SyncMate helps your Windows Mobile phone talk to your Mac with OS X
If you are one of many Mac users who chose a Windows Mobile phone over an iPhone, you have probably had trouble syncing your data between the phone and the computer at some point. Sure the Mac will do some limited file transfer using Bluetooth and your phone’s Bluetooth and/or Beam feature, but it isn’t a true backup.
If you are like me, you don’t want to spend a lot of money for backup and syncing. I may be spoiled from being a Mac user for so long, but in this day and age I feel like more devices should just work together without a lot of hassle. This is where SyncMate comes in.
I tried a variety of programs to sync my Windows Mobile phone with my Mac. I have an HTC Mogul phone and a MacBook, and while each program did part of the job, none of them did a complete job. Other software I tried included The Missing Sync and PocketMac, among others.
SyncMate has a decent free version with plenty of essential features, as well as a more advanced paid version that costs £15 GBP (currently about $26 USD at the time of this article). The free version is great, with a Contacts sync to your Apple Address Book, an iCal sync, SMS Reader, Activity Log, Internet Sharing and Device Information. Upgrading to the full version, SyncMate Expert, also adds Bookmarks, Folders, iTunes, iPhoto, Notes, Time, SMS Management and Application Lists syncing.
I recently had reason to put SyncMate’s free version to the ultimate test. My Mogul needed a dreaded hard reset. This meant that I lost all data not on the MicroSD card (mainly because I had the foresight to take the card out before hard resetting the phone and put it back after, but still), to the point that I had to dial *228 for Verizon to recognize the phone again.
SyncMate put all of my missing data back on my phone flawlessly with one click. I have all of my contacts, complete with their photo icons from the MicroSD card correctly synced to each person. My iCal events were all there. My ToDo list was complete. It was amazing, fast and took one click from the time I attached the phone to the time it was done. I was so impressed I upgraded to the paid version after that so I could take advantage of the other bells and whistles.
Drawback to the SyncMate system are really only a need for the device to be plugged in. Granted, it also charges the phone, but many people would prefer wireless syncing with BlueTooth. SyncMate isn’t quite there yet, though I wouldn’t rule it out in future versions since they are continually upgrading and updating the software. in spite of the need for a cord, this was still hands down the best solution I tried, especially at the free level.
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