both the Palm Pre and the Droid.

 

[eternal_capture]

You can use the Google Sync option for both the Palm Pre and Droid, where iCal and Address Book is uploaded to Google and then that info is added to your phone.

As for direct syncing with a USB cable, you can get The Missing Sync for both the Palm Pre and the Droid.

The problem with that is that I've been trying to sync iCal with Google, set up the calendars in Google to match my calendar names in iCal, but when I try to import them I get, "Failed to import events: Unable to process your iCal/CSV file." Sweet.

Not only that, but then everyday I would have to re-upload my files to keep them in sync, wouldn't I? I know Address Book has a feature you can set in your preferences to automatically sync your contacts, but as far as I can tell, iCal doesn't.

The downfall to the USB cable is a) Having to buy the USB cable and b) Having to have it on me at all times if I want to sync

So if both phones are set up like that, I guess I deal with it, but if someone knows that one can avoid the hassle, I'd love to know before I make the purchase.

The Verizon friend is bringing home the Palm this week, so I will see first hand what that one is capable of doing.

 

[XJ-linux]

Keep up posted. Thanks, and happy hunting!

 

[eternal_capture]

Okay, so I got the phone last night to toy with and it is just as bad as I was expecting.

Bluetooth (to send files or browse device) responds: "The device does not have the necessary services"...which even my old OLD motorola razr is cable of, so that is ridiculous.

iSync says: "iSync cannot connect to this device"...again, old razr can, so the downgrade really bothers me.

Google Cal and Contacts did sync with it, but only on the Palm end. Nothing changed in my Google account (it says that if I add to my phone, it automatically changes in Google) and that should be completely unrelated to owning a mac.

When you hook up the USB, you can drag and drop ringtones, wallpapers, and files, but I never did find on the phone access to the "File" file.

Plus the keyboard is awkward because if you put the phone on the side to view a web browser, but you have to type, you have to flip the phone back and slide the keyboard out....sounds painless, but it got real old, real fast.

Hope that helps you guys...I'm going to try to get my hands on a Motorola Droid.

 

[eternal_capture]

Got a hold of a Motorola Droid and while it isn't perfect, it is better than the Palm Pre Plus if you ask me. Still no easy sync solutions, but here is what I found out:

iSnyc doesn't work with it.
Bluetooth doesn't let you "browse" the device, but it WILL send files to it.
I was able to get my contacts, photos, music (and turn into ringtones), and iCal events onto the Droid without having to deal with Google Sync. It gives you a warning message, something about the phone not being able to read the file or something, but when you send the file anyway, it opens with no problem. iCal and Address book files won't send through Bluetooth, only the USB.

However, I don't have an easy answer for syncing the phone to your computer, which was the main thing I was trying to find out. I did see there's an app to sync the phone to your computer for $3.99 as opposed to the much more expensive Missing Sync App for the Palm.

For both phones, like the iPhone, the USB cable is part of the charging cable so you don't have to pay extra for it. The Droid is definitely faster than the Palm and I appreciate that it has the physical and on screen keyboard out of the box. It doesn't have the pinch screen, but that isn't a deal breaker for me.

I'm going to buy the Motorola Droid and the $3.99 sync app and will let you know if it works as well as I am hoping it does.

 

[XJ-linux]

Great information .Thanks for sharing your research. Much appreciated.
Dave

 

[Kash]

However, I don't have an easy answer for syncing the phone to your computer, which was the main thing I was trying to find out. I did see there's an app to sync the phone to your computer for $3.99 as opposed to the much more expensive Missing Sync App for the Palm.

For both phones, like the iPhone, the USB cable is part of the charging cable so you don't have to pay extra for it. The Droid is definitely faster than the Palm and I appreciate that it has the physical and on screen keyboard out of the box. It doesn't have the pinch screen, but that isn't a deal breaker for me.

There's A Missing Sync for Android.

By "pinch screen" I presume you mean multitouch gestures? If so, then the Droid will be getting that feature and many more really soon with the 2.1 update.

 

[AllisonRuth]

I know you're probably wanting a touch phone. I am on verizon and have a blackberry and i love it! I am also able to sync my blackberry with my mac. maybe you should give it a try. also, the storm 2 is touch and way better than the first one that came out.

 

[XJ-linux]

Anything new on the Droid sync with Mac OS X?