Susteen DataPilot for MacOS X Description:

Susteen DataPilot for MacOS X review:
1 stars (Does not work with Mac OS X) - even though Susteen claims DataPilot for Mac supports my phone, a Samsung x475. Not only Mac users should be wary of purchasing this product but others should expect slow and inept technical support. After waiting more than a week for a response to my email request, the support tech's only advice was to upgrade to DataPilot version 2.2.0, which I had already clearly listed as my current version in the request. I have received no further response after I replied pointing out I already was using version 2.2.0 and asking for additional suggestions to get DataPilot to function. That was two weeks ago. Beware of this company!
2 stars (DataPilot for Mac OS X needs work & better customer service) - The short version: DataPilot for Mac is pretty much useless. It garbles calendar appointments when transferring to Apple Calendar or Entourage and lacks any form of merging/syncing capability between phone and these tools. It's more expensive than the PC version and customer support is unresponsive. I've returned my copy for a refund (thanks Amazon for making this painless).



The long version:



I've been looking for a way to synchronize my Entourage calendar with my cell phone (an LG VX6100). Fortunately e2sync does a fine job of bidrectional sync of Entourage contacts and appointments with Apple Address Book and Calendar, so I thought all I needed to do was find something that would bridge the gap to my phone. I'd looked at DataPilot a while back but they didn't support calendar transfer in the Mac version available at the time. The newest version supposedly supports it, and I found it on Amazon for an acceptable price.



Data Pilot for Mac comes in only two versions: the software only or the Universal Kit version which includes all the adapters. For some reason Susteen does not offer a Mac version with a specific phone cable. Any way you slice it, the Mac version is more money than the PC version. For the premium, I expected at least equivalent functionality. Not true. The PC version is version 3.11 while the Mac version is 2.2.



Installation of the software was uneventful, but I did need to go to the DataPilot web site to download an upgrade to the latest version. Susteen offers free upgrades only for the first 6 months. After that, you need to BUY the new version!



The software detected my phone and established a connection, so I proceeded to attempt a calendar transfer. DataPilot doesn't work directly with iSync as one would expect, nor does it sync directly with Entourage or Apple Calendar. To prepare data for transfer to your phone, you need to locate the files and drag them to DataPilot's window. This can be problematic as Apple tucks these away for safekeeping and it's not obvious where they are. I found the calendar files and dropped one on DataPilot's appointment window.



This is where problems really began. DataPilot CAN NOT IMPORT MULTIDAY OR REPEATNG APPOINTMENTS! It turns multiday and repeating appointments into single day appointments. I tried this with files from Apple Calendar and Entourage with the same results. (You can successfully move multiday/repeating appointments between Calendar and Entourage.) You can create a multiday or repeating appointment from within DataPilot. However, it apparently uses it's own syntax for multiday and repeating appointments and doesn't understand either Apple Calendar or Entourage formats.



To make matters worse, you can not SYNCHRONIZE DataPilot and phone information. A transfer wipes out existing information! You can export info from DataPilot to the phone, but it wipes out the existing data on the phone. This might be expected since it would be up to the phone to do the synchronization. You can import info from the phone, but it wipes out existing DataPilot info! DataPilot should be able to merge phone info with it's existing records then write a fresh set back to the phone. But it would also have to merge (sync) info with Apple Address Book and Calendar (or Entourage) in the process.



Better yet, DataPilot for Mac should hook into iSync so you don't have to manually transfer info between your contacts and calendar program and DataPilot. DataPilot could be SIMPLER on the Mac than on the PC.



I also have a gripe with Susteen's phone cables. Most other cables advertise that they charge your phone will it's connected to your computer. A caution in the DataPilot manual states that their cables do not charge the phone. Worse yet, you can drain your phone's battery simply by being connected to the cable whether or not it's plugged into your computer!



I emailed Susteen tech support with these problems and never heard back from them. Doesn't seem like they take their customer's issues too seriously.