Intellisync 4.0 :: Education by Design Store

Editorial Review
Everyone's computer is a bit different from the rest; those differences can add up to software failure. Users who've been driven to the edge of insanity by the refusal of their personal digital assistants (PDAs) to synchronize properly with their desktops should find relief with Pumatech's Intellisync 4.0.

Fully compatible with Microsoft Outlook 2000--as well as Lotus Notes and Organizer, Novell GroupWise, Symantec ACT!, and other information managers--Intellisync 4.0 takes a bit more thought and care to set up than built-in synch programs, but it rewards most users with flawless data transfers. The customization options are impressive, and allow users greater flexibility to decide which data to move where.

Users who are happy with their built-in synch programs probably won't find Intellisync 4.0 worth the price--the customization feature, while nice, just isn't as valuable as the range of compatible software and improved transfer performance. But users who have a nagging problem that keeps them from using either their PDAs or personal information managers (PIMs) to their fullest (for example, incomplete contact-information transfer or multiple PIMs) will praise it for turning their frustration into joy. Life's too short to hassle with uncommunicative machines. --Rob Lightner

Pros:

Easily synchronize most PDAs with most desktop PIMs
Customizable
Integrated with Outlook 2000

Cons:

Best for users who suffer from incompatibility issues
Few unique features

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Customer Reviews

When it works it is fine.... BUT>>>

2006-08-11
New issues and this stuff hangs... READ FORUMS ON INTERNET
Now owned by Nokia and they have cancelled tech support. No mention of the hang problem on their FAQ's..... Wait until they get their act together

Stopped the Crashes

2003-05-08
If you have the Intellisync Lite version and you are having trouble with your sync, this should clear it up. I had to reload my original software after every sync to get it to work right until I upgraded to the full Intellisync 4.0 version.

Stopped the Crashes

2002-11-08
We have a 100 visors and palms synching to GroupWise and normally have no trouble with this software. When it does mess up, it's usually user error in answering the conflict messages & a total reset & re-sync usually solves the problem. Their tech support is one of the worst we deal with: not knowledgeable, poor FAQs. They have acknowledged their current product doesn't sync GroupWise Mail with Palm VersaMail but haven't posted that info on their web site. OS 5.0 has been available to developers for almost 6 months. Hello, a little customer service here. Wish there was another alternative.

Doesn't work with Lotus Notes 5.0

2002-10-08
While this product worked flawlessly for months, it suddenly failed for no reason. Reinstalling did not fix the problem. Users with identical Intellisync settings on the same platforms had conflicting results. Upgrading to Pentium 4 system resulted in nearly complete failure to synchronize. As others noted, customer support was worthless. Intellisyn says they will not support custom templates in Lotus Notes, yet, it works on some PC platforms and not others. Easy Sync is a much better option.

Complex and unreliable

2002-10-06
Everyone's computer is a bit different from the rest; those differences can add up to software failure. Users who've been driven to the edge of insanity by the refusal of their personal digital assistants (PDAs) to synchronize properly with their desktops should find relief with Pumatech's Intellisync 4.0.

Pros:

Easily synchronize most PDAs with most desktop PIMs
Customizable
Integrated with Outlook 2000

Cons:

Best for users who suffer from incompatibility issues
Few unique features

Horrible customer service support

2002-10-04
I bought this product and it worked well for a while; however, several months ago, I started having problems synching with my desktop. I lost all my information on the palm pilot and I've not been able to synch for several months now. I tried calling the Customer support line for several weeks and when I did eventually get the right number, they were of absolutely no help. None, what so ever. Based on the horrible service I received, I will never buy another product from this company.

It works

2002-08-15
I was getting nowhere trying to sync mail (between Palm V's (for two users) and Outlook 2000 on XP). Chapura Pro great for everything but mail (which they say it doesn't do, but that is surely important for most people?).

Intellisync (trial version off their website) works a dream. Easy to configure; mail syncs as for any other folder. Copes with multiple users. Feels solid.

Poor Customer Support! 2002-05-28
Since day one of downloading the s/w for the internet, I have not been able to get it to synchronize as advertised with Outlook (bi-directionally). I made several attempts to get this resolved with their online support staff to no avail. They essentially gave up and referred me to their telephone support staff, who then wanted me to buy a srevice "tag" in order for me to get help (now that this problem had dragged on past their stated 45 day warranty period). The manager of support (Howard) would not budge from his stance that after 45 days, there is phone support given without a $19 service tag being purchased by me... he did not care that their online support staff could not resolve my problems when I first asked for help. I would not recommend any products offered by this company because of thier poor customer relations.

Buyer Beware - Terrible operation and no support 2002-04-25
I cannot speak for other programs Intellisync claims to support, but I can say my experience with transferring between Intellisync and Lotus Notes has been one of the worst I have had. As a systems person with over 15 years experience, that's very bad.

It is true that it installs easily, but it is totally unreliable and unpredictable in its behavior when synching your Palm appointments with Lotus Notes 4.5 calendar.

Our office purchased one copy and tested it for several days. While its functional design could be improved, it seemed to work acceptably. After we bought six copies, erratic behavior started appearing in our original test installation. We have had similar problems with a second installation.

Please refer to A Sofware User from Buffalo for a good account similar to our experiences. Tech Support has *never* responded to our e-mails. We were so fed up at that point that we have not pursued it further and are writing this up as a loss.

You cannot selectively accept or decline changes. This results in duplications that you either have to live with or manually delete in the Palm or in Notes. Sometimes appointments aren't picked up at all. There seems to be no consistency to the behavior to let us diagnose the problem. There is a Re-synch option to re-do from scratch, but it doesn't work consistently, either. We have had to uninstall and reinstall IntelliSTINK (as we now call it) and sometimes even the Palm Desktop software to correct inconsistencies. But again, this doesn't last.

I am always a little uncomfortable reading strong negative reviews because I wonder if the reviewer simply didn't follow instructions and is unfairly venting. In this case, several different people with years of PC experience have worked with this software, thoroughly studied the documentation, and tried a host of approaches to get acceptable operation. As a systems office, we know you can't find perfect software, so we weren't expecting perfection in this.

Unfortunately, this is so flawed and aggravating to work with that I would urge you to look elsewhere. Since there are a number of positive reviews, though, you may find it works for you, but definitely try the software for your particular setup before you buy it. And be sure to test it heavily. It may appear to work fine at first, but repeated use seems to lead to problems. Plus, based on other negative reviews of the support, you're not going to get much help from PumaTech.