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OS X friendly CELL PROVIDERS?

M

mister880

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 20, 2002
71
0
A few months back Steve was on stage showing how bluetooth worked with iSYNC and how your bluetooth enabled mac could use your cell phone to make a truly wireless internet connection...

I have been looking at cingular, t-mobile, nextel, sprint pcs, and verizon.. None of them seem to really plug OS X support. Does anybody here use their mac to connect to any of these guys data network? What kind of data speeds are you getting? How tuff was it to setup?

Right now I am leaning heavy towards a Nokia 3650 using tmobile... So far they look the best because of the rate plans and their "unlimited internet" Plus it looks like the nokia is tottally supported by isync..

Kevin Leidecker
--> KEVTV.COM <--
 
I have Verizon and I think it's the worst. They don't offer any Nokia phones so if you're looking for a Nokia phone you can forget it.

Oh how I wish T-Mobile had better coverage in my area. I'd make the jump in a heartbeat.
 
Re: OS X friendly CELL PROVIDERS?

Originally posted by mister880
A few months back Steve was on stage showing how bluetooth worked with iSYNC and how your bluetooth enabled mac could use your cell phone to make a truly wireless internet connection...

I have been looking at cingular, t-mobile, nextel, sprint pcs, and verizon.. None of them seem to really plug OS X support. Does anybody here use their mac to connect to any of these guys data network? What kind of data speeds are you getting? How tuff was it to setup?

Right now I am leaning heavy towards a Nokia 3650 using tmobile... So far they look the best because of the rate plans and their "unlimited internet" Plus it looks like the nokia is tottally supported by isync..

Kevin Leidecker
--> KEVTV.COM <--
Click to expand...

i think they all provide os x support, just as basically every dialup isp can work with just about any os.

i dialed up via t-mobile to free aol through my bluetooth sony ericsson t68i for a week or so before i got my cable modem installed at my new place. worked fine, but was slow as sin.

you just need to realize, if you plan on getting decent speeds, you need to not dialup through your phone, you need to us GSM (or whatever) which is the always on internet for your phone. still not quick, but better. with t-mobile it will cost you about $20 extra per month for either unlimited or 20mb of transfer.

there are several programs out there which will help you set up the GSM connnection with your mac, but they all cost, one was about $100 i think.

so basically, it is very possible, and very expensive, and very slow.

edit- gsm oops!
 
-mister880

I have a 3650 and a 12" Powerbook. My Mobile sevice is AT&T's mLife.

I have to say it's been a wonderful experience - but I may have found the right phone-nerd. When I came in, he jumped at the chance - he wasn't too knowledgeable about Macs, but he wanted to learn and knew AT&T very well.

The 3650 comes with "PC Suite" for the phone - Mac users don't need it. With BT and iSync, you're set. I'm just hoping that apple updates iSync for Symbian for Calendar and ToDo syncing as well.

Also, the 3650 gets incredible reception! I had reception in the third basement (bottom) level of the Chicago Tribune Tower last night. Yeah, it's a bit bulky, but light. The keys are a little strange, but you get used to it. Other than that, the 3650 hits all the needs I had - you should be just as happy.

I'm going back Friday for the Jabra FreeSpeak BT headset.
 
Sprint and Verizon both use CDMA and there are virtually no BT phones that are CDMA. You can thank Qualcomm for that, as they want to be the only ones making chipsets. That will change with OMAP, which is what most of the GSM carriers use and it much easier for them to offer BT. If you want BT, go with GSM from AT&T Wireless, Cingular or T-Mobile. You will find a larger selection of GSM phones available for AT&T and T-Mobile though because of the frequency used.
 
Yeah, I have the same problem. I have had verizon for years now and like the coverage. T-Mobile has been rated very poorly, so I don't want to switch. But until the T610 comes out, there are no CDMA BT phones. :mad: I don't know what to do. I sure don't want to pay a whole bunch of money for a phone. Verizon has great service and the worst selection of phones. Phooey.
 
