THATGIRL  UNBELIEVABLE MAYHEM AS A RESULT OF THIS SOFTWARE...

From back in 2007 (version 1.0) when I bought this software it has had intermittent success at best. Though Missing Sync for Blackberry offered synchronization with several elements, (notes, photos, tasks etc.) at its most useful it could only successfully sync iCal and Address Book. Eventually iCal syncing would always end in some kind of discrepancy so after a brief correspondence with MarkSpace tech support of very elaborate trial and error instructions for me to perform - ALL ending in error! - I could no longer provide the time consuming labor of undoing and reinstalling iCal and simply stopped trying to sync it. I figured since the most important sync is the Address Book, I would have to settle for that.

This was why when 2.0 came out this year and I discovered I had to pay for the upgrade, I was reluctant to say the least. I had never enjoyed the basic features advertised by the software and was concerned that buying the upgrade would be throwing good money after bad. But I did it anyway with the hope that the upgrade would solve the previous problems and hopefully I could finally sync wirelessly.

My first clue that I was about to enter the ninth circle of hell should have been that MarkSpace offered a way that for an additional $50 you could get phone support with your upgrade. But instead I got to enter hell gradually. At first it worked! It actually synced everything about four or five times. Though I was already a little irritated that you have the choice of syncing via bluetooth manually or every 8 hours but nothing in between, (say like once a week?) I was so accustomed to total failure I just let it slide. But then it started running into errors with syncing to iCal... then errors syncing photos... then errors syncing videos... then errors syncing CONSTANTLY. And that was upside! From there it caused errors and corruptions on my computer with MobileMe and iPhoto, the MissingSync application on my MBP would open on its own to sync, not sync but freeze and require a force quit. Then finally it opened, froze and crashed my entire computer. It engaged in a Vietnam-like warfare with my Blackberry 8320, (OS v4.5.0.81) and seems to have permanently corrupted my perfectly functional media card, (despite a total wipe!) to the point where my Blackberry will terminally freeze if installed. Mind you, I did everything I could along the way to fix it including deleting and restoring Address Book, iCal, and caches from everywhere and re-downloading and re-installing the application on my MBP and phone.

At present it just won't sync at all. Not by USB cable nor by Bluetooth. Not when initiated from the computer nor the handheld. Not when praying to God nor cursing him. It's just sitting on my dock as a dormant reminder to the chaos it caused. That says nothing for all the frustration of having to reenter ALL 500+ of my contacts on to my handheld MANUALLY. And that's not say anything for the lost software from my handheld and data on my MacBook Pro. And THAT'S not to say anything for the WEEK of anarchy it caused myself and anyone who needed to reach me!

For the love of all that is holy, PLEASE SOMEONE OTHER THAN THE MAKERS OF MISSING SYNC OR THAT GOD AWFUL POCKET MAC CREATE A THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE THAT WILL SYNC THE BLACKBERRY DEVICE TO A MAC. If two monkeys and a tambourine had an alternative available I'd give my left arm to try it instead.

(04/21/09 - I have a support ticket in to MarkSpace at present. In light of any progress I will update this review.)  
(Version 2.0.1)

LOKHEED  I really don't know why people still continue to use this when RIM has officially released a native Mac OS X Desktop Manager some months ago:

http://na.blackberry.com/eng/services/desktop/desktop_mac.jsp  
(Version 2.0.3)

DEWRIES  This is a shameless scam

Here's what I got for my money: address book sync failed and corrupted my blackberry (to the point that I had to have it serviced, loosing everything I had on it), calendar sync was abysmal at best, and destroyed my whole day events, and I could go on.

I have spent days of troubleshooting, markspace offered no help and I could not get my money back either.

And apparently, I am not the only one with the same experiences.

This is unacceptable: missing sync is supposed to sync. If it doesn't, corrupts your data, crashes, and behaves erratically, it cannot be considered a product at all (even if by some magic _sometimes_ it does not completely fail, just every other time). Providing a "review" for it is laughable.

