I have been around technology long enough to fully expect that integration between random technologies just isn't going to work right. So, whenever something does "just work", I'm generally pretty surprised. Of course, I have been using NeXT related technologies for long enough that my expectation are unnaturally high, certainly.

I have been avoiding owning a cell phone for a long, long time. Hate the things.

But, life has taken a turn where a cell phone would be helpful.

So, off to the Cingular store around the corner to pick up something. I grabbed a Motorola V551 GSM phone. It was the cheapest bluetooth enabled phone available. Given that they have a 30 day no penalties, I figured I could trade to something that does work with Mac OS X Tiger if this one didn't (having done nearly zero prior research).

Obtaining the phone was about as painless as any contractual agreement that requires a financial anal probe can be. Why the hell the phone company needs to know my SSN and driver's license # is lost upon me.

Without cracking the manual, I tried syncing the phone with Mac OS X's calendar and address book.

It just worked. Seamlessly. The hardest part was figuring out how to turn on bluetooth in the phone's twisty little maze of menus, all slightly different.

Not only that, but BlueTooth File Exchange (including w/Tiger) worked just fine. I was able to grab the really low res grainy digital photos off of the phone without a problem.

Unfortunately, it looks like Salling Clicker does not support the v551.