An iOS user looking to switch over

[EpicManifesto]

Greetings everyone,

I have been a long time user of Apple's iOS system, but as of late I've grown tired of waiting for Apple to do more of then just shuffle forward in an to attempt to capture up to be increasingly impressive android system. With the release of iOS 7 I initially had cause for optimism but 7 became a major source of disappointment for me. It did not offer me any features at my android friends haven't been enjoying for years, it didn't wow me at all and quite frankly the external design is really bad, I mean I really don't like the way it looks and it really doesn't feel like they changed much in the foundation of the operating system. So, I am looking to switch over to android as it has been sometime since I've had an android device. I find myself puzzled as to which one I should choose since there are so many. Do not misunderstand, I love my MacBook Pro I would never buy any other computer, But I am tired of waiting for Apple to get its head which seems to be firmly nestled up its derri?re out so they can see the sun and possibly show me something impressive. The iPhone 5s (and 5c) seem to me to be a middle road overpriced and under engineered phone, with last generation android devices still blowing it out of water. I have done some research in terms of android phones that have a competitive specifications with iPhone and they are also a better price, I have settled on three android phones that seem to be the best candidates to replace my aging iPhone 4s. The HTC one is my top candidate, followed by the Motorola razor and the Samsung galaxy S4 ( the Samsung of course my least preferred option) I was wondering if anyone could suggest one android phone I should go with. Or if there is any other really good phones available in Canada through Telus mobility that I have not listed above I would be happy to hear about them.

I also have a couple more questions regarding an android device, as I said earlier I am very much in love with my 15 inch MacBook Pro retina display. However, I have been reluctant to switch to android up until this point due to fear of possibly losing my integration with my Apple product ( the MacBook) but I have been reading the forum here little bit and I have found several suggestions to integrate android device into my existing Apple Computer setup. My two primary concerns are my iTunes library and my photos, most of my music has been otherwise acquired and is not reliant on iTunes. A small portion of my music was purchased directly from iTunes, this is the music what concerns me. Is there any way to transfer music that I have purchased from Apple's iTunes to a new android device? Lastly, I have approximately 7000 photos available on my photo stream that are stored via iCloud, does the HTC one or any other high-end android device have the capability of integrating all my photos?

I really look forward to your answers as I am eagerly anticipating crossing the border as it were and giving android of one more chance as Apple has run out of chances for me in terms of its mobile operating system. I do apologize the advance for any questions I might have asked that seemed stupid, but I refuse to continue sitting idly by while my phone becomes ever more dysfunctional in the light of newer, better and higher quality android devices.

 

[Aquila]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

For music, it is my strong recommendation that new Android users take advantage of Google Play Music. There are two services, a paid service called All Access that lets you stream all of Google's library, and a free service that allows you to upload up to 20,000 songs for free and stream and/or "pin" them to your Android devices. There is a very easy tool to sync your iTunes folders with the Google Play Music upload tool.

For photos, I'd recommend taking advantage of Google +, it has an "auto backup" feature, that when turned on syncs all of your photos to the cloud. You can upload your photos from any browser to Google+ as well, and those can easily sync to your device. The key feature here is that it allows unlimited "standard size" photos and up to 15GB (free) of full size images.

If you snoop around, there are quite a few threads about making the switch with great information, but please don't hesitate to give us a shout out if you have any questions, etc!

 

[Golfdriver97]

Greetings everyone,

I have been a long time user of Apple's iOS system, but as of late I've grown tired of waiting for Apple to do more of then just shuffle forward in an to attempt to capture up to be increasingly impressive android system. With the release of iOS 7 I initially had cause for optimism but 7 became a major source of disappointment for me. It did not offer me any features at my android friends haven't been enjoying for years, it didn't wow me at all and quite frankly the external design is really bad, I mean I really don't like the way it looks and it really doesn't feel like they changed much in the foundation of the operating system. So, I am looking to switch over to android as it has been sometime since I've had an android device. I find myself puzzled as to which one I should choose since there are so many. Do not misunderstand, I love my MacBook Pro I would never buy any other computer, But I am tired of waiting for Apple to get its head which seems to be firmly nestled up its derri?re out so they can see the sun and possibly show me something impressive. The iPhone 5s (and 5c) seem to me to be a middle road overpriced and under engineered phone, with last generation android devices still blowing it out of water. I have done some research in terms of android phones that have a competitive specifications with iPhone and they are also a better price, I have settled on three android phones that seem to be the best candidates to replace my aging iPhone 4s. The HTC one is my top candidate, followed by the Motorola razor and the Samsung galaxy S4 ( the Samsung of course my least preferred option) I was wondering if anyone could suggest one android phone I should go with. Or if there is any other really good phones available in Canada through Telus mobility that I have not listed above I would be happy to hear about them.

