Motorola RAZR V3 (mobile phone) and MacOS
 

I picked up one of those Motorola RAZR V3 cell phones a couple weeks ago, and I've been getting it working with my PowerBook, so I thought I would post some info here in case others want to do the same..

About the phone: It is a thin phone, with a metal finish that goes nicely with my PowerBook. It's a GSM phone, supports bluetooth, and has a built-in camera. The service provider I got it from is Singular.

iSync:

I initially tried to sync via bluetooth, but could not get this working. I read some reports of European users getting this working, and some reports that Singular's modified firmware doesn't allow this to work (I'm not sure why they would blaock this, but I never got it working).

So, I tried synching it via USB (the RAZR has a standard mini-USB port which it uses for data and recharge, which I find very handy.. I need only one cable for my phone, Canon SD300 camera, and Sony PSP). Via USB, iSynch recognized my phone, and I was able to synch my contacts from Address Book to the phone.

Bluetooth:

As I mentioned above, I was unable to get iSync to work via bluetooth. But, I was able to get my PowerBook to recognize the RAZR and pair with it via bluetooth. The Bluetooth setup utilities show the phone as supporting the following capabilities: "Voice Gateway, Hands-Free voice gateway, OBEX Object Push, OBEX File Transfer, Dial-up networking Gateway". So, I believe it would work as a bluetooth modem, for Internet access. But, I have not tried this.

It also supports file transfer via bluetooth. By selecting the bluetooth icon in the menu bar, and selecting "Browse Device", it connects to the phone and shows three directories: audio, video, and picture. I can download the pictures taken on the phone/camera from the pictures directory (the pictures are low quality, but the capability has come in handy a couple times already).

I can also upload ring tone data to the phone by uploading them to the "audio" folder. I uploaded a few old MIDI files I had in my archives, and the phone recognized them and allows me to select them as ring tones.


I also got the Motorola bluetooth headset with this phone, and I found that it works well with my PowerBook. So, I can use it as a wireless headset for Skype calls, solving the problem of no microphone input on the PowerBook.

I didn't think the RAZR phone would work with Mac OS. I have a iBook 12", but it should work using the USB cable AND bluetooth...I doubt Telcel (Mexico) does anything weird with the stock firmware. Dude, you just gave me another good reason to get the damn bluetooth dongle or a powerbook!

Looks like iSync for Tiger will work with the RAZR.

http://www.apple.com/macosx/features/isync/

that's cool.. Just to clarify, the RAZR is supported today with iSync via USB. But, the addition of bluetooth will be nice.

That page also says that iSync in Tiger will support adding pictures from Address Book into your phone. The RAZR supports pictures for contacts, so hopefully this will work. (I'll let you know Friday night, after the Tiger release).

Based on that iSync page, I thought that Tiger would push the pictures of people I have in Address Book into the RAZR's address book. But, it didn't do that when I synched it.

That's too bad.. it would have been a cool feature. Also, support for ring tones per person would be nice (I had a bunch of those set on the phone, but when I did the iSynch refresh it overwrote all the user settings).

V3: Adress Book greyed out on Bluetooth setup Assistant
 

I simply can get the Address Book to work properly with OS X Tiger and Bluetooth. I can sync adresses, that works, though I never have given the opportunity to radio button it. It is always greyed out.

I want to be able to send SMS and call from Adress Book, but I never can get the Bluetooth functionality to work with my V3.

Any suggestions?

I don't have bluetooth but I have a RazR V3 and want to be able to get my photos out of it onto my tiger osx G5. Anyone done this?

Tia

Nick

Read the first post in this thread. Specifically, the paragraph that starts "It also supports file transfer via bluetooth"

What Nick was asking was if the Razr V3 would allow you to transfer files via the wired connection.

yup, you're right. I missed that he said he didn't have bluetooth.

I have never transferred images via USB. I don't think "OnSync" will do anything with pictures, but it might be worth checking out.

Nope. I just installed OnSync and checked it out. The only thing that it handles are phone numbers and email addresses.

Clarification
 

I'm thinking about getting one of these phones, but I'm really on the fence with it. I'm confused about some features, so to be perfectly clear I'd like to ask a few questions...

Did you ever get this to sync with iSync in Tiger via Bluetooth?

Does iSync send the images from the Address Book to the phone for picture caller-id?

cingular might have locked out some of the features. They have been known to in the past with other phones. You might want to look into getting it unlocked.

