Missing the sync
First off, T-Mobile. All in all, I've been happy with their service. The coverage does seem slightly worse than Vodafone but I haven't found it unusable. On the other hand, usability, or lack thereof, is the perfect topic to segway on to the subject of the MDA.
What can I say? Window Mobile is Windows. It's everything you hate about Windows on your mobile. So, for example, it has every feature under the sun but they (a) either don't work, or (b) don't work properly, (c) don't work some of the time or, (d) work if you can find them. In other words, it's Windows.
Now the problem is that it's Windows for a device that I truly rely on and it gets the basics all wrong. Navigating to phone options, when you can find where they're hidden in the first place, is a chore. Perhaps more importantly, though:
I can't make or receive phone calls properly.
Yep, it's a phone that fails at the very basics. Making calls and receiving calls.
For one thing, I haven't, for the life of me, figured out how to alter the number of rings it takes before the damn thing goes to voice mail. The "intelligent" default is set to three. There's also so much lag that if I press the pickup button on the second ring, chances are it will go to voicemail anyway. Needless to say, my voicemail and I have become great friends and my friends have gotten used to my calling them back.
What about making calls? Touchscreen hell! You see, the phone has a touch screen but it doesn't automatically disable itself when in a call. Due to some weird adherence to tradition or ergonomic necessities, I tend to hold the phone to my ear when I talk. Funny thing is, sometimes my ear touches the phone. Or should I say the screen, since the screen is mostly the phone. Actually, what's funnier is what touching the screen with my ear can do while in a call. Mostly, it just puts the other person on hold. Sometimes, however, I manage to put the other person on hold *and* call them back on the other line. Now that's talent!
Needless to say my conversations have become much livelier. If you ever want a phone that makes you seem inept at holding a simple conversation, this is the baby for you!
And it doesn't end there. Syncing this thing is next to impossible if you have a Mac. I purchased the Missing Sync by Mark/Space along with my phone as it promised that I could "easily connect and synchronize Pocket PCs and smartphones with your Mac". I understand now that they were using the word "easily" in its other meaning, you know, as in "fiendishly difficult". Most of the time it looks like it's connecting and then just fizzles out. Creative combinations of rebooting the computer and the phone while chanting ancient Native American rain songs does seem to help on occasion. I'm just now downloading my upgrade to version 3 of the Missing Sync to see if that will help things.
At the end of the day, using the MDA still provides me with mobile Internet on my Mac and for that I'm grateful. However, as a phone, Windows Mobile is absolutely the worst solution possible. I was almost in tears while playing a new Sony K750i the other night. I can't believe it: You can make and receive phone calls with it and you can navigate through it almost without thinking. How is this possible? Oh yes, I almost forgot, it doesn't use Windows Mobile.
Update: Fingers crossed, the version 3.0 upgrade for the Missing Sync appears to be working for me at the moment. I proceeded to sync the phone wi- oh, it just lost the connection...
Update: And again (lost connection). At least it appears to be reconnecting successfully, although I have to do it manually. I am worried though because it is giving errors on some of the photos and I have it set to remove photos from the phone once they are downloaded. I hope I don't end up losing photos.
Update: Well, it took about five syncs but I think everything is finally synced between my phone and computer again. The new version is much faster. I don't think I lost any photos although there are still some left on the phone, some of which (all?) that have also been copied into iPhoto. At this point, as long as it *eventually* works, I'm happy since that's so much better than what I had before.
The Missing the sync article by Aral Balkan, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.0 UK: England License.
Ian Forrester
Get a grip Aral
Its only minor things.
Get a bluetooth headset or headphones with a answer button. This will solve most of your issues. To be honest I’ve never had these problems with my Orange SPV M600
December 19th, 2006 at 2:37 pmniqui
You did not mention that I got the Sony K750i as a “downgrade” to my overly complex and not-so-reliable Nokia N80.
December 19th, 2006 at 2:38 pmaral
C’mon Ian, making and receiving calls are the raison d’être of a phone
Windows Mobile, at least on the MDA, fails this. The amount of lag in the interface is intolerable, even by mobile standards. A bluetooth headset might alleviate the usability issue with the screen but surely it should not be a requirement to standard use of the device. Something as simple as locking the screen when in a call would have helped greatly.
December 19th, 2006 at 2:40 pmvanderwal
Don’t get me started on my Treo 650 (my 2nd and possibly soon to be 3rd) and its predicessor Treo 600. The stupid thing’s OS crashes when the phone rings at times. It is 2006 and the OS crashes on a mobile phone when the phone rings. That should not be on the market. I ruled out any Windows mobile as a next step, so looking at Blackberry, a Nokia E61 (would love a camera though) & N73, or possibly a Sony. Getting one of these (other than Blackberry) in the States is usually tough. Considering moving out of the country just to get a decent mobile.
