Mobile OSs Android and Mac Owners - Stepping out of the iOS/OSX Eco System

soulreaver99 said:

A lot of us here have been with using iOS products along with Apple computer hardware and using the combination of both makes the most logical sense. For instance, iMessages syncs with Messages (On Mountain Lion), iTunes is used to sync music and photos taken with an iOS device appear in Photostream on your OSX laptop or desktop.

So my question to those who have switched full time to an Android phone or tablet, how does it fit in with the rest of your Apple/Mac eco-system? Doesn't it feel out of place?

Thanks!

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I have had Android phones for years and never had an issue with my Mac products. I use Gmail so anything I schedule on my phone goes to the Gmail calendar on my computer and vice versa. I use Motocast to stream music and movies or look at anything on my iMac or MBP. I have zero issues or complaints. I have an iPad for any of my iOS needs, which are few to begin with.

I am currently using an Android phone (Sharp SH7218U) and a 2012 Macbook Air.

All my music, movies and photos can transfer between my MBA and Android via drag and drop.

Apps are downloaded via Play Store on the Android phone itself.

iPhone and Apple computers go hand in hand like bread and butter. With an Android phone and an Apple computer, it works just fine.

For me, Google Sync handles my contacts, calendars and mail.
Google Music means my music is available on any computer or handset I use.
Lastly, my 50gb Drop box is my cloud storage home (for the next 2 years at least).

The best thing for me is all of these products work on Linux on desktop too which is essential for me as I've recently moved to Linux based OS's primarily for desktop use.

My home computing production will continue to be done on my MacBook Pro. My email, web browsing, twitter feeds are handled on my Galaxy Nexus, iPod Touch, and soon my Nexus 7. I work both ecosystems and they continue to be great.

Went from a 4S to a GN, and own nothing but Macs.

The transition was easy. Drag and drop, then organize it anyway you want. Pictures, MP3s (which can be set as ringtones), wallpapers, ebooks... anything.

Painless.

As for contacts, calendars and whatnot, you can export them to your Gmail and everything will sync upon signing into your account. Ditto Chrome bookmarks.

Not for nothing, but this is the most organized, civilized Android-Mac conversation on this forum. I love it, even if I don't really participate.

This definitely helps my curiosity too. I didn't think it would be so easy to manage.

I used to have a HTC Hero on Sprint before I switched over to an iPhone on Verizon. I used Spanning Sync to sync my iCal/Address Book with Google Calendar/Contacts to have OTA syncing with my Hero. Looks like they now have methods to sync with iCloud (eg. SmoothSync).

While I have minor qualms about using google, some of my friends don't like the google eco system (e.g., mail, calendar). Is there a solution for them?

onthecouchagain said:

The transition was easy. Drag and drop, then organize it anyway you want. Pictures, MP3s (which can be set as ringtones), wallpapers, ebooks... anything.

Painless.

As for contacts, calendars and whatnot, you can export them to your Gmail and everything will sync upon signing into your account. Ditto Chrome bookmarks.

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eastercat said:

While I have minor qualms about using google, some of my friends don't like the google eco system (e.g., mail, calendar). Is there a solution for them?

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Hotmail set up by default as a exchange actisync account on my nexus so it syncs email, contacts, and calendar all through push. Works great and didn't affect my battery.

I have a couple of Android devices and since they are Gmail-centric for userID purposes, its not too hard to keep the things that really matter to me synched up.

-Gmail - Always synced no matter if Android or iOS device
-Contacts - Ditto
-Calendars - Ditto...I use Gmail's calendar with iCal on my Mac's, the Calendar app on iOS and the native calendar app on Android devices
-App Data - I don't synch with iCloud, I synch up via Dropbox. That keeps most of my important app data synched up on all my devices...iOS, Android, OSX or Windows. Not all apps support this but the most important ones to me do.
-Kindle and Nook app - All books synch up between devices. I'm not a big fan of iBooks anyways so no biggie to me there. I seldom read books on my iPad as I find it ergonomically inferior to my other devices (like native Kindle)
-Games - There's a handful that synch up between devices, but for most purposes, the Android devices aren't geared towards good gaming anyways. I just play games, when I do at all, on my iPad or iPhone.

Just a sample and YMMV but its really not that difficult to keep important things in synch between various devices. Dropbox alone ensures I never have to worry about not having the "right file" on whatever device I happen to have in front of me. Great, great app. Apple should have bought them and made that iCloud IMHO.

ReallyBigFeet said:

Dropbox alone ensures I never have to worry about not having the "right file" on whatever device I happen to have in front of me. Great, great app. Apple should have bought them and made that iCloud IMHO.

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http://www.forbes.com/sites/victoriabarret/2011/10/18/dropbox-the-inside-story-of-techs-hottest-startup/