Re: Re: OS X friendly CELL PROVIDERS?

Originally posted by idkew
i think they all provide os x support, just as basically every dialup isp can work with just about any os.

i dialed up via t-mobile to free aol through my bluetooth sony ericsson t68i for a week or so before i got my cable modem installed at my new place. worked fine, but was slow as sin.

you just need to realize, if you plan on getting decent speeds, you need to not dialup through your phone, you need to us gprs (or whatever) which is the always on internet for your phone. still not quick, but better. with t-mobile it will cost you about $20 extra per month for either unlimited or 20mb of transfer.

there are several programs out there which will help you set up the gprs connnection with your mac, but they all cost, one was about $100 i think.

so basically, it is very possible, and very expensive, and very slow.
Click to expand...

How do you set that up? Im in Canada on Rogers and i would like to dial out to an ISP through my Motorola C333.
 
BT, T610, from Amazon w/ Rebate

Go to the iSync page and they show all the phones that are compatible w/ iSync, iCal, Address Book. I would suggest the T610 from T-Mobile which includes BT (very cool btw). If you go to Amazon they were offering a 200 rebate on this phone as well as the Nokia.
 
Originally posted by mactastic
Yeah, I have the same problem. I have had verizon for years now and like the coverage. T-Mobile has been rated very poorly, so I don't want to switch. But until the T610 comes out, there are no CDMA BT phones. :mad: I don't know what to do. I sure don't want to pay a whole bunch of money for a phone. Verizon has great service and the worst selection of phones. Phooey.
Click to expand...

Why not one of the other GSM players? Cingular does rely on T-Mobile for coverage in areas that they are not though.

More rural carriers are rolling out GSM, some will finish by the end of this year while other will start next year and finish next year. TDMA is big with the rural and GSM is migration path. So GSM coverage will constantly be growing. In some of the rural areas where CDMA is not offered, Sprint and Verizon rely on analog and on January 1, 2005 the FCC has ruled that analog service can be terminated.

GSM has more of a phone selection as the GSM/TDMA consortium has ~86% of the market, with CDMA with about 14%. The satellite phones have a very small market share and iDen even less. The GSM phone vendors also use standard components like OMAP; which is the key to have innovative products on the market at affordable pricess. GSM is closing on one billion subscribers and GSM/TDMA has as much subscriber base if not more then CDMA in the US.

Also, I think you are talking about the T606 for CDMA and SE has ceased CDMA R&D and the carriers that were looking at the phone has supposedly dropped it.
 
Originally posted by Juventuz
I have Verizon and I think it's the worst. They don't offer any Nokia phones so if you're looking for a Nokia phone you can forget it.

Oh how I wish T-Mobile had better coverage in my area. I'd make the jump in a heartbeat.
Click to expand...

I think this is a good thing. Verizon used to have Nokia phones, but a salesman at the Verizon store told me they stopped carrying them because of a high failure rate and poor reception.

Pretty much any carriers service can be jury-rigged to work with OS X. I have Verizon and I use my Audiovox CDM-9500 to connect to the internet using Verizons free ISP. I believe they now include 144Kbps data access for free on all plans, which uses only your cell minutes. If you want, you can get unlimited access for $80 a month. Go to the Yahoo! Group maccellphone and you will find a lot of information on macs and wireless web.
 
-Lanbrown, hugulu

Just a little info on the Sony Ericsson T610. First off, it is GSM, not CDMA. Secondly, in North America, it's not the T610, it is the T616 as the 900mhz band of the normal GSM phone is lowered to 850mhz. Though the 1800mhz and 1900mhz bands are the same as true GSM phones.

There are two devices in my life that I need absolute confidence, my Palm is one, the other is my phone. So I have been doing a lot of research in this area for the last month. I befriended the sales clerk at the AT&T store in my office tower and talked about his experiences. Well, he wanted the T616, and was waiting for them to come in. He'd be happy to tell me what he thought of his own time with it once he had it in hand.

