iPhone mysteries

[sandbox]

Hey anybuddy, Since T-Mobile gained access to Iphones I decided to purchase one (5) for my significant other who thought it would be a smooth transition and communicate well with her Mac, Horsefeathers I say!

My first surprise was when I tried to connect Mac & iPhone through bluetooth only to discover they won't. I'm guessing there's an app for that but really, should I need one?

My experience with this phone has not been great, and though I know I need to give it more time, it's painful. I feel like I got out of a Jaguar and into a model-T.

Is there anyone out there who has gone from an Android to an iPhone that would have any tips or drugs or something to help with the pain? Please ;-)

[rgray]

iPhone can sync through Wifi but I prefer to use the USB cable.

[Xairbusdriver]

QUOTE

my significant other who thought it would be a smooth transition and communicate well with her Mac

I assume you are talking about 'synchronizing' the info on the two different devices. What is she wanting to 'sync?' Some things are set in the phone, syncing email, contacts, calendars, etc. No physical connections needed. Of course, this uses ones data plan (if away from the computer) and I have no idea what T-Mobile's rules are.

Direct (USB) connections to the Mac are usually done via iTunes, of course. Does the phone appear in the Side Bar of iTunes when it is connected?

I'd suggest contacting/visiting T-Mobile and telling them what you want to do... of course, you'll need to find someone there who knows what a "Mac" is...

[Paddy]

Connecting iPhone to Mac WITH BLUETOOTH is only for tethering - nothing else. I've done it with my iPad and my iPhone (iPad doesn't have a data plan/SIM card) and I've done it when our internet was down for a day here at the cottage. Right now, it's refusing to connect, likely because both devices are using the WiFi network, which I guess I might have to turn off. Not going to experiment with that just to see - sorry.

Anyway - you won't be using your data plan to sync if you have a WiFi network (and have WiFi turned on in the phone's settings!).

What other issues are you having? I love my iPhone 5, but then I only had a "dumb" phone before.

[sandbox]

Folks, historical we just lay the Samsung Galaxy near the mac desktop or MBP and Bluetooth would connect. Call data, photos, audio recording (like tape recordings) new contacts saved to the phone during the day could be transferred or would sync, either way. It's just something you could do while you were on the computer with the phone near by. I still can, because I haven't replaced my Galaxy, this is just Jane's two day old phone.

I don't know what else yet, the phone didn't come with any apps so I'll be doing that kabuki dance, trying to figure out what's not in there that either T-Mobile or Samsung would load in by default, like Drop Box, which I tried to download and was sent to iTunes and told to sign-up. No I don't remember Jane's ID and password from heaven knows when, I'm sure there's one out there, just not in my head. She uses MS Office 2008, Firefox, iChat, email-fax, and rarely something in the adobe suite. It's a business computer and it does a fine job without and ID and password. I don't think she's ever used iTunes, well maybe, but hardly ever. I know I must sound hyper critical but really, the difference between the two platforms is like driving on the wrong side of the road.  Thanks!

PS> I did find this yesterday but it requires a wire/perhaps wifi which would work too.
http://www.imacsoft.com/iphone-to-mac-transfer.html but this is only one way, from phone to mac.

[Paddy]

SB, it's all done via iTunes or iCloud. I have all my contacts, calendars, reminders, Safari (bookmarks, pages open etc.) synced through iCloud. Go into settings on the iPhone and enable this. Mail is synced via IMAP. At the moment I don't have music on my phone, but if I wanted to sync that, it would be via iTunes. Ditto any video. I have some books on my iPad and they're on my iPhone too (Kindle and iBooks; Kindle is managed online via Amazon)

Photos are synced via iPhoto on the Mac, if that's your weapon of choice. It's not mine - I use Lightroom, which also imports from my iPhone just fine.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4083

I plug my iPhone into my Mac for things not involving iCloud or IMAP, but you can use WiFi too. http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/mobile-phones/io...wi-fi-50005115/

[Xairbusdriver]

I've never used bluetooth for anything other than a trackpad, mainly because it is limited in distance. My iPhone/iPad sync as long as the have WiFi at home or a cell connection anywhere. My wife has used a bluetooth ear piece so she can talk on her iPhone while driving, but she says it still picks up too much traffic noise. Other than that, I think even 3G would be faster than bluetooth and certainly WiFi without the proximity needs.

I don't use iTunes for anything much, either! I do burn a couple of CDs for the church each week. If I remember, I'll connect my iPhone/iPad and do a backup. But the apps all use the App Store which shows when there is an app to update (it may even do that automatically, but I'd rather be the one who decides when and how to do an update). However, the rest of the syncing, as I said, is completely automatic with no connections nor proximity requirements. As far as I know, the bluetooth sharing-by-touching (or close proximity) is a feature of some smart phones. Apparently, your Galaxcies?

