Moving from iOS to Android - LOTS of questions

[adriandb]

This is going to be an incredibly long post and I blame no one who decides they don?t want to read it or care to help. To those who do, thank you I truly appreciate your time and suggestions.

I?m a current jailbroken iPhone 4s user who has been with the iPhone and iOS since I stood in line for the very first iPhone on launch day. I?m an IT professional who likes to tinker with my stuff (see ?jailbroken?), but I also like it to ?just work? (see ?Apple user?). I?m up for a new phone this May and while I don?t have any serious issues with iOS I?m not all that excited about the iPhone 5?s form factor which will likely carry over into Apple?s next device. Thankfully, Android OS has matured and Samsung has finally produced a device that is worth switching to so now I have some questions to make the process easier.

Just to be clear, I?ve done some research already and have read through these threads here:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/general-help-how/137252-apple-users-guide-android.html
Samsung Galaxy S4 or the HTC One | Android Central
Samsung Galaxy S4 hands-on | Android Central
http://forums.androidcentral.com/ge...phone-5-what-do-u-recommend-i-am-verizon.html
http://forums.androidcentral.com/sa...idering-jump-galaxy-s4-looking-pros-cons.html
http://forums.androidcentral.com/t-galaxy-s-iii/227979-switching-iphone-4-galaxy-s3-today-att.html
http://forums.androidcentral.com/ge...ge-issues-after-switching-iphone-android.html
http://forums.androidcentral.com/an.../258472-switching-iphone-5-gs3-nexus-4-a.html
http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s4/261415-your-samsung-galaxy-s4-opinion.html

I?m interested in the Galaxy SIV, but have some questions about software and services and how to either switch them or integrate them with my current system. My house is almost entirely Mac based (7 Macs, 2 iPhones, 2 iPads, AirportExtreme, AirPortExpress), my wife will be going to the next iPhone and we?ll (probably) be sticking with current family calendar management through iCloud.

First my concerns / integration questions:

Music ? I have a largrish music library of around 100gb which I currently access on my iOS devices by streaming it through iTunes Match. I?ve previously lived with a subset of music on my device so I can easily get by that way, but I assume Google?s Music service will essentially replicate iTunes Match. My only concern here is that a large portion of my library is encoded using Apple?s lossless encoder. Does Google?s matching system choke on that?

Mail ? I have email accounts on Exchange 2010, Gmail, iCloud and IMAP. Are there any success/issues with those services?

Calendar / Contact syncing ? Given that my wife will stay on iCloud and we have a shared calendar for the house I?m going to need bidirectional syncing. I?ve done this previously via desktop software, but it can sometimes be flakey and if anything goes wrong you risk blanking both calendars. Any advice on this one?

AirPlay ? I frequently stream audio from my iPhone to one of the four AirPlay zones in my house. Has anyone come up with a solution for streaming to AirPlay devices from an Android device?

Find My iPhone ? As part of iCloud there is a very easy way to geolocate, produce audible notification, remote lock/wipe and display a message on an iOS device either from the web or another iOS device. Is there anything similar for Android?

Podcasts ? Given that I won?t be syncing with iTunes any more, what do people use to stay current with their podcasts?

MailEnhancer ? One of my favorite jailbreak apps is one that allows for a lot more customization over Apple?s ?one inbox to rule them all? format. It allows for color coding of emails by the To address so that when you?re looking at your main inbox you can easily tell one account from another. It also allows for different signatures for each account. Is this out of the box functionality in Android? Do people use the built in mail client? What would you recommend?

iMessage ? I?ve heard horror stories of people who can?t get their texts because their phone number is tied to their iMessage account with Apple so any sms from another iOS user get blackholed. I?ve also read that if you turn iMessage off on your iPhone before retiring it you should be fine and also to follow these instructions: Fix The iMessage iPhone-To-Android Bug | Lifehacker Australia. Any other advice around this issue?

Camera ? I love the camera on the iPhone 4s. Cameras are one area that (almost) everyone will agree the iPhone spanks all other competitors. While I haven?t read any specifics on the SG4S camera, what photo apps are people using for 1) Quickly snapping a shot? 2) HDR?