Then there was a recall that delayed the whole works. There was an issue with the battery setting up a loud hiss after a few minutes of use.

Ok, I could get beyond that.

I continued my reserch and learned that the screen was damn near impossible to see in bright light - let alone sunlight.

But the chief worry for me was reception. I had read and heard that the T616 was a little better than the T610, but then only about the same as a T68i, which is notorious as having horrid reception.

On Sunday of this week, I visited a store I know that carried the T616 (too expensive there, full $219) but I got to test it out. Yep, the screen was hard to read in light and very narrow a viewing angle, and the reception was non-existent though it was in a hot area for GSM service.

Well, ok, it's still small, light, and had the BT I wanted, so I thought I could deal.

Monday was the day that I'd get my final review from the salesman. I had decided to "damn the torpedos" and get it anyway - my heart was set. So I walked in to the AT&T store with money in hand.

And to my surprise, the salesman had not bought the T616, he'd gotten the 3650. A phone I hadn't even considered due to it's strange looks, and bulkyness relative to the teensy T616. And that I couldn't use Salling Clicker with it. Turns out he did buy the phone, but it never held a call. Not one.

So we talked about his experiences...

Well, I now have a 3650. And yes, it doesn't work with Salling Clicker. Instead I use Romeo, which does the same thing exactly, but it's for the Symbian OS of the phone (Read: Symbian, future-ready; only other phone with Symbian right now is the S/E P800).

You saw my comment about the reception of it above so I'll leave you with this:

Don't buy the T616. Please. I'm trying to save you heartache guys.

But you don't have to read just my review:Here's one from Mobile Burn. You can tell he's really pissed and let down here - I'm trying to save you from it too.
 
Originally posted by patrick0brien
-Lanbrown, hugulu

First off, it is GSM, not CDMA. Secondly, in North America, it's not the T610, it is the T616 as the 900mhz band of the normal GSM phone is lowered to 850mhz. Though the 1800mhz and 1900mhz bands are the same as true GSM phones.
Click to expand...

They might have been thinking of the T608, which is (I believe, may be wrong) the CDMA version of the T610.
 
Originally posted by patrick0brien
-Lanbrown, hugulu

Just a little info on the Sony Ericsson T610. First off, it is GSM, not CDMA. Secondly, in North America, it's not the T610, it is the T616 as the 900mhz band of the normal GSM phone is lowered to 850mhz. Though the 1800mhz and 1900mhz bands are the same as true GSM phones.
Click to expand...

The T610 is a tri-band GSM world phone; it operates on 900/1800/1900MHz. It will not work to well with Cingular's network as most of their spectrum is in the cellular frequency range, which this phone does not support, but does support the PCS frequency range that T-Mobile and AT&T use. AT&T actually has some spectrum in the cellular range as well.

Where did I say it was CDMA? I said the T606 was CDMA.

ibookin,

Motorola had the highest failure rate as well as drop calls rate of any major phone manufacturer for many years running. I don't know about the last ~two though, but up until early 2002, they still a high failure rate and much better dropped call rate due to a software upgrade that took them several years to make available. Their incompetence in the phone market rivals theirs in the semiconductor sector.

I also never said the T610 was a CDMA phone. I corrected mactastic, which said "But until the T610 comes out, there are no CDMA BT phones." I said "Also, I think you are talking about the T606 for CDMA and SE has ceased CDMA R&D and the carriers that were looking at the phone has supposedly dropped it." The T608 is also a CDMA phone.
 
Originally posted by patrick0brien

Just a little info on the Sony Ericsson T610s...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info on that phone. I was waiting for the sucker to come out, but now that you (and the other review provided by your link) have given the neg review, once it's out, I'll prevent the headaches and stress and not buy one.

You use AT&T. What's the deal with the new line of phones coming out? Are there any in the pipeline with BT? I'm stuck on the t68i, which has served me well (has the battle scares to prove it), but I'm eager to upgrade.

I can't get a straight answer out of AT&T...

