As a wireless analyst, columnist and speaker, I have an opinion on everything. I was going to say everything wireless, but if you ask my kids they would say to leave off the word wireless. I know … kids. I have used most of the new wireless smartphones in the market today. In my opinion, there is no perfect smartphone. With that said, they are great, except for the occasional black hole we all get sucked into. Let me explain.
Everyone has a favorite between Apple iPhone, Google Android, Nokia, BlackBerry and more. I tend to like the iPhone for some things and Android for others. Even though they are both good, they also both have enough problems to drive me absolutely nuts.
Today my complaint is about synching. You know, syncing your calendar, contacts and everything else between your MacBook or Windows computer to your iPad, iPhone or Android device. You would think after all these years in the cloud, it should be easy and work well. You would be wrong.
Why can’t Apple and Google get it right?
I use both Windows and Apple devices and had problems making my machines play nice together. They all seem to work great separately, but getting them to exchange information and work together well was as difficult as getting kids to play nicely together in the sandbox. There’s always the bully, lots of screaming, sand throwing and eventual tears. The tears are mine as I struggle with these smart devices.
I had to figure out a way to make them all play nicely together without starting World War III. Recently Microsoft went off the deep end and started acting like a real bully, not just to Apple, but to users as well. They forced and tricked many trusting users to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 without permission. This has ticked off quite a few users.
Microsoft forcing users to switch to Windows 10
So I decided since Microsoft wasn’t playing fair, I would just leave them and go 100% Apple. This was a big step since I have been a loyal Windows guy for more decades than I can count. But when they turned into a big bear tearing user trust apart with their Windows 10 claws, I decided enough was enough.
Since I knew the iPhone and the iPad, I figured switching to a MacBook would be easy. Wrong! It took quite a while to turn this ship around in my mind. It has been several months and while I can use everything Apple pretty well, there are still problems and road blocks now and then.
Why do these companies make this stuff so damn complicated? I still use Windows machines, but since I now also use a MacBook I thought life would have gotten easier. Well, it has and it has not. Let me explain.
Apple and Microsoft have similar problems
Using a MacBook, iPhone and iPad and syncing everything to the Apple iCloud was my plan. Sounded perfect. And since it was all Apple it should work easily, or so I thought. No dice. These devices worked well separately. And they started out sharing information with the iCloud, which made life much better. That is until it stopped working. And that drives me nuts.
Sometimes it syncs with iCloud. Sometimes it takes days. Still other times it doesn’t sync at all. And I can find no reason for this to happen and no fix.
This is not a problem with wireless networks like AT&T Mobility, Verizon Wireless, Sprint or T-Mobile US. This is an Apple problem. And in fact every wireless smartphone maker using the cloud to sync including Google Android may all have this same problem, as I am hearing.
This problem means I must add or change information to my main calendar on the MacBook only. That way I know the only calendar which is correct. Then I pray and cross my fingers and hope it updates to my iPhone and iPad. Sometimes it does. Yes, I have missed a few important meetings because of this screw up. Thanks, Apple.
And that’s why this Apple sync problem drives me absolutely nuts. I had this problem before when every time the Apple iOS software was updated it no longer synced with my Windows laptop. I thought by going all-Apple it would solve this problem. I was wrong. The problem continues.
Chink in the armor of Apple brand value
The inability for Apple to sync reliably is a big problem for the company’s brand and for me as a user. It is a major chink in the Apple brand to all users who have this problem. And apparently there are plenty of users.
This damages the Apple brand, which otherwise would be shiny. It’s damaging to me and my business and personal life because I have missed events that I should not have.
The real problem is we all get swept up in all the wonderful stories and positive public relations about these magical devices and use them for everything. When in reality these devices are obviously not reliable enough for many important uses. Unless you are one of the lucky ones, you have had similar problems.
Positive PR creates false sense of security for Apple
These different Apple devices all work well separately. But when you try and tie them all together in the iCloud so they can share your information, there is a black hole where your info is often sucked into and never seen again.
We all rely on technology too damn much. In the old days I used to carry a DayTimer, which was a kind of pocket calendar that you scribbled events into. I just checked online and they still exist and look exactly the same. It was nostalgic feeling seeing that again. However, I don’t know if you can sync your DayTimer to your iPhone. Do you?
Apple must solve this problem for users to trust them
Anyway, Apple must solve this problem to keep it from devaluing their brand with consumer and business users. I would hope this column would bring it to their attention so they can focus on this and fix the problem. However, this problem has been around for more years than I can count and they just don’t seem to get it.
Having more than one iPhone or Android sitting around ready to be used is one solution. I grabbed another one and everything works fine … for now at least. However, most users can’t do this. So this is a real problem for the user and for both Apple and Google.
As the smartphone moves from a novelty to a life tool, and as the cloud becomes more important, more powerful and as we integrate our lives into it, this reliability problem must be solved or customers will revolt. Why it hasn’t been solved yet is a mystery to me.
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