K800i iSync Plugin

Tags: k800 osx [+]

Posted on Wed Jan 31 09:39:58 2007 by Pete Berlin [SIGNED]

I recently picked myself up a shiny new phone, a Sony Ericsson K800. Generally I'm very happy with it, but it doesnt work with it out of the box with iSync, which pretty much sucks.

All is not lost though! iSync now has a nice plugin structure so adding support for new phones is easy, especially if they are part of an already supported family. (This plugin system does seem to be a bit of a moving target though, see The Tao of Mac HOWTO.)

iSync 2.4 Update

The OS X 10.4.9 update contains iSync 2.4, which has native support for the K800i and K790i, so the plugin is no longer needed.

The plugin image now has an uninstaller application which will remove the plugin for you. Simply run it from the disk image.

To Install

You'll need iSync 2.3 (OS X 10.4.7) for the plugin to work. Just install the package, it will place the .phoneplugin into the /Library/PhonePlugins directory.

Relaunch iSync if it was open. You don't need to reboot.

If you have iSync 1.5

The plugin system was introduced in iSync 2.1 (and has changed significantly since then), so I'm afraid that it wont work with iSync 1.5 (OS X 10.3). You might be able to get iSync to recognise the phone by following the instructions (made for the K750i) here

What is Synchronized?

iCal events and pretty much everything from Address Book.app, apart from contact images and IM details.

In developing the plugin, I tried to enable contact image syncing, but it looks like it only works from the phone to OS X, with any contacts with images in Address Book stubbornly refusing to sync to the phone. Anyone know any better?

To Remove

Run the uninstaller application included in the disk image.

Or if you prefer to do it by hand, delete SonyEricsson-K800-K790.phoneplugin from the /Library/PhonePlugins directory. You'll probably want to delete the SEK800K790-iSyncPlugin.pkg file from /Library/Receipts too.

Dialing and SMS from Address Book

This plugin only tells iSync about the phone. For the Bluetooth SMS and dialing/answering You'll need to update some of the internal Address Book.app files, see my other post

K790i Support

This plugin should work for the K790i as well, but I dont have one to test it with. Please let me know if it does or doesn't!

Version History
v0.2 2007/01/31 Initial release
v0.3 2007/03/01 Fixed some syncing issues
v0.4 2007/03/14 Superceded by iSync 2.4, included unsinstaller in disk image

Last modified: Wed Mar 14 15:26:56 2007

Comments on K800i iSync Plugin | 10 comments | Post a comment

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  • Re: K800i iSync Plugin

    Written by Anonymous Coward (0) on Tue Feb 20 15:02:25 2007

    Most kind of you to craft this plugin, thanks!

    One question: would it matter whether pairing to the K800i was made through USB or Bluetooth, to facilitate iSync recognition once your plugin has been installed?

    Having no success getting iSync 2.3 to recognise my K800i connected via USB to my (Blue)toothless Mac G5...

    -Jonathan Drake-

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    • Re: Re: K800i iSync Plugin

      Written by Pete Berlin (0c6a1d847b921163) on Wed Feb 21 14:24:03 2007

      As far as I can tell, iSync will only sync with SE phones through bluetooth, take a look at http://www.apple.com/isync/devices.html. Sorry!

      It seems like Motorolas are the only phones that it will sync with through USB.

      One option would be to pick up a Bluetooth dongle for your G5. IIRC Apple suggest a USB dongle from D-Link.

      Pete

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      • Re: Re: Re: K800i iSync Plugin

        Written by Anonymous Coward (0) on Fri Feb 23 03:27:28 2007

        Oh right, now I see the footnote at http://www.apple.com/isync/devices.html. Kind of you to point that out to me, thanks very much!

        And thanks again for the fine plugin, works brilliantly!

        Warmest regards,

        Jonathan Drake

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      • Re: Re: Re: K800i iSync Plugin

        Written by Anonymous Coward (0) on Thu Mar 8 18:59:34 2007

        Works a treat for me (G4 PPC - K800i), although it persists in telling me that connections and transfers have failed... Wierd. But it works! So great job Pete. Thanks.

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    • Re: Re: K800i iSync Plugin

      Written by Anonymous Coward (0) on Tue Mar 13 23:04:35 2007

      Are you going to release a new version of your plugin, one that works with 10.4.9 (iSync v2.4)?

      Thanks!

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  • Re: K800i iSync Plugin

    Written by Anonymous Coward (0) on Sun Feb 25 23:22:50 2007

    Thank you so much! Purchased a MacBook 2 days ago, and now it syncs with my K800i :)

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  • Re: K800i iSync Plugin

    Written by Anonymous Coward (0) on Thu Mar 1 07:19:38 2007

    I just compared this plugin to the one I've been using from http://mobile.feisar.com for months... and it seems to be missing quite a few features.

    Here's what I've noticed:

    1) No animated feedback on the phone screen during syncing
    2) It syncs the 'Work' address as the 'Home' address
    3) It doesn't sync the 'Home' address at all
    4) It syncs only the 'Work' email address
    5) It doesn't sync the 'Home' email address
    6) It doesn't sync the 'Other' email address

    Personally, I would recommend the Feisar Plugin if you want a fully featured sync - it works great!

    http://mobile.feisar.com/plugins.html

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    • Re: Re: K800i iSync Plugin

      Written by Pete Berlin (0c6a1d847b921163) on Thu Mar 1 20:11:09 2007

      Thanks for pointing this out!

      The package contained an old version of the plugin that had exactly these problems. I've updated the package so this is all fixed now.

      To update the plugin, just re-install the package linked above.

      Pete

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      • Re: Re: Re: K800i iSync Plugin

        Written by Anonymous Coward (0) on Tue Mar 6 19:22:35 2007

        Pete you are a genius. I am so grateful.

        luv, Mary

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  • Re: K800i iSync Plugin

    Written by Anonymous Coward (0) on Sat Jun 23 13:16:22 2007

    Seems like a great plug in, however still refuses to work with isync 2.4! Tis getting annoying - any chance of an update?

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