Chad4Mac
 
Originally posted by Chad4Mac
You use AT&T. What's the deal with the new line of phones coming out? Are there any in the pipeline with BT? I'm stuck on the t68i, which has served me well (has the battle scares to prove it), but I'm eager to upgrade.
Click to expand...

-Chad4Mac

Well, S/E releases new phones next month, I'm expecting the Z600 (clamshell T610), but it'll be a year before the states get it, and if the reception is the same...

As for BT phones, I mentioned above I wound up with the Nokia 3650, and you betcha it has BT. Heck, this guy is a gadged-man's phone. I've been farting around with my brand spankin' new Jabra BT200 (BT headset) with it (cooooohoohoohoohool!).

Currently, my favorite trick is to take someone's picture with it (640x480 not bad!), and immediately fire it over to my 12"PB through BT and open it, only takes a sec. It's even funnier if the subject of that picture is playing with my 12"PB when I take the pic and fire it over. Suddenly, they're looking at themselves. That's quite a shock :D

The Nokia comes with the PC suite, but we Mac users don't need it if we have iSync.

Oh, I've been discovering the logic behind the funny shape of the phone. First is the unusual round key bezel. The screen is so large that in order to keep the phone size down, they went circular instead of the 'standard' key layout. As it happens, this strange key layout is really easy on the thumbs - no potential cramping.

Second, since the body of the phone curves around the circular key bezel and tapers again at the top, it's easy to hold higher in the hand becaus it naturally rests in the palm.

These guys are genius's.

And admission, I was a Nokia user for many many phones, but my last was a Motoroloa v.60 (though I'd expand my horizons). I hated the damn thing. But now I'm re-impressed with Nokia.

I'm happily back in the fold.
 
connecting my mac through my phone

Have you checked out www.bluemobility.com?

I purchased my Sanyo 8100 through them and am using the modem to connect at about 60 kbps or faster. More often than not, faster.

I love it! As long as I am within Sprint coverage I can connect. I use it with my PowerBook and am seriously considering getting a PCMCIA card through them. The card is free with a two-year contract and has unlimited data for $80/month.
 
Originally posted by patrick0brien
-Chad4Mac

Well, S/E releases new phones next month, I'm expecting the Z600 (clamshell T610), but it'll be a year before the states get it, and if the reception is the same...

As for BT phones, I mentioned above I wound up with the Nokia 3650, and you betcha it has BT. Heck, this guy is a gadged-man's phone. I've been farting around with my brand spankin' new Jabra BT200 (BT headset) with it (cooooohoohoohoohool!).

Currently, my favorite trick is to take someone's picture with it (640x480 not bad!), and immediately fire it over to my 12"PB through BT and open it, only takes a sec. It's even funnier if the subject of that picture is playing with my 12"PB when I take the pic and fire it over. Suddenly, they're looking at themselves. That's quite a shock :D

The Nokia comes with the PC suite, but we Mac users don't need it if we have iSync.

Oh, I've been discovering the logic behind the funny shape of the phone. First is the unusual round key bezel. The screen is so large that in order to keep the phone size down, they went circular instead of the 'standard' key layout. As it happens, this strange key layout is really easy on the thumbs - no potential cramping.

Second, since the body of the phone curves around the circular key bezel and tapers again at the top, it's easy to hold higher in the hand becaus it naturally rests in the palm.

These guys are genius's.

And admission, I was a Nokia user for many many phones, but my last was a Motoroloa v.60 (though I'd expand my horizons). I hated the damn thing. But now I'm re-impressed with Nokia.

I'm happily back in the fold.
Click to expand...

You know, I friends got one of those Nokias and seems to like it too. However, I've got to have a smaller phone.

My phone is like a body part, it's always with me. That phone is just too big for my likings.

I wish AT&T offered a phone that is similar in size and feature as the t68. I'd even take the flip phones if they offered BT.

It seems like I'm stuck with what I got for a while...