Not sure what your concerns are for DropBox, you have to be registered to use it, even if it's their free space. BTW, 1Password also has an iPhone/iPad app, so there's no excuse for not having multiple, very long and secure passwords.

[rgray]

The USB cable that (should) come with the iPhone is used to connect the phone to the computer with iTunes doing the heavy lifting.  It is a two-way sync and is all you need.  You can sync by Wifi or by iCloud completely wirelessly.  Not need to mess around with bluetooth.  It seems you are going to some trouble to make it more difficult than necessary.

[kimmer]

Interesting. Please share how things work, and more tips, as I'll be moving from my Motorola droid phone to an iPhone come Oct/Nov.

[sandbox]

No doubt I'm trying to do on the iPhone what I've grown accustom to on the Galaxy and it doesn't work as expected. Here's the thing, it's not my phone and as busy as we are there's no time to figure it all out. Today the iPhone was returned and for me the simplicity and what Jane coins as a lack of intuitiveness is no longer my problem. But thanks for the heads up!

QUOTE(rgray @ Jul 19 2013, 04:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The USB cable that (should) come with the iPhone is used to connect the phone to the computer with iTunes doing the heavy lifting.  It is a two-way sync and is all you need.  You can sync by Wifi or by iCloud completely wirelessly.  Not need to mess around with bluetooth.  It seems you are going to some trouble to make it more difficult than necessary.

[sandbox]

Kimmer, with no intention to disparage the iPhone in any way, it's just not an android and although I've played with iPhones in the past I just made a call or scrolled. Not only does android offer a different experience, but Samsung has a layer over android that makes it, what Jane calls a Girly Phone. It's made for the mind of women. We've tried HTC, LG, MoTo, and Sony which is what I'm testing now, an xperia z, but the Samsung, in our community anyway seems to be very popular with women. Silly me, I thought Apple had the market cornered on that segment of the population. What Apple does have is the right size phone. On the: what it feels like chart, the Apple is flat in back, not contoured like a Samsung, so it doesn't fit as well in the hand. Neither does my experimental Sony, but this Sony is waterproof and not for the delicate palm. If you have a chance to play with the iPhone take advantage of it, I think you'll discover that it's like driving on the wrong side of the road. ;-)

[sandbox]

Sorry to bother you, our two day experiment didn't work out as well as we hoped. Most of our female friends have iPhones and it was like joining a club to get one, but besides satisfying family and friends the experience itself was painful. It would have gotten better over time, if we had the time to figure it out,  but time is the most important issues and the learning curve is just not helpful right now. Thanks for your time!

[Xairbusdriver]

I suspect you'd find a similar experience if you sold your Mac and bought a Windows PC. Obviously, an Android is not an iPhone and vice versa. Sorry you didn't enjoy the experience but that's why we have competition and choice!

[rgray]

QUOTE(Paddy @ Jul 19 2013, 11:28 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Connecting iPhone to Mac is only for tethering - nothing else.

NOT SO!!.....

Connecting the iPhone to the Mac is the basic connection method for charging, syncing and importantly for doing a system restore when it becomes necessary.  It is not necessary for 'tethering' any more because you can setup the  recent crop of iPhones as a Wifi hotspot and connect using the Mac's Wifi.  In early iPhone variants it was the only way to do these thing.  Syncing by Wifi was added and more recently using iCloud was introduced.

[Paddy]

QUOTE(rgray @ Jul 19 2013, 11:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

QUOTE(Paddy @ Jul 19 2013, 11:28 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Connecting iPhone to Mac is only for tethering - nothing else.

NOT SO!!.....

Connecting the iPhone to the Mac is the basic connection method for charging, syncing and importantly for doing a system restore when it becomes necessary.  It is not necessary for 'tethering' any more because you can setup the  recent crop of iPhones as a Wifi hotspot and connect using the Mac's Wifi.  In early iPhone variants it was the only way to do these thing.  Syncing by Wifi was added and more recently using iCloud was introduced.

Rgray, I meant connecting WITH BLUETOOTH. That's what the original question was about, and that's what I was responding to. Sorry for any confusion - original post has now been clarified. (My subsequent posts should also have made that clear...)

Sandbox, sorry to hear that you didn't like the iPhone. I have at least as many, if not more, male friends with iPhones, so I really don't think it's a women thing! (Though I do find the Galaxy too big - I have small hands) Anyway - two days with no time to really do any proper exploration probably isn't a fair assessment. I wouldn't expect to grasp all the nuances of Android in that time. You have to choose what works best for you, in the time you have. So much of one's experience using something like this is governed by prior experience, and just because it doesn't function exactly like an Android phone, doesn't mean that it's inferior or doesn't work.