Applications

I have two lists here. The first are the ones I?m having problems finding an exact alternative for. The second is one where I think I?ve identified the correct Android alternative, but I?d love any further input

? Marathon Coach ? This one doesn?t have an Android counterpart and given that I?m currently in the middle of training for my next half, I may just have to continue to use the iPhone as a running device. There doesn?t seem to be a way to export this training routing data for use somewhere else.

iTunes Remote ? I use my iPhone to control iTunes while on the same wifi network. Is there anything with this ability on Android?

EyeTV ? I run EyeTV on an iMac and I can connect to it remotely via the iOS app to watch live and recorded content while on the go. I?ve read about EyeDTV Pro which will probably do the job. Anyone have any experience with this?

Last.fm Audioscrobbling ? What are people using?

SimplyTweet ? My twitter client of choice on iOS, what are people using on Android?

Cor.kz ? A mobile interface into cellartracker.com and my wine collection. Anyone have anything similar or are people just using their browser for cellartracker.com?
Hue ? Those crazy light bulbs. I don?t believe there?s an Android app yet, but please let me know if I?m wrong.

RemotePatrol ? I use this in conjunction with the SecuritySpy server software to remotely view and interact with the wifi cameras I have around my house. I think IP Cam Viewer Pro will do the job. Anyone have any experience with this app or anything similar?

Pantry Manager ? This is a catalog of everything in my pantry. There isn?t a direct Android port which is annoying because I have everything cataloged and all my iOS devices sync changes. I can export to CSV so changing to another product may not suck too bad. What are people using on Android? Out of Milk?

LockInfo ? Another jailbreak app that I use to view notifications and important information on the lock screen. I don?t need a giant clock there taking up half the screen. Is customization of the lockscreen built into Android?

That?s pretty much it, though if anyone has any additional info I?m all ears. Thanks again to anyone who took the time to read all of this and/or respond.

 

[anon5664829]

This is going to be an incredibly long post and I blame no one who decides they don?t want to read it or care to help. To those who do, thank you I truly appreciate your time and suggestions.

I?m a current jailbroken iPhone 4s user who has been with the iPhone and iOS since I stood in line for the very first iPhone on launch day. I?m an IT professional who likes to tinker with my stuff (see ?jailbroken?), but I also like it to ?just work? (see ?Apple user?). I?m up for a new phone this May and while I don?t have any serious issues with iOS I?m not all that excited about the iPhone 5?s form factor which will likely carry over into Apple?s next device. Thankfully, Android OS has matured and Samsung has finally produced a device that is worth switching to so now I have some questions to make the process easier.

Just to be clear, I?ve done some research already and have read through these threads here:
http://forums.androidcentral.com/general-help-how/137252-apple-users-guide-android.html
Samsung Galaxy S4 or the HTC One | Android Central
Samsung Galaxy S4 hands-on | Android Central
http://forums.androidcentral.com/ge...phone-5-what-do-u-recommend-i-am-verizon.html
http://forums.androidcentral.com/sa...idering-jump-galaxy-s4-looking-pros-cons.html
http://forums.androidcentral.com/t-galaxy-s-iii/227979-switching-iphone-4-galaxy-s3-today-att.html
http://forums.androidcentral.com/ge...ge-issues-after-switching-iphone-android.html
http://forums.androidcentral.com/an.../258472-switching-iphone-5-gs3-nexus-4-a.html
http://forums.androidcentral.com/samsung-galaxy-s4/261415-your-samsung-galaxy-s4-opinion.html

I?m interested in the Galaxy SIV, but have some questions about software and services and how to either switch them or integrate them with my current system. My house is almost entirely Mac based (7 Macs, 2 iPhones, 2 iPads, AirportExtreme, AirPortExpress), my wife will be going to the next iPhone and we?ll (probably) be sticking with current family calendar management through iCloud.

First my concerns / integration questions:

Music ? I have a largrish music library of around 100gb which I currently access on my iOS devices by streaming it through iTunes Match. I?ve previously lived with a subset of music on my device so I can easily get by that way, but I assume Google?s Music service will essentially replicate iTunes Match. My only concern here is that a large portion of my library is encoded using Apple?s lossless encoder. Does Google?s matching system choke on that?

