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HotSync with Mac OS X


Sat Jul 6, 2002 - 3:00 PM EDT - By James Hromadka

When Handspring released the Visor, Mac users clamoured for it, as it was the only Palm-compatible that worked out of the box with the Mac at the time. It would seem that Handspring has forgotten its roots, as the company still does not offer native support for Mac OS X at this time.

Although I have mentioned it before, I began to receive a lot of email from people asking me how I got the Treo to HotSync on Mac OS X when I wrote the USB Sync & Charge Cable review because I mentioned that I HotSync the Treo on Mac OS X. So now I'm going to tell you how I setup HotSync. Most of this is from memory, so I may have missed a small step:

Download Palm Desktop 4 for Mac
Install the application
Go into /Applications/Palm/PalmOS Upgrades and delete the folder for 3.5.3
Connect the Treo or Visor and HotSync. The first one takes a long time

That's it! The only problem that I have ever had is that sometimes HotSync reinstalls all my applications. I have never lost data from this, but it can be annoying because sometimes deleted applications reappear, and I have had the SMS messages overwritten. Your mileage may vary. Also remember that Handspring does not support Mac OS X, so it can't help you if you have any problems.

I am still very disappointed with Handspring for taking so long to support Mac OS X. Apple has discontinued development for OS 9 and all the major Mac vendors are moving to Mac OS X. It is time for Handspring to do so as well.

Update: It appears that the Treo 90 does not work at all using this method. I suggest Mac users contact Handspring and express their interest in Handspring making OS X more of a priority.