Chad4Mac
 
nokia 3650 question

-patrick0brien
i also ended up with the 3650 and have been very happy with it. one question, i want to download short (homemade) mp4 movies (hopefully with sound) to the additional storage card. when i use the bt file exchange there seems to be a limit on file size. i've been successful with a 217KB file and no sound but not much larger in file size. using the file exchange they go directly into my messaging/inbox. any ideas?
thanks.
 
Originally posted by Chad4Mac
You know, I friends got one of those Nokias and seems to like it too. However, I've got to have a smaller phone.

My phone is like a body part, it's always with me. That phone is just too big for my likings.
Click to expand...

-Chad4Mac

Me too. This is why I have the Jabra. Phone in pocket, or jacket, up to 30 feet away if necessary, Jabra in ear. Hands free, no wires. Oh, and voice dialing ;)

Yeah, I wanted a teensy phone too, that v.60 was small, but you know, I'm getting used to it.
 
Re: nokia 3650 question

Originally posted by meta-ghost
-patrick0brien
i also ended up with the 3650 and have been very happy with it. one question, i want to download short (homemade) mp4 movies (hopefully with sound) to the additional storage card. when i use the bt file exchange there seems to be a limit on file size. i've been successful with a 217KB file and no sound but not much larger in file size. using the file exchange they go directly into my messaging/inbox. any ideas?
thanks.
Click to expand...

-meta-ghost

Hmm. You're ahead of me there. I haven't even tried it yet. What do you use to compress the movies? And at what resolution/settings?

As for the sound issue, do you have sound for natively recorded videos? If not, go to http://www.nokiausa.com/phones/software/3650 and get the latest VideoRecorder and put it with BT. It has sound.
 
Re: Re: OS X friendly CELL PROVIDERS?

Originally posted by idkew
i think they all provide os x support, just as basically every dialup isp can work with just about any os.

i dialed up via t-mobile to free aol through my bluetooth sony ericsson t68i for a week or so before i got my cable modem installed at my new place. worked fine, but was slow as sin.

you just need to realize, if you plan on getting decent speeds, you need to not dialup through your phone, you need to us GSM (or whatever) which is the always on internet for your phone. still not quick, but better. with t-mobile it will cost you about $20 extra per month for either unlimited or 20mb of transfer.

there are several programs out there which will help you set up the GSM connnection with your mac, but they all cost, one was about $100 i think.

so basically, it is very possible, and very expensive, and very slow.

edit- gsm oops!
Click to expand...

well, I don't know of any phone that supports bluetooth that works with Sprint, but I know that Sprint is pretty non-cooperative with Mac OS. You can get a kit to do wired connections to your computer (through USB), but the software that comes with it only works with Windows.
 
Sprint and Macs

Quote:

"well, I don't know of any phone that supports bluetooth that works with Sprint, but I know that Sprint is pretty non-cooperative with Mac OS. You can get a kit to do wired connections to your computer (through USB), but the software that comes with it only works with Windows."
_______________________________

That's what I posted about. BlueMobility hooked up my Mac to Sprint.
 
Re: Re: nokia 3650 question

Originally posted by patrick0brien
-meta-ghost

Hmm. You're ahead of me there. I haven't even tried it yet. What do you use to compress the movies? And at what resolution/settings?
Click to expand...

exporting out of imovie to quicktime. exporting out of quicktime pro to an mpeg4 file. these play on the real player software on the phone. trying to maximize the final product so the resolution works with the phone screen's max (something like 170x202?). anyway, the real problem is not being able to get a 1meg movie onto my 15 megs of storage space.
 
Re: Re: Re: nokia 3650 question

Originally posted by meta-ghost
exporting out of imovie to quicktime. exporting out of quicktime pro to an mpeg4 file. these play on the real player software on the phone. trying to maximize the final product so the resolution works with the phone screen's max (something like 170x202?). anyway, the real problem is not being able to get a 1meg movie onto my 15 megs of storage space.
Click to expand...

-meta-ghost

I'll give 'er a go!
 
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