3 weeks with Android, but I miss iOS so much...(Update: I think though I will stay with Android)

[bobbob1016]

Re: 3 weeks with Android, but I miss iOS so much...

I agree about the local sync, I just wanted to describe something that happened to someone that I know...
The picture sync situation is not dramatic. I am using Dropbox to upload whatever I need, so that's ok, but not as good as with iTunes/Aperture. It doesn't really bother me though and I can certainly live with it.

There is an app that can sync contacts locally, called Syncmate, that needs to activate USB debugging on the Android device, and not on the Mac (you are confusing that apparently). This was a big issue for my good friend who didn't know how to do that...(he is not a computer guy)
Google could just offer a sync software that connects to iTunes. iTunes would take care of direct Aperture syncing..

Anyway, this is not my biggest issue with Android for the moment. Currently I need a solution for the following things:

• Video Conferencing: My father has an iMac, my brother also (plus iOS devices), and most of my friends use Macs. I mostly chat from my Macs using iChat and make calls with the same app or with Facetime. On Android I have two options: Skype and Hangouts. My brother configured a Hangouts account and we communicate like that now, but for my father, it is impossible for him to understand that he needs to use a browser to connect with Hangouts. All of my friends and family have Skype too, so I would happily use it, but the app sucks big time on Android. Incoming calls do not come through, chats also not..The question here is, what else is out there that I could use???
• Safari read mode is missing. It's funny how people complain about the iPhone's small screen, but most of the times I can see more stuff and read better on an iPhone than on my M8. Why? Because I have read mode integrated, that works very well...
• Copy paste is a hit & miss..Copying and pasting stuff in Android is not good implemented, or I still havent got it yet..I wanted to copy sth from Chrome from a page with only text, but it was not possible...Most of the times it is really difficult to select sth, especially compared to iOS...Any tips?

Well, with the contacts, as I said, using a cable is a step backwards. If it were me I'd ask him if he saw the sourcecode for Syncmate, as without that, how does he know they aren't sending it back to their servers? I'd trust Google before them, as I haven't heard of them before. They could be good, but I don't know. But that's a point I think we've killed.

I haven't used Skype on Android in a while. As you use iChat on your Mac to help him, use the screen-sharing that's built in, and that I use regularly, and setup Hangouts for him, and make it an icon on his Finder. Not easy for all, but a lot can get it, or at least use it when it's setup.

Maybe Pocket? Instead of one reader mode per device, I think that Pocket takes the page (you do Menu -> Open in/Share with Pocket or something). I don't use it on my iPhone so I don't know if Pocket works the same, but from what I see it should work similarly.

I think this may be a personal thing. I detest the way it is on iOS and think it's a implementation. I frequently want to select just one section, but iOS thinks it knows better and selects the whole paragraph. That being said, I just did a copy and paste of just a paragraph without issue. I'd like Google to add wording to the "copy/paste" prompts, but it's not major.

 

[trekk]

Re: 3 weeks with Android, but I miss iOS so much...

Maybe it's that I am used to that. I have been using iPhones since 2007..

What you can do is download an app called light flow. You chose the color of the notification light based on where the notification is coming from. I am not sure if this works on the M8, but I can do it on my Nexus 5 you should check it out.

 

[petvas72]

Re: 3 weeks with Android, but I miss iOS so much...

I have made up my mind. I will keep the M8 and try to make things work as I want them to.

My setup works like this at the moment:

