[obiwan1]

This is driving me absolutely bonkers. I am a relatively new imac user, but I am really struggling here.

Can someone please help with simple instructions? I don't want third-party software, because I know it is possible because I 'accidentally' did it once before.

I am running Mountain Lion. The main issue is that I can not see my s3 in iPhoto. When I had a successful result the previous time, I recall that there was some sort of setting workaround to get the phone to appear in iPhoto on the left hand side.

I would prefer to go through kies wifi, but am happy to connect via usb for a successful result.

Any help much appreciated.

[Dog5000]

When you connect your S3 via USB to your iMac, you'll see a USB symbol in the Notification bar. Swipe down to expose the Ongoing section in the Notification bar, and then click on the "Touch for other USB options". This brings up a choice to select MTP or PTP mode. I believe the default mode is MTP. If MTP is selected, then enable PTP mode. On my MacBookPro, iPhoto is configured to automatically start when a device is connected. After iPhoto starts up, you may see something like
Attachment 47583
MTP and PTP don't play well with Mountain Lion, so as an alternative you could use Kies via USB and from the Photos select the pictures you want to import into iPhoto, then choose the "Save to PC" option, and save to your Pictures or wherever you are keeping your photos on the iMac. Then you can use the import feature in iPhoto to organize the photos, etc.
If you're open to using a third party app, then AirDroid is one that works well and will enable you to copy the photos from your S3 to your iMac wirelessly, and then you can import into iPhoto.

[obiwan1]

Thankyou, Mr Hound.

Option one seems very close to working. When I connect via USB in PTP mode, iPhoto automatically starts. But then I can't find the phone listed anywhere in iPhoto, so can't locate the photographs. Arrgghhhh.

With Kies, I can connect the S3 with the iMac, select the pics in the browser, but when I go to download or upload, it says I need to have Java installed (which I have) and I can get no further. (Note to others: I was using Rockmelt in the beginning, which is a 32-bit browser and apparently won't handle the latest Java. Safari, in theory, should).

This should be so simple. Why not????? (Rhetorical question!)

I will have a look at AirDroid and let you know how I get on. Your assistance is much appreciated.

[funkylogik]

Would a card reader not be simpler mate? :beer:

Unbranded international s3 with Official JB. Paisley, Slotland, Western Europe :beer:

[Dog5000]

ObiWan1, Funky has a good point. Keeping it simple is a good goal here. Sounds like from your description that you are using Kies Air from a browser session on your iMac. I have run into this Java issue as well (there's a big thread here in the S3 forums on Macs and S3s). I was able to safely ignore the Java error as it didn't appear to impact the core Kies Air session functionality. Above I was referring to using the Kies application with your S3 connected to the iMac via a USB cable.
Do let us know how the Kies USB or AirDroid turn out. Both are working well for me at this point in time on my system with OS X 10.8.2 and Safari 6.0.2.

[obiwan1]

Would a card reader not be simpler mate? :beer:

So, do you mean a micro SD card reader plugged into the USB port on the iMac? Meaning I would need to pull the SD card out each time.

That sounds like a bit of an arse, but I have to admit that the other options are more so! I can't understand why on earth this is not completely simple. Do Apple and android not love each other?

Thanks for your help.

[obiwan1]

ObiWan1, Funky has a good point. Keeping it simple is a good goal here. Sounds like from your description that you are using Kies Air from a browser session on your iMac. I have run into this Java issue as well (there's a big thread here in the S3 forums on Macs and S3s). I was able to safely ignore the Java error as it didn't appear to impact the core Kies Air session functionality. Above I was referring to using the Kies application with your S3 connected to the iMac via a USB cable.
Do let us know how the Kies USB or AirDroid turn out. Both are working well for me at this point in time on my system with OS X 10.8.2 and Safari 6.0.2.

Unless I am being a bit daft (sadly, a real possibility!), I can't see how to transfer the pic files from Kies to iPhoto even when I am connected via USB. Anyone who can explain this to me or point me to an explanation would earn my eternal admiration and be first in line to be CTO at my multi-billion dollar tech company, in the unlikely event that this ever happens.

[grunt0300]

@obiwan1: Use the Dark Side of the Force, and delete Kies. Put your photos into folders. Put folders on desktop. Open iPhoto. Drag & Drop photos from desktop, into iPhoto. Make new folders in iPhoto, and add photos to those folders.

P.S. Don't listen to Qui-Gon Jinn, he will be killed by Darth Maul.

[Dog5000]

Grunt's got a good plan. The key thing you'll need to decide is which app/method you will use to get stuff off of your S3 and onto the iMac. AirDroid, as noted earlier, is quite easy to use and I've had no issues with it via Safari. I was also using Kies Air on the S3, but the latest update (last I checked in early Nov), was badly broken so I removed it. It's unfortunate as it was functional and "native" to the phone. Check out the reviews in Google Play store and you'll see why it makes sense to avoid it for the time being. AirDroid is a good alternative, and there are other quality tools similar to this in the Play store.

Once you're connected to your phone in the iMac AirDroid browser session, you can navigate to wherever you are keeping your photos on your phone. Then using Grunt's plan, get your stuff into iPhoto. I personally use the Pictures in Finder, and within Pictures have all of my photos organized in subfolders based upon topics like vacations, kids, etc. The key step and concept is to get your photos copied over to your iMac (either using AirDroid or Kies, etc.), and then you can copy/import stuff into iPhoto.

Lastly, don't think you're being daft as the current state of media synching to/from Android to Mac ecosystems are not as intuitive and straightforward as it could be. Be patient, though, as there are plenty of good options and tools out there not only for photos, but music, etc. When your company does make it big, certainly keep us in mind for that CTO spot

[obiwan1]

Really happy with AirDroid. Thanks for the tip.

[Dog5000]

Really happy with AirDroid. Thanks for the tip.

Cool, glad its working out for you. Someone else here in the forums pointed me toward AirDroid, so thought I'd pass along...

[singing in the rain1]

My first visit to this site. Thanks to Dog5000. It worked great with the USB connection and your instructions. I did not know what 'split events' meant and since it was the default. So now all these photos are listed by date as separate events so a lot of organization and merging will eventually be required. I would recommend 'unchecking' the split events feature box if you want to avoid this issue. 'Not complaining, just the facts. I imported all 3000+ of the photos on my SGs3's memory card directly into iphoto with no second step....unsure how it worked, but it did. A few photos that were sent to me as attachments to emails could not be 'read' in order to be imported, so I think I might try the AirDroid next time to see if I get different results. Again, thank you immensely Mr Dog5000. These photos have been held hostage on my phone for months .

[Dog5000]

Great. Glad you have a system that works. Kudos to Obi and Grunt...it was a collective effort