itchi23

So there was a thread about syncing a Pre with a Mac, but it rapidly deteriorated into petty ****** ego massaging from both Windows and Mac users - so I was hoping to open a thread for people running Macs and that were interested in the Pre - minus the usual tiresome Mac vs. PC back and forth.

I'm real interested in the Pre - I've been with Sprint for eight years and my current smartphone, the HTC Mogul, makes me feel like I'm swallowing four-month old vomit every time I use it; clearly I'm ready for a new phone and the Pre comes along just at the right time. I'm also a Mac user, and I'm concerned about syncing, platform compatibility, and support issues from both Palm and Apple. After watching a ton of videos online for the Pre, and owning an iPod Touch, one common aspect with both is their seemingly invisible syncing and data transfer between platforms. The Pre instantly connects with Google, Facebook, etc - and the iPod Touch/iPhone seamlessly connects with iCal, Addressbook, iPhoto, the App store, iTunes, etc. Both make it so that I, an experienced computer user, don't have to take time and deal with the hassle of settings, third-party software, work-arounds, etc. It's invisible and allows the user to actually use their device without worrying about setting-up their device.
Now I'm wondering if the same sort of "invisible interface" will be available for Mac users of the Pre. How much has Palm invested in convincing Mac users away from the iPhone? Honestly, I don't want to have to deal with third-party software - I want a universal experience regardless of the platform I'm running. If a manufacturer wants to beat the iPhone, then they have to offer the same backend experience for Mac users that an iPhone offers without the user having to jump through hoops, install Mark/Space, or contend with Google work-arounds. Sure, the Pre might be a greater step-forward and a "better" smartphone, but if you can't get a Mac user to switch, they're going to stick with a phone they know will connect flawlessly with their system.

I think my biggest problem is that I really want a Pre - I've had a Treo 300, 600, 650, and 700 - not to mention my Palm Vx, and some Samsung candybar smartphone that ran Palm OS. I'm excited as any other Palm fan, and I'm willing to take a chance on the Pre, but I have reservations on how well the Pre will make friends with my Macbook Pro (the app store is also another issue, but that's another thread probably.)
Since I will be getting either a Pre or iPhone within the next month or so, I'm interested in hearing opinions from other Mac users about this, if they're getting the Pre, or how they plan on resolving any issues that might arise.

pilot1000

I'm a converted Mac user as well, and am extremely interested to know how the Mac and Pre will interoperate. However, I think we're just going to have to wait until it's released for all the details. Honestly, we don't even know the details as to how it will work with the various flavors of Windows.

I think there's is good reason for optimism, though. The SDK is available (and was demoed) on the Mac. Mac people designed the phone. And since the phone has so many web capabilities, I'm thinking it's going to mostly be OS independent. However, there likely will be 3rd party apps and tweaks for tighter OS integration (for Mac, Windows, and Linux).

Of course, that's just my guess. We'll know better after the 6th (or 5th).

Oh, and in the latest "in the wild" photo, the Pre was right next to a Macbook Pro. I think that's a sign of good things to come!

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hbg

I'm a Mac user also. Apparently, using ActiveSync, it will instantly update with Exchange Servers, so in my use of Entourage it will work with the exchange server I now use to sync contacts, calendars, notes to my Mac, as well as push email to the Pre. If you use a service like Kerio Mailserver to sync with Exchange, I think it can instead sync with iCal, Apple mail, etc. too. So my guess is you are covered. Now as to Google, etc., I don't know.

Derek Kessler

Wait... what's the problem?

You can sync the Pre with Google Calendar, Contacts, Gmail, etc. And you can do the same with your Mac. The cloud becomes your metaphorical hub.

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JRBTempe

I'm a Mac user and also a happy iPhone 3G owner who's still interested in checking out the Pre (despite the absurd notion of carrying 2 cell phones and having 2 bills to pay each month, LOL).

From what I can tell, my best-case scenario for contacts & calendars is a great third-party software that I already own called Spanning Sync (I know, you said you didn't want third-party, but this one is so seamless after being set up, it's well worth it). If you're not familiar with it, Spanning Sync takes your Mac Address Book and iCal and syncs them to Google Contacts and Calendars. Since I also have MobileMe which I use for syncing across several computers and my iPhone, that means any changes to my contacts or calendar on my iPhone (for instance) are ported to my laptop, then Spanning Sync ports them over to my Google account every 5 minutes (of course, the computer has to be running for this to work, but mine runs all day long anyway).

Bookmarks are another matter, however... there's a great free plugin for Firefox, IE and Safari called Xmarks that does the job nicely on my computers (I've even got it working with Firefox on my Apple TV, which makes me chuckle every time I use it)... would be great to see Xmarks add this to the Pre as well, if it's possible (and I would think so).