Mail ? I have email accounts on Exchange 2010, Gmail, iCloud and IMAP. Are there any success/issues with those services?

Calendar / Contact syncing ? Given that my wife will stay on iCloud and we have a shared calendar for the house I?m going to need bidirectional syncing. I?ve done this previously via desktop software, but it can sometimes be flakey and if anything goes wrong you risk blanking both calendars. Any advice on this one?

AirPlay ? I frequently stream audio from my iPhone to one of the four AirPlay zones in my house. Has anyone come up with a solution for streaming to AirPlay devices from an Android device?

Find My iPhone ? As part of iCloud there is a very easy way to geolocate, produce audible notification, remote lock/wipe and display a message on an iOS device either from the web or another iOS device. Is there anything similar for Android?

Podcasts ? Given that I won?t be syncing with iTunes any more, what do people use to stay current with their podcasts?

MailEnhancer ? One of my favorite jailbreak apps is one that allows for a lot more customization over Apple?s ?one inbox to rule them all? format. It allows for color coding of emails by the To address so that when you?re looking at your main inbox you can easily tell one account from another. It also allows for different signatures for each account. Is this out of the box functionality in Android? Do people use the built in mail client? What would you recommend?

iMessage ? I?ve heard horror stories of people who can?t get their texts because their phone number is tied to their iMessage account with Apple so any sms from another iOS user get blackholed. I?ve also read that if you turn iMessage off on your iPhone before retiring it you should be fine and also to follow these instructions: Fix The iMessage iPhone-To-Android Bug | Lifehacker Australia. Any other advice around this issue?

Camera ? I love the camera on the iPhone 4s. Cameras are one area that (almost) everyone will agree the iPhone spanks all other competitors. While I haven?t read any specifics on the SG4S camera, what photo apps are people using for 1) Quickly snapping a shot? 2) HDR?

Applications

I have two lists here. The first are the ones I?m having problems finding an exact alternative for. The second is one where I think I?ve identified the correct Android alternative, but I?d love any further input

? Marathon Coach ? This one doesn?t have an Android counterpart and given that I?m currently in the middle of training for my next half, I may just have to continue to use the iPhone as a running device. There doesn?t seem to be a way to export this training routing data for use somewhere else.

iTunes Remote ? I use my iPhone to control iTunes while on the same wifi network. Is there anything with this ability on Android?

EyeTV ? I run EyeTV on an iMac and I can connect to it remotely via the iOS app to watch live and recorded content while on the go. I?ve read about EyeDTV Pro which will probably do the job. Anyone have any experience with this?

Last.fm Audioscrobbling ? What are people using?

SimplyTweet ? My twitter client of choice on iOS, what are people using on Android?

Cor.kz ? A mobile interface into cellartracker.com and my wine collection. Anyone have anything similar or are people just using their browser for cellartracker.com?
Hue ? Those crazy light bulbs. I don?t believe there?s an Android app yet, but please let me know if I?m wrong.

RemotePatrol ? I use this in conjunction with the SecuritySpy server software to remotely view and interact with the wifi cameras I have around my house. I think IP Cam Viewer Pro will do the job. Anyone have any experience with this app or anything similar?

Pantry Manager ? This is a catalog of everything in my pantry. There isn?t a direct Android port which is annoying because I have everything cataloged and all my iOS devices sync changes. I can export to CSV so changing to another product may not suck too bad. What are people using on Android? Out of Milk?

LockInfo ? Another jailbreak app that I use to view notifications and important information on the lock screen. I don?t need a giant clock there taking up half the screen. Is customization of the lockscreen built into Android?

That?s pretty much it, though if anyone has any additional info I?m all ears. Thanks again to anyone who took the time to read all of this and/or respond.

Well the first advice I can say is do not get the S4, coming from an iPhone you really take build quality for granted, get the HTC One or Nexus 4.
Yes you can customise the lock screen, and you can check the notification center right from the lock screen, if you get dash clock you can have the weather, text messages and gmail count from the lock screen.

