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Well...

Bluetooth is an open standard, and the SonyEricsson T68i (and a few others) use SyncML, another open standard. So such a phone would be perfectly capable of syncing under Linux, just as soon as someone writes the software.

OTOH, if you use MacOS X, then this functionallity is already built into iSync.

* Requires Outlook/Notes for address book sync

Whaa?

You mean it doesn't support syncml, ala iSync and the T68 series?

That'd be mighty stupid if they didn't.. Is there even a bluetooth/syncml plugin for any of the main linux PIMs?

for some reason they decided to drop the XML format from the PIM

If this is really so, this means they lost me as a prospective customer. I don't want a Linux PDA to play the same old games with proprietary formats.
At least, until SyncML synchronization is unavailable for C700, there is little reason for me to prefer it over Pocket PC. Heck, there are SyncML add-ons for Pocket PC already.

If I carry my PDA with me on my belt clip, I find that I will use it often.

Snychronising is quite fast. You should only synchronise with one computer to avoid slow sync ... (which as the name implies ... is very slow.) slow sync happens when the markers (technically known as sync anchors ref: http://www.syncml.org) don't match ....

At one stage, my belt clip broke and I couldn't find a replacement ... for about a year ... so I did not use it for a year.

I am currently using a very old model ... the palm IIIx ... it is monochrome ... so last about 1 month .... uses standard AAA batteries .... so don't need to recharge ... just replace ....

The resolution was syncml.org, a protocol and spec for universal syncing of data. I bet bookmarks are in there if you look hard enough.

Who would make such standards? Surely Microsoft could give it a stab, and then extend it beyond usefulness. Maybe some of the existing standards are good enough, or could be extended (vCard, vCal, etc.).

As other posters hinted already, there is SyncML.
As for the vCard XML representation, it was devised by someone who didn't understand what XML attributes are for. These "special marker" elements inside other elements used to make some of us pull our hair out.

yes and some more alpha code
http://www.mozilla.org/mailnews/arch/ABSyncClientD esign.html

but the real deal is
SyncML that works on phones and soon palms that is a nice stable platform for doing this the only problem would be patents but since they dont have any filed in taiwan it does not really matter

http://sync4j.sourceforge.net/ is a big list

regards

john jones

Keep your eyes open for SyncML phones like the Ericsson T39. Looks like a pretty cool standard and fairly open...

uses a super-compatible (xml) format to store address info that would be interchangeable between cell phones, computers of any OS, and handhelds.

SyncML is exactly that - any compatible device (my shiny new 9210 does it :P) that can talk syncml can exchange contacts, data, and other personal info without problem. It's open too. Yum.

the home of the specification
hmmm can't find a linux project for it. anyone what to start one?

nmarshall

The law is that which it boldly asserted and plausibly maintained..

Personally, I'd be a lot more interested in working on this if the Palm devices spoke some standard, open protocol for synchronization.

Check this out. When it's finalized, it ought to provide a reasonable standard for synchronization.

So me saying "Linux people" was a mistatement. I hope you get what I meant.
No problem. Got it.

You may want to checkout SyncML, which was specifically created to deal with getting the content from one device to the other. Bluetooth was designed to replace cables and does a pretty good job at that. I would much prefer to see a general solution such as SyncML be used that is not tied to Bluetooth. Seperation of functionality is a Good Thing(TM).
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