Customer Reviews

Datapilot Cell Phone Data Transfer Suite with USB for Sanyo

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I am computer savvy, and this item just does not work. It does not connect and hangs up my new computer, slowing it down significantly. I tried it with another computer, with the same results. Tech Support was very poor. There are other manufacturers who sell similiar products. Go with them instead, and save yourself the frustration and money.

I strongly recommend that others avoid this product and this company.

for $34.99, you get a USB cable and software. susteen sells the cable separately for $29.95 on their web site. so if you think of the software as only costing $5, it's not too bad a deal. (i don't understand how they can charge that for a cable that cost $0.50 to make, but that's another matter).

i bought this because i got a new phone. i wanted to pull phonebook information from my old phone and from my outlook contacts and load them all onto my new phone. it turned into quite a chore and took several hours.

first issue: bad software design. if you're looking for something easy to use, refined, and intuitive, look somewhere else. it is frustrating to understand, and the online help and support is essentially nonexistent. the ringtone editor is kind of fun to play with once you understand what's going on. i still haven't figured out why i can't upload ringtones to my phone.

second issue: the installer has a feature for retrieving updates automatically...afterwards, i found that there were newer versions of both the software and the USB cable drivers available on the web site. it was a scavenger hunt making sure i had the latest versions. the boxed version i received was almost 2 years out of date.

(note: the USB driver is installed to make your USB port act as a COM port (usually COM3). this isn't really made clear until you install it. when you load your phonebook information, it is a complete replacement for any existing phone numbers.)

i finally got my phonebook loaded the way i wanted it, but i can't recommend this to anyone who does not have skills or time enough to figure out how to make it work.

I just needed an easy way to get pictures off my camera onto my computer. After emails to and from tech support we got this product to work. And for what I need it for it works fine. I have even used it to upload some ringtones to my phone which worked fine as well. There is some tweeking that needs to be done from time to time. (Re-booting usually does the trick.) I paid way too much for mine, but for the price here it is probably a decent value.Haven't tried to do much more with it but may try someday. If you want something simple, or get frustrated easily, find something else.

I you have more than 20 phone numbers this is a must have. At Sprint they were unable to transfer my phone book from my old phone to my new one (although they were able to do the transfer for my wife and a friend that had/have the exact same phones). This enable us to share number, plus keep a back up on the computer in the event of a problem. I would have given this product 5 stars if the ringtone portion of the software was worth anything (ie: if you were able to convert and transfer MP3's) but alas for the price the phone book feature alone makes it worth it.

What a rip off! You can download updates for 6 months for free. Most people get a new phone in 1-2 years. Guess what? Your new phone will not work with the old software! They will give you a "promotional" (read SUCKER) discount that "allows" you to purchase the latest versionn that will work with your phone for $27.00. Gee thanks....NOT! Don't waste your money with this company's product.

Too bad we can't give a negative number of stars.

First, recognize that I am an electronics engineer who works with (and sometimes designs parts of) computers every single day of my life, including using/installing incredibly complicated pieces of software that cost thousands of dollars. I am extremely computer savvy and technically literate. Also, recognize that my computer, my OS, and my phone were supposed to be 100% compatible with the Datapilot software.

That having been said, I've just finished spending approximately 6 hours trying to get the software to work with my phone, as well as rehabilitating my computer from the damaged caused by the attempts at getting Datapilot to work.

I've read every bit of the installation instructions. I've read every potentially related article in their "knowledge base". I've tried everything they recommend as well as everything else I could think of, reinstalling things many times over. I've completely verified, by other means, that everything on my end (computer, phone, USB connection, etc.) works just fine with other applications and when used in any other manner *except* with the Datapilot software. I've verified, time and time again, that the drivers are the correct ones according to their instructions, and that the drivers are being installed properly, and that there is absolutely no problem.

Except that Datapilot absolutely will not recognize my phone, no matter what.

I've never requested a refund on any piece of software before, and I've never posted a software review anywhere before, but this is an outrageously bad piece of software. (Or else their compatibility list is a lie.)