December 19th, 2006 at 2:57 pmdrew
Do you have a similar problem in the UK to the US where you are somehow “locked” into a certain carrier when you buy a certain phone ?? I still cannot understand this.
In Australia, any phone will work on any network, and we have about 5 major networks. You can switch between any you want, as long as you pay off your plan (ie. there is a monetary, rather than technical, incentive to stay with the same provider for the life of your plan, which is most often 2 years).
I have a Nokia N80, and think it is the best phone available, though it may not be for some people as it is quite thick and chunky (though still fairly light). I like it because of the nice camera (3.2 Mp) and WiFi, as well as the Series 60 OS which lets me run lots of different apps (not that I actually run that many though…). It also syncs perfectly with my Powerbook via iSync.
And I can’t believe you had to resort to an MS phone to get net access through your Mac !!!
Best of luck finding something better, maybe you’ll have to move to Australia (or somewhere with a more progressive mobile phone system) with Thomas V
December 20th, 2006 at 3:22 amdrew
drew
Also take a look at the new Nokia N95 - lighter than the N80, with a few more features.
drew
December 20th, 2006 at 3:25 amaral
Hi Drew,
Yep, most times you’re locked in with a carrier for 12 to 18 months. You can get your phone unlocked usually — not entirely sure about the terms — I believe they vary from carrier to carrier.
Thanks for the recommendations!
December 20th, 2006 at 1:43 pmThom Shannon
Hey Aral
I’ve been working on a sync tool for windows mobile and google calendar, you could then sync your mac with google calendar quite easily. http://www.ts0.com/labels/pocketgcal.asp
December 21st, 2006 at 10:03 pmaral
Hi Thom,
That sounds really interesting — will definitely check it out. Thanks for the link!
December 22nd, 2006 at 12:53 amMiles
I too have a T-Mobile MDA with Windows Mobile. It’s a real love-hate thing.
I love the fact that I can surf the web, read emails and blogs, edit a Word doc or a spreadsheet while on the go. Really, I do. There’s more than once that these features have saved me time / money / sanity.
However, as far as working like a phone, it does kind of suck.
How long did it take me to realise that hitting the little close button top left doesn’t end the current call you’re on? Well, not long as it happens, as all my friends had a go at me for leaving 5 minute voicemails of nothing but background noise.
On the subject of the close button: have you noticed that it doesn’t actually “close” the current application? It just hides it. Not even minimises it. Just hides it. There’s no indication it’s still running. Until your phone just grinds to a halt. To truly close an application, you have to go to Start > Settings > System > Memory > Running Programs > [select application from list] > Stop. Crazy. Apparently there’s an app you can install that makes the close button close… but that shouldn’t be a plugin the user has to go looking for. Not in any operating system.
Other pet hates (that maybe I’m just too stoopid or lazy to find a solution to) include:
In the Calendar, all day events, as with regular appointments, trigger a reminder alarm 15 mins before it starts - at 23.45 the preceding day! Not fun if you’ve gone to bed nice and early. I have had to turn off the event reminder audio alarm and just have it Flash a message on screen, by going: Start > Settings > Sounds & Notifications > Notifications > Reminders (from the Event dropdown) > then deselect the “Play sound” option. Far from ideal.
If the phone is turned off or runs out of juice, you can’t charge it via a USB port, so I have to take the power plug and an adapter when I travel, just in case it runs down.
When travelling to a different time-zone, if you set the clock so that you are “Visiting” a different time-zone, it shifts all appointments in your calendar by the same number of hours. Which is a real pain.
As for the 3-strikes-and-you’re-out incoming rings, it seems to be a T-Mobile service limitation, regardless of the phone. On their general FAQ (http://www.t-mobile.co.uk/web/ha/browse.do) - which can’t be linked to directly as it uses JS to navigate all the individual QA’s(!) - it says :
Q: Can I make my phone ring longer before the voicemail starts?
A: Unfortunately not - Your phone will ring for 15 seconds before diverting to voicemail. This is in line with most other UK operators.
I haven’t yet spoken to an actual T-Mobile humanoid regarding this issue yet, but it’s certainly not in line with most other UK operators I’ve ever used. Let us know if you figure it out and I too will be able to stop leaping like a mad man on fire every time my phone rings.
January 2nd, 2007 at 7:11 pmRomain Thierry
Aral,
The experience described in your ‘paper’ fit reasonably well with my previous phone, which was running Pocket PC 2003. I took a risk and upgraded to a newer phone (SPV M600, running Windows Mobile 2005) and it is infinitely more stable / reliable. My current dilemna is what software to buy to sync it with my Mac…
Regards
Romain
January 4th, 2007 at 6:10 pmBixter
What about Pocket Mac (www.pocketmac.net). Anyone tried it? Also, how come there’s an identical site at http://www.macintoshpocketpc.com but without the secure shopping cart address?