I also have a couple more questions regarding an android device, as I said earlier I am very much in love with my 15 inch MacBook Pro retina display. However, I have been reluctant to switch to android up until this point due to fear of possibly losing my integration with my Apple product ( the MacBook) but I have been reading the forum here little bit and I have found several suggestions to integrate android device into my existing Apple Computer setup. My two primary concerns are my iTunes library and my photos, most of my music has been otherwise acquired and is not reliant on iTunes. A small portion of my music was purchased directly from iTunes, this is the music what concerns me. Is there any way to transfer music that I have purchased from Apple's iTunes to a new android device? Lastly, I have approximately 7000 photos available on my photo stream that are stored via iCloud, does the HTC one or any other high-end android device have the capability of integrating all my photos?

I really look forward to your answers as I am eagerly anticipating crossing the border as it were and giving android of one more chance as Apple has run out of chances for me in terms of its mobile operating system. I do apologize the advance for any questions I might have asked that seemed stupid, but I refuse to continue sitting idly by while my phone becomes ever more dysfunctional in the light of newer, better and higher quality android devices.

First, Welcome to the forums, and hopefully soon, Android!
To your phones.... I have a Samsung Galaxy S2, S3, Tab 2. That being said, I think you will be very unhappy with the S4. Don't get me wrong, very powerful device. But TouchWiz hamstrings Android SO much, that I think you will be more frustrated than anything. Former iPhone users seem to like the HTC. I completely agree with the above two posts, especially the Nexus suggestion as that will be the best comparison of Apple versus Android.
Now, to bring in another option, there are Google Editions of the HTC and S4 on Play. They are GSM phones that are unlocked, similar to the Nexus. The bonus is, you don't get the OEM skin that can slow down the OS.

I think Nothing has the best idea to convert your music over.

Anything else, give us a shout.

 

[B. Diddy]

Lots of good advice above. It's important to add that actual syncing of your iTunes library and Google Music library can sometimes be problematic. Although you can upload your entire music library (including iTunes music and playlists) to Google Music, there's no native function to actively sync--that is, if you make changes to your iTunes library, those changes won't automatically sync to Google Music. If you change an iTunes playlist, that playlist won't change on Google Music, and if you delete some iTunes music, that deletion won't occur in Google Music. However, if you add iTunes music, Google's Music Manager is smart enough to automatically add it to its cloud. There are a few 3rd party apps that are supposed to sync iTunes with Google Music, like DoubleTwist and iSyncr, but I'm not sure how seamless it is.

I bring this up because I've seen a few posts from former Apple users who expressed frustration with this issue, since they weren't quite aware of the details before making the switch.

If I had to sum up the strengths of the phones that you mentioned in a few words, I'd say:
HTC: Design & sound quality
Samsung: Camera
Motorola: Cell radio and (if it's the Maxx) battery life

 

[garublador]

A small portion of my music was purchased directly from iTunes, this is the music what concerns me.

It depends on when it was purchased. Anything purchased before some time in 2009 (I don't remember the exact date) will have DRM that will need to be removed. Anything after that is just like any other MP3 (or whatever format you use).

 

[Phil Wales]

Hi just done the switch myself, itunes went up to google music no problems just took a few hours. All my contacts I exported over to gmail no problem, and it was easy to sync iCal with Google calendar. Got my Z1 today, and just having a play, calendar works fine, and all my contacts came over including the little pics I had on some of the contacts.

 

[Golfdriver97]

Hi just done the switch myself, itunes went up to google music no problems just took a few hours. All my contacts I exported over to gmail no problem, and it was easy to sync iCal with Google calendar. Got my Z1 today, and just having a play, calendar works fine, and all my contacts came over including the little pics I had on some of the contacts.

Welcome to the forums and Android!

Sent from a Slim 4.3 S3