Sony Erriccson P990i {& Mac}

B-Line · #1 02-07-2007, 04:18 PM

Hey all and sorry to raise this topic again.

I went to the store today to buy a Sony Ericcson P990i. Catch is, because it's an import, there is no "trial" period with the phone.
I did however REALLY like the phone.. Much better than the Pearl imho. Yes, it's bigger, but I like the full keyboard and the flip numberpad. To me, that's the way a PDA should be.

Since I can't return the phone and it's expensive $550. I thought I would ask some questions here before I am stuck with it.

1) Does it work with MAC? Specificaly MAC Mail, Address Book and iCal?
-- I know for the blackberry i had to get pocketmac for blackberry.. Is there a Erricson equivalent?
2) Is the email PUSH technology (like on the pearl)?
3) Are there any good carrying cases for the phone yet?
4) The store did not have a car charger. Is the power units for the phone "standard" ericcson materials that can be purchased from any ericcson retailer? Or do I need to order it special?

Anything else I am forgetting? Please chime in.
There is no warranty and no trial period. So I want to be sure..
The box on the phone was open but it appeared to be new. I was told customs opens the boxes as such, I would not be able to find a sealed phone.

Again, I loved the phone when I looked at it today and used to have a p800 five years ago.. But back then GSM was horrible in the USA and I had to abandon the phone for Verizon. I was a PC guy, not a MAC guy back then so I don't know the compatability.

B

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the head · #2 02-07-2007, 04:22 PM

if you go through dynamism.com you can get a full warrenty plus one year of techsupport...still no trial period but a little extra tech and a warrenty are always a nice thing

xx3 · #3 02-07-2007, 04:50 PM

Strange. Apple directly supports the p800, p900 & p910 (http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/isync/devices.html). However, I have a K800 thats not listed and got it to work with a $5 plugin.

Try searching on esato.com. They would have answers for you...

B-Line · #4 02-07-2007, 05:52 PM

Is the p910 the same thing as the p990i ?

Meaning, will the p990i work with isync?

I assume because the other "p" phones: p800, p900, p910 all work, so will the p990i.. But I don't want to make a $550 assumption.

Anyone know for sure?

B

r6girl · #5 02-07-2007, 08:27 PM

i have a p990, but i have essentially "retired" it to a drawer and now use a treo 680 for 2 reasons: the p990 would not work with my X3's bluetooth system, and it would not sync with my mac. at first, i thought both of these issues wouldn't be a big deal, but it bothered me more over time and i switched to a phone that syncs with my mac and works with my X3.

regards syncing with your mac, there may be some plug-ins now - the esato forums would be a good place to check, like xx3 recommended. i think i read somewhere on the apple support forums about a plug-in that works one-way (sending calendar updates to your mac, iirc).

for push email, blackberry connect software is available for the p990. i think the installer software is pc-only. the p990 does not come with push email capability built-in, like a blackberry. you'll need a plan with your cell service carrier to get this to work as well. the email software that comes with the p990 can be set to check your email periodically, but it's not push.

there are lots of cases out there now. i have silicone cases and a nice leather one. search esato and my-symbian for these.

i got a sony ericsson car charger easily off ebay.

the p990 is NOT like the p910, p900, etc. something was changed in the uiq OS so that it will not connect to the mac via isync. and isync has not been updated (and it may never be) to work with it. there is a lot of information about this on the web - just google "p990 and isync". note that a white paper issued by SE at first indicated that the p990 would work with isync, but this turned out to be false.

i have read some accounts of people getting the p990 to work with the bluetooth system in their bmw's, but it seems to be about 50/50. there's a good thread about this in the expansys uk forums.

good luck! if connecting the p990 to your X is important, you may want to see if the store will let you just bring the p990 out to your X to try it first before you buy it...

Eric5273 · #6 02-07-2007, 08:36 PM

The only thing you should be aware of is that the high speed network support (UMTS) on this phone only supports the 2100 Mhz band which only works in Europe, not on Cingular's network in the United States. Furthermore, this phone does not even include EDGE support, which is Cingular's "medium" speed network. So you will be using the slow GPRS network, which will give you download speeds slower than dial-up (usually around 30-40 kbps). So I wouldn't plan on doing much web browsing or streaming of any kind, unless you have access to wi-fi.

I'd be much more inclined to recommend the Treo 680, which supports EDGE (125-175 kbps). That's the phone that I currently have, and I've been very happy with it.

Eric5273 · #7 02-07-2007, 08:39 PM

One more thing:

I'm pretty sure that the P990i does not include the GSM 850 MHz band, which is needed for Cingular. You can get along ok without it, but there will be places that you will not get coverage. I'd say that probably 75% of Cingular's network is on the 1900 MHz band, but you will be limited to only those places.

If you are going to get that phone, you may be better off with T-Mobile, which barely uses 850 MHz at all, and only roams on 850 towers.

jcreed · #8 02-07-2007, 08:49 PM

i used p990i on t mobile. and it works fine in terms of coverage. however t mobile does not have a 3g system. so its essentially useless in terms of a internet browser or really any internet function

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