RIM releases BlackBerry Desktop software for Mac

Not all Mac users are iPhone owners. A good many rely on the BlackBerry as their smartphone of choice, either as a matter of personal preference (manly for the keyboard and highly efficient push email system) or employer policy.

But until this weekend they’ve been the poor cousin of their Windows counterparts when it comes to getting their Mac and their BlackBerry talking together.

While RIM has long offered a Desktop Manager utility to handle synchronisation, media transfer, backup and application loading from a Windows PC to a BlackBerry, Apple users had to take their chances with the much-criticised PocketMac or shell out for the exceptional but relatively expensive (US$40) Missing Sync 2.0 for BlackBerry.

Things finally changed over the weekend with RIM’s release of the BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac.
Available from blackberry.com/mac this free download replaces PocketMac and will certainly make life tougher for Missing Sync – despite Missing Sync containing some creature comforts such as synchronisation via Bluetooth.


BlackBerry Desktop Manager for Mac works with iCal, Address Book and Microsoft Entourage, and also includes BlackBerry Media Sync for synchronising iTunes playlists and album art to the BlackBerry (although DRM-protected files are not supported).

Device management features include adding and removing applications, scheduling automatic backups to the desktop and most usefully, loading software and firmware updates onto the BlackBerry.

The software also includes the necessary device drivers to turn a 3G BlackBerry such as the Bold or Storm into a wireless broadband modem for your Mac notebook. Just make sure your carrier plan also includes a separate data allowance for this purpose, as this is not covered by the 'unlimited Web and email' offerings for the BlackBerry device itself.


One caveat is that the software runs only on Mac OS 10.5.5 and higher, which means Leopard or Snow Leopard – no Tigers allowed here.

Installing and using the software is pretty straight-forward but you can download a user guide from http://na.blackberry.com/eng/support/software/mac.jsp.