There is indeed a hue app but it is not as polished as the iOS version, or as functional.
For twitter try tweetdeck, I was gonna say Tweetbot lol.

last.fm- try Tune in?
Music syncing- yeah it sucks I am sure you cant use Apples lossless format with play music, let's be honest it isnt easy moving music, although try drop box? drag music from the iTunes folder in the finder into the drop box folder and then get it on your android device to get the songs.

Sorry I couldn't be much help but I tried.

 

[adriandb]

Well the first advice I can say is do not get the S4, coming from an iPhone you really take build quality for granted, get the HTC One or Nexus 4.

Interesting, I have considered the HTC One, seems like a great device. The Nexus 4 seems really limited on storage size.

There is indeed a hue app but it is not as polished as the iOS version, or as functional.
For twitter try tweetdeck, I was gonna say Tweetbot lol.

Great, thanks!

 

[anon5664829]

Interesting, I have considered the HTC One, seems like a great device. The Nexus 4 seems really limited on storage size.


Great, thanks!

From the reviews the HTC One gets very good battery life(YMMV) and it looks so damn sexy!
and the Nexus 4, hmm I have one and i've got like 30-40 apps. One thing I noticed coming from the iPhone how much smaller apps are believe me the apps are actually pretty small. Now of course if you decide to get the Nexus 4 you can still return it if you don't like it(the battery isn't that amazing)

 

[adriandb]

From the reviews the HTC One gets very good battery life(YMMV) and it looks so damn sexy!

Battery life is a concern, but I'm usually around a power source often enough during work that it isn't a problem.

the Nexus 4, hmm I have one and i've got like 30-40 apps. One thing I noticed coming from the iPhone how much smaller apps are believe me the apps are actually pretty small.

I think the Nexus 4 tops out at 8gb is that right? I'm currently using a 64gb iPhone with 49gb used. I'll likely reduce the number of apps I have as I've collected a lot over the years that I just don't need, but I'll still need a decent amount of storage. Also, if I go with the SGS4 it has a micro SD card slot.

 

[anon5664829]

Battery life is a concern, but I'm usually around a power source often enough during work that it isn't a problem.


I think the Nexus 4 tops out at 8gb is that right? I'm currently using a 64gb iPhone with 49gb used. I'll likely reduce the number of apps I have as I've collected a lot over the years that I just don't need, but I'll still need a decent amount of storage. Also, if I go with the SGS4 it has a micro SD card slot.

No no its 16GB highest the one I have. see iPhone apps and iPad apps are merged together and as a result it makes the apps much bigger.

 

[Andyvalver]

I moved from an iPhone 4s.

Just a quick reply regarding imessage. Turn it off before you retire your iPhone like you said. Thats what I did. However I sometimes turn it on on my ipad. To send free pics and videos to people I know with iphones. I choose the option to receive messages based on email and un tick my phone number.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Android Central Forums

 

[adriandb]

Thanks for the tip.

 

[adriandb]

Anyone else have any solutions to the bigger issues here? AirPlay, Find My Phone, etc?

 

[adriandb]

Music ? I have a largrish music library of around 100gb which I currently access on my iOS devices by streaming it through iTunes Match. I?ve previously lived with a subset of music on my device so I can easily get by that way, but I assume Google?s Music service will essentially replicate iTunes Match. My only concern here is that a large portion of my library is encoded using Apple?s lossless encoder. Does Google?s matching system choke on that?

I'm uploading to Google Play now and it seems to be going OK so far. Is the 20,000 song limit really a hard limit? I can't buy more storage?

Mail ? I have email accounts on Exchange 2010, Gmail, iCloud and IMAP. Are there any success/issues with those services?

From what I understand I'll have one mail app for gmail and one for everything else, is that accurate? Are there third party mail apps that anyone wants to recommend?

AirPlay ? I frequently stream audio from my iPhone to one of the four AirPlay zones in my house. Has anyone come up with a solution for streaming to AirPlay devices from an Android device?

I think I have this one solved with iMediaShare

Find My iPhone ? As part of iCloud there is a very easy way to geolocate, produce audible notification, remote lock/wipe and display a message on an iOS device either from the web or another iOS device. Is there anything similar for Android?