Bixter
January 9th, 2007 at 9:35 pmMiles
I guess this may be the way forward now:
January 9th, 2007 at 10:44 pmhttp://www.apple.com/iphone/
Miles
I just found out how to change the number of rings on the T-Mobile MDA:
Start > Settings > Personal (tab) > Phone > Services (tab) > Call Forwarding (select from list) > Get Settings… > Forward After (dropdown) > 30 Seconds (or whatever you prefer).
Simple!
January 10th, 2007 at 3:15 pmaral
Very cool Miles, thanks. That’s going to make my life much easier… until the iPhone hits our shores.
January 10th, 2007 at 6:22 pmJohn
After the incrdible wave of iPhone froth has receded i’m still left facing a dam WM5 phone. The Iphone is still 8-11months away and i need to get more features now and to dump my Sony Clie PDA, possibly use the WM5 as a modem to connect to my MacBook Pro.
Are you using bluetooth to sync ?
Are you using the t-Mobile MDA vario II or Vario I ? Not sure of the diffs.
T-Mobiles plans look to be the best featured with lowest costs, but is there a specific plan required for using the smartphone as a modem for the lappy ?
January 16th, 2007 at 6:36 pmNerm
Thanks for starting this thread.
I’m in the market for a new phone that works with my mac and gives me “true” mobile internet with an open OS and the ability to acess word on the go and feel that the Vario 2 is the only solution. It feels like 1995 all over again…
Anyhow, is it easy to sync files such as downloaded attachments from your phone to your mac?
January 31st, 2007 at 12:35 pmaral
Hi Nerm,
The sync functionality appears to be hit or miss: Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve pretty much given up on using it. Waiting for the iPhone and wondering if I should get a Blackberry Pearl in the interim.
February 1st, 2007 at 11:00 amNerm
Hey Aral,
I’m looking forward to the iPhone too but need to decide in the next month or so whether to go with the Vario or the Pearl.
I travel a lot and would LOVE to get my PowerBook online on trains, airport lounges etc - not to mention edit word docs and browse the web on my handset - and also (wait for it) to make phone calls!
What would you recommend?
February 4th, 2007 at 5:15 pmaral
Hi Nerm,
Now hat Vodafone have a USB modem, I’d have to recommend them. They did screw me over, but they still do have the best solution.
I checked out the Pearl and both Vodafone and T-Mobile have ridiculously low push-email caps (10MB and 25MB, respectively, if memory serves me well.) With such low caps, the Pearl doesn’t make sense for me unless you’re running your own server.
February 5th, 2007 at 1:41 amNerm
Thanks Aral - I reckon the ability to edit docs and surf on the bus/train/plane/whatever wins it. The Vario kinda inches ahead for me (as does the included 3GB monthly limit!)
February 8th, 2007 at 1:28 amEmbraer
Aral - can you confirm what speeds you have been able to achieve using your Vario connected to your Mac. Although I have seen speeds upwards of 800k just doing speedtests straight through the phone whenever I have the laptop running speedtests connected via bluetooth the fastest I have ever achieved is 400k. Is this an issue with the script?
May 16th, 2007 at 9:00 amaral
Hi Embraer,
I’m afraid I dumped the Vario — it was giving me a real headache. I’ve got a Nokia N95 now that I absolutely *love*. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help.
May 16th, 2007 at 9:46 amEmbraer
Pity, looked at the N95, as have had Nokias before but even with a few teething problems with the Vario1 I kept the faith.
May 16th, 2007 at 11:24 amLeon
I was offered an N95 as a swap for my Vario ii, and whilst it has a number of eye-catching features (GPS, a great 5mp camera and category 6 HSDPA) I decided that the Vario ii had distinct advantages over the n95. For non-mac users it has an internet sharing function which makes laptop connections a doddle. It also has push email, MSN Live messenger with direct push hotmail, Office, multiple Video playback capabilities and a very usable sliding keyboard. I am using the Black Dymond Windows Mobile 6 ROM and have experienced no hitches whatsoever.
To solve the problem of answering calls with your ear (!) simply press the black power button on the side of the device before answering. This also saves your battery during long calls.
By the way, although I’m sure that I-Phones will sync a lot more smoothly with macs, has anyone considered that they are NOT EVEN 3G!? I can’t even imagine going back to using GPRS (EDGE if you’re lucky) speeds in the after seeing how fast the Vario ii can be. And I much prefer buttons to touchscreens. The Iphone looks simple to use and graceful and pretty to look at but perhaps a little basic….
June 3rd, 2007 at 6:07 pm