...on getting the Razr V3.... I switched from Verizon to Cingular to get one (my contract was up, and Verizon misrepresented their "free phone" offer...)

The quality of the speakers is not that great.. My LG was better. The coverage for Verizon was also better in Maine where we go every year. Cingular is all digital, whereas Verizon will use analog if necessary, so they have better coverage....

The address book isn't as good as he LG either....

Heard that Verizon will be getting that phone come 2006...

Yes, iSync via bluetooth works with the Razr in Tiger.

It syncs address book and calendar entries, but it does not sync the pictures in the address book.

Would you mind telling me what settings need to be in place in order for the calendar events to sync to the RAZR? I was able to have the items placed on my phone's calendar sent to iCal, but none of my events from iCal went to the RAZR? Thanks!

Bluetooth to Powerbook AND headset
 

Does anyone know if the RAZR v3 can connect to the powerbook AND a headset at the same time? I don't think it can but am not 10% that I'm not just doing something wrong.

Works Fine
 

I've had my (black) Razr for about a week, and it works great with my Mac. My wife has one too, and we both sync our address books and iCal events. She has a G5 iMac, I have the flat-panel G4 iMac. Her built in bluetooth worked right off the bat. I was having some issues connecting at first with my USB bluetooth adapter (D-Link). I downloaded Apple's firmware upgrade for the adapter, and then (after reading the discussions on Apple's site) did a master reset on the Razr. Now everything works great with syncing. Just keep in mind that when you delete an address book entry on the phone, it wil delete from OS X's address book after a sync.

RAZR V3 bluetooth and CID string
 

I just got a RAZR and the folks at Motorola say they "are not supporting the bluetooth application with Macintosh" right now...I got as far as setting up the PowerBook I use to recognize and pair with the phone but the Bluetooth Manager asks for a CID string. I entered one from the PC application but am not able to access the internet (which is what I want to do in case I need an access route while away from ??civilization). It seems like people have had luck using the bluetooth and I'd sure appreciate any advice re: how to use the phone as a modem with my PowerBookG4 (built-in bluetooth). Thanks.

To use Motos V3 as a Bluetooth modem you have to have the right modem script.

Get these GPRS modem scripts from here : http://www.taniwha.org.uk/
Ross Barkman does provide these, very nice of him!

Put them in the right place where the other scripts reside, follow the readme provided.
Configure your Bluetooth prefpane by selecting the new modem script. Configure your PPP prefpane according to the info provided by Ross Barkman, usually just putting your phone provider access data (username, password, cid) into the PPP settings pane will work.

When you have switched Bluetooth to "on" in your phone you can pair it with your PowerBook. Now select your Bluetooth network settings. You can connect to the internet by using the application InternetConnect.

Motorola RaZr downloading pics to Mac G4
 

Hi, have been reading with interest the questions and answers about this problem of syncing a RaZr to a Mac. I'm stuck too! Tried Onsync but no pics transfer, it seems that the only usb (I don't have BT) option is to download that rather pricey software from datafast. It looks great, but after being assured that the V3 was 'perfectly' synched up to Mac OS Tiger, well, I kind of fancied I'd be able to import a few tiny jpegs from the V3 into Photoshop or iphoto. It's not exactly rocket biophysics!

What's the deal here, Bluetooth or fork out 50 bucks for software Motorola should have already supplied??

So much for Motorola and Macintosh 'working together'. Yea right. :)

I am able to easily transfer audio , files, and pictures from my iMac to my RAZR phone easily. No extra software is necessary.

ISync works great for address book contacts, and Bluetooth File Transfer is great for everything else.

--just in case anyone out there is still wondering about this...

Have you read this thread?
http://forums.macosxhints.com/showthread.php?t=48364
Post #6

hi i cannot get my powerbook g4 with inbuilt bluetooth to sink with my headset it finds it but tells me headsets are not supported with this hardware , i would like to get it set up to use with skype as tji did above, help anyone?

I live in ITaly and have a RAZR V3 unbranded (not marked by any carrier).
Works like a charm with Tiger, sync via bluetooth.

I remember it used to crash iSync I think with old Tiger versions such as 10.4.2 or similar.
I remember there was a specific fix for iSync!

I hope this will help.

good to hear the V3 works well with Mac OSX Tiger. i am hoping optimistically about getting a free giveaway from macandmobile.com

Uploading Audio to a Motorola RAZR V3 using USB
 

I've been trying to upload ringtones to my RAZR (Cingular) using Audacity, but I have been unable to do so. Any suggestions?