• For Mail and calendar I use hosted Exchange (Office 365). I use Nine for Mail, and DigiCal for calendar. I don't use Exchange tasks because the Tasks app on the Mac is bad, so I would like to have more functionality..
• For tasks I switched to Wunderlist. It works well for the moment. I would prefer to use sth like Omnifocus or Things (that are available on the Mac and iOS), but currently there are not available on Android..
• For lock screen notifications I use Nils floating panel. I just need to play with its settings to make it work better for me
• I sync my iTunes music library with the Google Play Music Manager and it works very well
• For pictures, I exported albums from Aperture and then copied them to my M8. New pictures taken with the M8 will get uploaded to Dropbox. I import them then manually to Aperture. This is not ideal, but I can live with it
• Video Calls: This is a problem for me and I would like your ideas..I would like to use Skype but it really sucks on Android. I can easily call people, but receiving calls doesn't work all the times...Hangouts is ok, and I use it with people that have it..
• Chat: I use Facebook Messenger, Whats Up (less though), Hangouts (also not a lot). I miss Messages and iChat, but I use my Macs more for chatting..My M8 is used less for chatting..
  UPDATE
• Internet browsing: I started using Firefox and it has everything I need from a modern mobile browser. Of course I need to give it time to see how good it works with the sites I visit frequently. Having AD blocking is great!
• Podcasts: I use Pocket Casts and I love it. No issues here
• Books: Kindle...
• Password Manager: 1Password on my Macs and on Android too. There is a beta available with read/write, much better than the version found on the Google Play store
• Notes: OneNote on my Macs and on Android: Works great for me.

As you can see I am not that dependent on Apple's ecosystem, but I want to use the best solution available for my needs..
I still have some issues with the size of the M8, but I am getting used to that slowly..

 

[Barronius]

Re: 3 weeks with Android, but I miss iOS so much...

You know what frustrates me about iOS, the lack of real sharing intents. Let me give you an example. The Mail app. Try attaching one of those photos that is uploaded to your photo stream to an email. I dare you. You can't. I know, because I spent an hour trying to make it happen. You know what the solution is? Install the Gmail app!

To attach a photo to an email on iOS, you must first go to photos, pick the photo you would like to send and then click the icon of the small square with arrow pointing up. A new area opens where you can select what you want to do with the selected photo -- message, email, Twitter, etc.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

Re: 3 weeks with Android, but I miss iOS so much...

To attach a photo to an email on iOS, you must first go to photos, pick the photo you would like to send and then click the icon of the small square with arrow pointing up. A new area opens where you can select what you want to do with the selected photo -- message, email, Twitter, etc.

Which, as I've said, is not the same and is not intuitive at all.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[Lynx]

Re: 3 weeks with Android, but I miss iOS so much...

BTW, biggest weakness of iOS? Keyboard. Swiftkey is so dramatically superior that typing on an iPhone makes me feel like I'm back in kindergarten with a box of broken crayons.

I couldn't agree more. I actually posted elsewhere earlier that Apple and Google need to go in opposite directions meaning this:

- Google needs to lockdown Android a little bit more in terms of 3rd party skins. IMO all of them are absolutely terrible except for Sense. This also makes updates to the OS painfully slow.

- Apple need to open up iOS a little bit and let people install third party keyboards.

I am a HUGE iOS fan, I can look past every downfall of the stock iPhone (no quick reply, no custimization, smaller screen etc), but not having Swiftkey is what is keeping me on my Galaxy s5 for right now.

- - - Updated - - -

Which, as I've said, is not the same and is not intuitive at all.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

To be fair its basically the same way on Android, except you get a ton more sharing options.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

Re: 3 weeks with Android, but I miss iOS so much...

I couldn't agree more. I actually posted elsewhere earlier that Apple and Google need to go in opposite directions meaning this:

- Google needs to lockdown Android a little bit more in terms of 3rd party skins. IMO all of them are absolutely terrible except for Sense. This also makes updates to the OS painfully slow.

- Apple need to open up iOS a little bit and let people install third party keyboards.

I am a HUGE iOS fan, I can look past every downfall of the stock iPhone (no quick reply, no custimization, smaller screen etc), but not having Swiftkey is what is keeping me on my Galaxy s5 for right now.

- - - Updated - - -



To be fair its basically the same way on Android, except you get a ton more sharing options.

Well no. There's an attach button on Android in the email app. I don't have to leave the email app and go to the gallery just to send a picture.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[Lynx]

Re: 3 weeks with Android, but I miss iOS so much...

Well no. There's an attach button on Android in the email app. I don't have to leave the email app and go to the gallery just to send a picture.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

Long press in the email app of iOS you can add pictures that way.

 

[Kevin OQuinn]

Re: 3 weeks with Android, but I miss iOS so much...

Long press in the email app of iOS you can add pictures that way.

Not quite as intuitive but at least it's there.

Thanks!

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[Lynx]

Re: 3 weeks with Android, but I miss iOS so much...

