More noob questions: Calendar Sync & Lock Screen Nofications

[trailracer618]

Coming from iOS 8 on a 4S to 4.4.2 on an S3.

Problem #1
I recently switched from an 4S to and S3, however my wife still has her 4S. We had our calendars synced through iCloud. What is the best way to have syncing calendars now that we are on differnt platforms? She'd prefer to stick to the stock iOS calendar if possible, but will switch to a different app if necessary.

Here's what I've tried:
1. Set up a google calendar for both her and I, then shared them with each other. Problem is that even after I add her google calendar to her iPhone, it does not show the calendar that I shared with her.

2. Downloaded Sunrise app on both her iPhone and my S3. The app is pretty nice and isn't too much different than the stock app in appearance. While it does solve the problem of a shared calender, it does not seem to notify her that an event has been added to calendar like it did when we were both on iOS. I can't seem to find anything in the setting that would allow this either.

Any suggestions on a cleaner or better way to have syncing calendars is appreciated.

Problem #2

A much smaller problem to me than the above, but I miss being able to delete and reply to emails and message directly from the lock screen. How can I accomplish this on my S3?

 

[SpookDroid]

If she opens her Google Calendar on a web browser, does she see your shared calendar? Also, I don't think there's an option for the phone to notify you if an event has been added other than if a reminder has been set for such event. You get notified if you forward an event or if you require the event to be accepted (sort of like an e-mail with a meeting request).

You should probably read this one too.
How to easily sync your iCloud calendar to Android | Android Central

As for the lockscreen e-mail, you could download a notification app that would give you iPhone-like pop-ups on your lockscreen, or just do that from the Notification bar. Sure, you'll need to do one extra swipe-down, but it's not like it's gone. When you get an e-mail, you can delete it, read a portion of it, and reply right from the notification bar.

 

[trailracer618]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, if she opens her Google Calendar in a web browser, my calendar does show up. It just doesn't show as a viewable calendar on her iPhone (but yet the "Other" calendars like Holidays do, WTF?). I had read the article about the SmoothSync that you provided, but I've never paid for an app in my life (there just always seems to be a free option that works). If I were to use SmoothSync, and then added an event to my calendar, would she get a notice that an event had been added just like she would if we were both on iOS? If so, I'd gladly pay for the app. If not, I'll just stick to Sunrise.

As for the Lock Screen display notifications, I'm trying out AcDisplay. I also tried out the new Microsoft Next Lock Screen app, but it was pretty buggy and slow so I deleted it within a couple of hours.