Product Reviews

You may be a Mac user, but if you have a mobile smartphone, the chances are it runs some form of Windows Mobile. Getting these devices to sync with your Mac without third-party software is an exercise in frustration at best, which is why we were so keen to try out the latest version of The Missing Sync for Windows Mobile, from MarkSpace. We used a T-Mobile SDA running Windows Mobile 2003 and a chunky MDA Pro (also known as the O2 XDA Exec, among other things) running Windows Mobile 5.

The Missing Sync for Windows Mobile 3 (that's version 3 of the Missing Sync software, not of Windows Mobile) is a fairly substantial upgrade from the version 2.5 it replaces. The range of syncing features that The Missing Sync now provides is impressive. Your phone may not support them all, but if it does, you can sync (deep breath...) with Entourage, your browser bookmarks, contacts, iCal calendar events, files in general, music, notes (using the MarkSpace Notebook utility, Entourage or Yojimbo), photos, tasks and the clock.

All the logical, sensible abilities you're likely to want are included in the various syncing features. It will copy your phone photos to a specific iPhoto album, let you choose iTunes playlists to maintain on your phone, pick particular groups in Address Book, and so on. You can set up different profiles for different phones in The Missing Sync, each with its own combination of sync settings.

The Missing Sync software sits on your

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Mac and monitors for connections. The first time you sync a mobile phone, you'll need to allow some software to be added to it to aid the connection, but it's an essentially hands-free process from then on. We did have some trouble completing the connection process using Bluetooth; it kept getting just partway through the process and then stopping. We did get past this after some helpful assistance from the MarkSpace technical support, so the issues (partly due to Windows Mobile itself) got sorted out in the end. Because of this, though, the start wasn't quite as smooth as we'd hoped.

By contrast, the USB connection process was a complete dream. It connected fast, transferred fast, kept the connection in place for ad-hoc software installations and file transfers, and - with the mobiles we were testing, at least - kept the phone's battery topped up.

The Missing Sync uses the Mac's Sync Services, and you're alerted if a significant portion of your contact, calendar or other data types will be affected by the sync. If you've made substantial changes to your diary while out and about, for example, you'll get the chance to confirm the update before it takes place. Most of the time, however, the sync process is a hands-free background one, started by the connection itself (whether Bluetooth or USB).

Additional mobile phone software can be installed using The Missing Sync, all but eliminating the need to use a PC and its ActiveSync connection process. (Some software developers only provide Windows-based installers for their mobile applications, but many will provide installer-free CAB file versions if you ask.) We tried numerous items, from the new Opera Mobile to beta RSS readers, and The Missing Sync did a fine job of managing all the transfers.

Our verdict? Windows Mobile itself is far from perfect, but The Missing Sync means being able to manage it all from our Macs - and that makes a huge difference. Despite our Bluetooth hiccup, if you have a phone that runs any version of Windows Mobile, get The Missing Sync.