The phone to sync every time I ask it too.
Of course! 99% of the time this should always be the case, and in my experience with Sony Ericsson phones is always the case. It's impossible to guarantee perfect syncing 100% of the time. Like any computer file, data corruption is a (rare) possibility. However, in over 5 years of iSync-ing Sony Ericsson phones, I've only had a few minor issues which I sorted out in a few minutes.
I don't want the hassle of having to pair and unpair and pair again the
handset to the computer to get them to work together.
You should never have to do this. Pairing once is enough. I've personally owned 8 Sony Ericsson handsets and had access to and used dozens more, and only ever had to pair them once on each computer I've used them with.
I expect the calendar interface of the handset to accurately represent what
is represented in iCal. And for it to be easy to enter data in to the handset's
calendar interface.
Due to the different screen sizes between a phone and a Mac, you'll never get a totally accurate representation of what's in iCal. It just isn't possible on such a small screen. Also, most mobile phones show multiple calendars from iSync on a single calendar in the phone.
However, I find the Calendar in Sony Ericsson phones to be excellent. I've never had any issues, and entering data is as quick and easy as I would expect. Just a few button presses and typing to set-up events.
I want ALL data fields of Address Book to transfer over to the handset.
Name, Company Name, multiple phone numbers, email, postal address, notes.
All the current Sony Ericsson models will sync the following:
Address Book data:
First & Last Name
Mobile Number
Home Number
Work Number
Fax Number
Other Number
Home Address
Work Address
Home Email Address
Work Email Address
Other Email Address
Website Address
Birthday
Address Book Notes
iCal data:
Event title/subject
Event location
Event start time/duration
Event date
Event note/description
Event alarm
All day events
Repeating events
To-Do title
To-Do priority
To-Do completed
To-Do due date
To-Do alarm/reminder
To-Do note
If this is what I expect of iSync which handset should I get?
I would recommend any of the current (non-Symbian) Sony Ericsson models.
From the
Apple supported models, the K800i has the best spec (higher-res screen and camera).
Then there are an additional 19 models supported by iSync Phone Plugins from
here.
The K800 and K810 have 240x320 resolution screens.
The Contact and Calendar functions are pretty standard across the whole Sony Ericsson range, and all will sync all the data listed above. Some of the lower end models don't differentiate between Home, Work & Other Email Addresses (although it syncs all of them, it just doesn't say which is which!).
Another thing to be aware of is that the fields in the Contact data do have character limits. For instance, Name is limited to 62 characters. Street, City, State, Zip Code. etc are 25 characters each. Web Address is 120 characters.
Personally, I've been using both a K800i and K510i for the past year, and have just got a W610i as my day-to-day phone. Although the W610i is technically lower specification than the K800i, I actually prefer it because its smaller, thinner and not so chunky!
It's also very easy to set-up Sony Ericsson phones as a modem for internet access for your Mac. They play (DRM-free) iTunes tracks no problem, you can use them as a Bluetooth Remote Control for your Mac (see
Salling Clicker), and SMS and manage Calls direct from the Mac Address Book on them.
