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Practical Cell Phones to Complement Mac OS X?

Posted by Cliff on from the intel-or-PPC-it-matters-not dept.

Silas asks: "It's about time to trade up my Samsung A500 (a robust flip-phone that has served me well) to a new cell phone, and I'm looking for recommendations. I'd like something pretty no-nonsense that does the basics very well (sound quality, intuitive button placement and UI, compact physical design -- no camera, and no annoying ringtones) but I'm also ready to start connecting my phone to other parts of my life. In particular, I'd like to find something compatible with iSync on Mac OS X Tiger for addressbook and calendar stuff, and I wouldn't mind trying out the bluetooth madness for proximity login/keychain auth, etc. I've also had the ability to connect my Powerbook to the net through the phone with Sprint PCS's Vision program and a USB cable from The Shack, and preserving that capability would be nice, but is less important in a world of hotspots, and I'm fine with switching carriers. Any help is much appreciated, even if it's just brand/category generalizations."

3 of 99 comments (clear)

  1. Sony-Ericsson by fatalb7 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    They all sync perfectly.
    Easy to use them to connect your Mac via BT.
    Lots of models.
    Sturdy.
    Better UI than Nokia IMHO.

  2. sony ericsson p910 by madgamer · · Score: 2, Interesting
    i started with a sony ericsson t68 which was nice. i upgraded to t610 which was good for a couple of years, but the reception sucked and it broke all the time. i upgraded to a blackberry t1700 but the ui sucked and there was no isync bluetooth support.

    i returned it and got a sony ericsson p910 and it is without a doubt the best phone i've ever had. isync support with address book (pictures too), calendar, to-do's, file sharing, etc.

    aside from the pda aspects, cameraphone, vidphone, app support, memory stick duo, mp3/mp4 audio player, video player, etc... which may be too much feature-creep for you, i really appreciate the full qwerty keyboard for sms, the big screen, the (relative) simplicity of the ui, and the speakerphone, which make it a pleasure to use as a phone, first and foremost.

    with salling clicker, i get itunes with album covers, iphoto picture browsing, email reading, and all that other fancy stuff.

    ymmv, of course, but i love this phone.

  3. Treo 650 by Hackysack · · Score: 2, Interesting

    On any GSM provider (Cingular in the US; Rogers, Fido in Canada, any in Europe) the Treo650 is a marvelous companion to yer laptop.

    Bluetooth hotsych (not with isync that I could find), Bluetooth Dialup GRPS connection. And VNC client for your laptop for the phone.

    Just please do be careful if you're roaming and GPRSing, my provider and I are still arguing about the 6,000 bill I recieved after a month of using the phone in Italy.