Markspace has been knowing this for 6 months at least, and they still shamelessly advertise it and sell it. Some got their money back, but I wasn't that lucky - they know I'm a foreigner, and they know I cannot fight back. I'm probably the kind sucker they are fishing for, because at this point, this is nothing else but a scam.

Do not spend a dime on this. If I could, I'd sue them for fraud.  
(Version 2.0.2)

REDDIRTRANCH  I've been a user ov ver 1, other than the usual inconsistancies, sync issues it pretty did most of what it said, I only had to go restore my contacts from backups a couple of times. This version simply won't install and run, THe online help is useless.

The blackberry component gives a error. After shelling out $29 for an update I wish I'd not bothered.  
(Version 2.0)

LEN PERUSKI  It simply doesn't work as advertised. On my 9000 it transferred only 278/701 entries from my Address Book. Most of the transferred entries were incomplete and several were duplicated. On the positive side, it does appear to be very stable on the Mac and only crashed my BB once. Their technical support is marginal at best. I have sent them trace logs and comments on the beta versions, been promised email responses within 24 hours, and the best has been 72 hours. They did not reply to my last post which summarized a series of problematic issues. Imagine my surprise when this build showed up online as a "finished" version! Bottom line - avoid this product. I love my BB but have yet to find a good application to sync it with my Mac. If one doesn't come along soon, the iPhone is looking real good.  
(Version 2.0)

JAMESATHON123  MissingSync - truly the worst...

Judge for yourself. I asked their tech if it will sync my BB Bold and was assured it would. Shell out for the license. Not only does it NOT work for the bold when syncing contacts but i end up losing lots of data and time working with their tech. Then he assures me it will work with the beta release. I request to have a call with their tech and he tells me I have 3 choices - continue this painful ordeal through email, pay $60 to have a phone call, or request a refund.

MissingSync, if you're out there, YOU TRULY...  
(Version 1.0.3)

OFIR GAL  I attempted to install this software on many computers (I sysadmin about 150 macs). It never worked reliably. It would work occasionally, but mostly fail to sync for a variety of reasons. All attempts to get support or refunds were met with silence. It's unbelievable that these people are allowed to sell so much poor software for so long.

In other words, this is a candidate for the worst ever software for the Mac. Totally unusable.

Are there no laws in USA to deal with this kind of practice? If I were RIM I would be suing them for destroying the Blackberry Mac market. 10 days to iphone in the UK. Bye bye blackberry...  
(Version 1.0.2)

KDCR  Disastrous! WIll sync Address Book, but completely useless with iCal. yes, you can go on and on and on resetting your sync data and history and starting from scratch all the time, but what's the point? What we're paying for is a functioning software. Very poor.  
(Version 1.0.1)

AJMAC25  I started using Missing Sync for my Palm and it seemed to work well. When I moved to the Blackberry, I purchased the BB application and had so-so luck. I never lost data but with iCal, my nightmares never ceased. I would get duplicates in my calendar constantly and then I would get a sync error weekly that required me to go and delete preferences and reapply the software. I could never get it to sync pics with iPhoto. Their customer service is only by email and finally after a month of emails back and forth to customer service and no solution I gave up.After the last update to MS, I abandoned my support for MS for BB and went with the free client from Blackberry and I have never missed MS for BB. The BB client will not sync photos with iPhoto yet, but I just drag them over manually without problem. Save your money and try the free BB client first before dropping big bucks on Missing Sync.  
(Version 2.0.3)

META  I feel like I need to post a review in the interest of balance.

I used The Missing Sync 1.x for over a year for syncing my BlackBerry. I never had any of the horrible problems encountered by other people.

My wife also used a copy, the only problem she encountered was that it failed to handle some accented characters--and that seems to be because the BlackBerry OS doesn't support all European language character sets.

I've now switched to BlackBerry's free client, and I haven't tried Missing Sync 2.0, but suffice it to say there *are* satisfied users of The Missing Sync.  
(Version 2.0.2)