Aside from the software just not working, there are problems with various pieces of documentation conflicting with each other, also.

I've requested a refund (I bought the software directly from Datapilot, not through Amazon). However, in detailed searching of their Knowledge Base, I now find that they say that a refund of something bought via credit card may take up to 2 billing cycles (i.e. up to 2 months) to show back up as a refund, which is ridiculous. They also say that they are going to charge a $9.95 "handling fee" regardless of the reason for the refund. The price of the software alone, in downloaded version not on CD, was $34.95. So they are charging nearly 30% of the purchase price for "handling" of something that is not physical and doesn't require any re-stocking or anything like that. And that refund policy is not posted in the normal website any place where you might possible see it before you buy.

Although I've never requested a software refund before, and only once or twice in my life requested a refund on other types of products, at this point I'm prepared to take them to court and spend even more money just for the satisfaction of getting that extra $9.95 back. I've never been more livid about a purchase in my life.

If I don't hear back from them right away and get a full refund very quickly, I'm definitely reporting them to the Better Business Bureau in any case.

The bottom line is that it's a great idea. And you may get lucky (like one or two of the people here)and have it work for you. But for most people it's a complete waste of time and money.

Screwed up my phone so bad, I had to send it back to Sanyo for a replacement!

I am totslly satisfied with tis product it made transfer of my phone book easy. It was easy to use. I recommend it to anyone who upgrades a cell phone and needs to transfer data.

The software is quite balky and poorly designed. The interface is awkward and shows its 1980's origins. Nonetheless, if you can get it to recognize your phone (not always easy), it will work. It works once or twice. Then it will tell you that it has detected that you have installed it on multiple computers in violation of your EULA and it will cease to function. (Now, please realize that we have not installed it on multiple computers.)

In calls to customer service and tech support, as the warning notice advises you to do if you have not installed it on multiple computers, is a complete waste of time. First, getting through is difficult. Restricted hours and long waits in the queue to talk with a human.

If you ever do manage to talk with a human about this problem, they accuse you of lying and indicated that their software is flawless. Only people who install it on more than one machine get that error and have their software disabled. The only change I made to the computer was adding a USB hub, but the phone wasn't even plugged into that hub! The only "major" thing that happened was that some "Windows Updates" were installed (automatically). So it is unlikely it was due to the change in machine configuration. And even if it was, this would be a sign of a really poorly designed product. But to accuse people of lying suggests a really shady corporation as well. I'm guessing this corporation is one big SCAM.

Avoid this product if at all possible. It probably will work, although awkwardly, for a few times. So if $40 is worth it to back up one phone and transfer to another, then go ahead. But for anyone who wants to use it regularly, look elsewhere. There are many alternatives. BitPim, for example, is better and is free. Xilimobile is perfect (also free) if it supports your phone.

SAVE YOUR MONEY. LOOK FOR SOMETHING ELSE. It's three strikes: lousy design, product dies, and rude and lousy customer service. Who could want for more?

They promised "the most robust data management solution that allows sync and individualizing your mobile phone", well let me tell you this Susteen staff: I DO NOT THINK SO!!! Purchasing DataPilot has been the worst mistake I've made since I purchased Glitter on DVD 3 years ago. The only phone that actually worked was my Motorola V3 and that because, after several emails, Susteen "Support Staff" replay me with an extremely weird "How to make the software recognize the phone" email. Are you familiar with Motorola Phone Tools easy to navigate graphic interface of "drag and drop" files to the computer? Well let's just say is a little bit different with this program, very, very different. After I purchased this software I understood why piracy is increasing exponentially everyday, when you pay top dollars for something (well $43.90) you expect it to work with minimum hassle or complication. It's unbelievable how you can search the web for information on BitPim (available for free) and find a lot of rich information and help from strangers and then you have this big companies with
Labyrinthine websites. Bottonline: This software is plague with incompatibilities, if you have a Motorola phone use Motorola Phone Tools, if you have another make of cellphone try a free software such as BitPim and donate money to the developers trying to make your life more easy :)