As far as the rest goes, of course iTunes-purchased movies are out, but most of the music should be fine since they're gone DRM-free now. Won't be as nice as plugging in an iPhone and hitting Sync in iTunes, but with only 8 GB on the Pre, you won't likely be porting over any huge music collections anyway.

Those are my initial thoughts, feel free to share others as they come!

Bigchris

Agreed, there have been a few pics with it sitting next to a mac, I'm not too worried about it. I've been waiting on the Pre since Jan, and when I bought my Mac 3 wks ago i figured it would be ok. For the Ical and address book, I've already synced it with Google, so all my info is in the cloud now. So, when I get my Pre, it should be able to sync to Google without a problem. I really don't think we'll have to big of a problem, I think the only big one I can see for the time being (and maybe thats just my problem) is using the phone as a modem. That will probably be the only thing that may take a little while to get resolved. Other then that, most of the info on the Mac can be synced to Google.

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Remember, this is my opinion ! We all have a right to our own.....

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hbg

Well JRBTempe, you're not alone as I am also a iPhone user wanting to get the Pre.

JREwing

I was the one who started the post that rapidly deteriorated into a Mac vs PC argument.
I was most interested in how MobileMe will integrate with the Pre. But I would also like to keep using my ICal, Address Book, and ISync. I think the Pre has some features that I really like.
I feel the Iphone is a great device, as well as the new Blackberry Tour. All of these devices have some features that the other will not have. Gaming is not my thing, so those issues are irrelevant to me. I want a phone for email and websurfing, along with being able to use ITunes.

zmerahn

I too will be syncing the pre with my mac. I know address book supports syncing with google out of the box, but what are your solutions for syncing with ical? I have heard of a few solutions, but have also heard of issues with almost every one. On that note, what will you guys be using to sync ical with google?

EeZeEpEe

Spanning Sync FTW

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zmerahn

I have not tried spanning sync yet, but from what I hear it does not sync alarms/reminders. Also how does it handle shared calendars on Google?

jonathan likes the pre

I don't see any specific concerns in your post, just "what will Mac users do in the future?"

Getting music and pictures on the Pre are by drag and drop. Getting information is from online sources that work on any internet browser, and there are tutorials to get your mac apps to sync to Google online calenders, etc.

There are no issues I can see.

EeZeEpEe

Taken from http://spanningsync.com/faq.html:
Does Spanning Sync synchronize alarms/reminders?
No, but when you sync events from iCal to Google Calendar, your synchronized events will inherit the default reminder settings from their target calendar.
For instance, I have default reminders on my "Kids" Google calendar set to show me a popup 30 minutes before each event, then send me an email and then an SMS as the event gets closer. (If you've ever been late picking your kids up from preschool, you'll be with me on this.) When I create a new event in my "Kids" iCal calendar and sync it to Google Calendar, the event inherits these defaults.

At least it's better than no alarms at all.

Saw this on the front page:
iCal Sharing Has Never Been Easier
Need to set up a shared iCal calendar for your group? Spanning Sync makes it easy. Just create and share a Google Calendar, then sync it with iCal on your Mac. Changes made in Google Calendar show up in iCal—and changes made in iCal show up in Google Calendar.

So it looks like shared calenders do work. Good thing about Spanning Sync is at least there's a 15-day Free Trial.

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zmerahn

Guess I better start experimenting now!

zmerahn

Has anyone tried BusySync? How does it compare to Spanning Sync?

EeZeEpEe

Just from the looks I see it only does calendars while Spanning Sync does both calendars and contacts.

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cardfan

My eyes are glazing over. Spanning Sync? Companion link? BusySync? Google sync? Walls of text gloating over the details and how to's.

Palm needs to simplify things. Good luck explaining this Palm.

zmerahn

Doesn't Address Book sync with Google contacts out of the box?

WizardHowl

I'm a fan of free solutions. I do have a macbook pro and I had these same questions, and after doing some experimentation, I've decided that I will use gmail as my "cloud".

Right now my iCal streams PERFECTLY with google calendar, I set this up using CalDav:
Get Started with CalDAV - Google Calendar Help
Any change I make to my ical is automatically updated to google calendar, and any change to google calendar is updated onto my iCal. It also maintains all the colors I like for each of my calendars .

I'm still looking for a solution for this type of automatic syncing with Address book (some users have mentioned spanning sync), but for now I've just been exporting my contacts and loading them into google contacts, which also works very well, its just not automatic syncing.

Hope this helps.

EeZeEpEe

Only if you have an iPhone/iPod Touch does the option show up in Address Book preferences. Also Spanning Sync gets pictures synced with Google contacts while the Address Book sync option doesn't.

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