Not quite as intuitive but at least it's there.

Thanks!

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

Not a problem, I have used iOS since the second gen iPod touch and every iPhone since the 4.... found that out maybe a year ago lol.

 

[Aquila]

Does anyone know if the hangouts chrome extension works on Mac? That would solve the "need the browser" issue for that app. Its what I use in windows and chromeos.

XTNiT-1060 through spacetime.

 

[Roaddawg223]

Re: 3 weeks with Android, but I miss iOS so much...

I have a GS4 and an iPhone 5. The iPhone 5 is a work phone. When I first got my i5, I dropped my personal cell service and just stuck with the iPhone. I had a GS3 at this time. I went about 8 or 10 months before I absolutely lost it and signed back up with AT&T again and bought the GS4. I am someone who can not stand to be held back though. I want things my way. (see: my signature) Live life. I am not one to live life as a puppet. Behind the barricades. This is exactly what Apple has set up with their mobile devices. Look at anyones iphone. it is just like the next guys. Background may be different. Oh, and then some geniuses started to take all but 1 app off their first home screen so that they could actually see their wallpaper. I just like the unlimited possibilities Android has to offer.

This is all a personal preference though. I just had to chime in as someone who, at all times, has both OSes in my pocket. I can promise you that I only reach for the Apple when someone from the office makes it ring. Everything else is handled on my galaxy. But that is my personal preference. It is good to see you have given Android a fighting chance. And honestly, it looks like you may have just caused more harm than good by opening your mind to give Android a try. Seeing as you have now created another personal dilemma! lol

 

[petvas72]

Re: 3 weeks with Android, but I miss iOS so much...

Adding to my list of apps, I just downloaded Firefox and it has read mode, which I love! I installed it on my Macs too and I will test it the next days to see if it can replace Safari..
I am a bit happier now

 

[mchi5]

I didn't read through all the posts but I went from an IPhone 5 to the Note 3 and can say I'm never going back to iPhone, unless something drastically changes.

I find I am more productive and do a lot more with the Note 3 than I ever was with a iPhone. A lot of it, I think, has to do with the screen size. I can view spreadsheets, word documents, etc easily on the Note 3. With the iPhone I used to have to grab the ipad


On a side note, my wife has an iPhone 5s and loves it....



Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note 3 via Tapatalk

 

[pappy53]

Re: 3 weeks with Android, but I miss iOS so much...

switch to OIS

Yeah, switch to Optical Image Stabilization! j/k

 

[petvas72]

Re: 3 weeks with Android, but I miss iOS so much...

Yeah, switch to Optical Image Stabilization! j/k

That wouldn't be bad though, if the M9 has it

 

[Aquila]

Re: 3 weeks with Android, but I miss iOS so much...

Posting this again for reference:


If you have productive commentary to offer, please feel free to contribute it. Contrariwise, if you do not care for a post, there is no need to respond. Move along! Move along!

Thanks!

 

[petvas72]

Re: 3 weeks with Android, but I miss iOS so much...

I created an Excel sheet comparing the iPhone 5S to the HTC One M8.

Have a look: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2tkr512ug0b8k8h/iPhone 5S vs HTC One M8.xlsx

 

[meyerweb#CB]

Re: 3 weeks with Android, but I miss iOS so much...

Very interesting interpretation of what I said...
Up until now we didn't have a typical fanboy answer, but I guess it was about time..

What you don't get is that I am trying to like Android and I have given it a fair chance...I am even still thinking about keeping my M8...

Your OP was nothing about trying to like Android. It was nothing but a list of ways you consider it inferior to iOS. If you REALLY wanted to send the message that you were trying to like it, you failed miserably.

 

[meyerweb#CB]

Re: 3 weeks with Android, but I miss iOS so much...

- Google needs to lockdown Android a little bit more in terms of 3rd party skins. IMO all of them are absolutely terrible except for Sense. This also makes updates to the OS painfully slow.

But that's just your opinion. Not everyone likes sense, and not everyone likes the GEL. I, for one, dislike GEL, and think it's a real step backwards. If Android forced me to use it, I might start looking at other platforms. If you don't like one skin, there are lots of other choices available. No one's forcing you to use Touchwiz, for example.