Lookout Security and Antivirus may solve this, but seems like overkill. All I'm really looking for is something that I can use to make my phone make an audible noise so I can find it when I've left it somewhere in the house. Oh, and it needs to be able to do it when the phone is silenced.

Podcasts ? Given that I won?t be syncing with iTunes any more, what do people use to stay current with their podcasts?

iTunes Podcast Player looks like it will work.

MailEnhancer ? One of my favorite jailbreak apps is one that allows for a lot more customization over Apple?s ?one inbox to rule them all? format. It allows for color coding of emails by the To address so that when you?re looking at your main inbox you can easily tell one account from another. It also allows for different signatures for each account. Is this out of the box functionality in Android? Do people use the built in mail client? What would you recommend?

Looks to be built in functionality.

Applications

iTunes Remote ? I use my iPhone to control iTunes while on the same wifi network. Is there anything with this ability on Android?

The aptly named Remote for iTunes looks like a good option here.

Still looking for input if anyone has suggestions for the remaining items. Thanks.

 

[Andyvalver]

Camera ? I love the camera on the iPhone 4s. Cameras are one area that (almost) everyone will agree the iPhone spanks all other competitors. While I haven?t read any specifics on the SG4S camera, what photo apps are people using for 1) Quickly snapping a shot? 2) HDR?

I think camera quality is probably better on the 4s. However you can do more with the standard features on android. It does do a variety of things.

Hdr, yes.

Best photo. It takes 8 photos really quickly and you can pick the best. It suggests the best to you too.

Low light setting.

Best face

Smile shot. Takes the photo when the person smiles.

There are more. Also custom settings like changing iso and exposure values.

One thing I don't like is with touch focus. It works fine but unlike the iphone it doesn't adjust the exposure with touch. It auto does that when the photo is taken


Sent from my GT-N7100 using Android Central Forums

 

[anon5664829]

I'm uploading to Google Play now and it seems to be going OK so far. Is the 20,000 song limit really a hard limit? I can't buy more storage?


From what I understand I'll have one mail app for gmail and one for everything else, is that accurate? Are there third party mail apps that anyone wants to recommend?


I think I have this one solved with iMediaShare


Lookout Security and Antivirus may solve this, but seems like overkill. All I'm really looking for is something that I can use to make my phone make an audible noise so I can find it when I've left it somewhere in the house. Oh, and it needs to be able to do it when the phone is silenced.


iTunes Podcast Player looks like it will work.


Looks to be built in functionality.

Applications


The aptly named Remote for iTunes looks like a good option here.

Still looking for input if anyone has suggestions for the remaining items. Thanks.

Regarding mail yes, the built in Nexus 4 email client is the only email client worth looking at and as a previous iphone owner I expect high quality apps and no 3rd party app loos remotely good.

 

[adriandb]

Regarding mail yes, the built in Nexus 4 email client is the only email client worth looking at and as a previous iphone owner I expect high quality apps and no 3rd party app loos remotely good.

Is the mail client on the Nexus 4 the same that is delivered on the SGSIV and the HTC One? Do carriers or hardware manufacturers ever swap out the default mail app? Is the mail app able to handle IMAP/Gmail/Exchange all in the same client or are there separate mail clients?

I hope you aren't comparing the Android mail app to the iOS default mail app. Apple ships an underpowered and barely usable mail app on their OS.

 

[EvilMonkey]

Android ships with two email apps: a Gmail app an an Email app.

The Gmail app will only do gmail (and as such includes support for some gmail specific things, like labels).

The Email app handles everything (including gmail). So you can get by with a single email app, but if you're a heavy gmail power user that takes advantage of a lot of gmail features, you might want to use the Gmail app to handle Gmail and the other app for your other accounts.

I would also ignore Chetan's comments that there's no alternative email apps worth looking at. There are plenty of good ones, and it depends on your needs.

 

[adriandb]

Android ships with two email apps: a Gmail app an an Email app.
I would also ignore Chetan's comments that there's no alternative email apps worth looking at. There are plenty of good ones, and it depends on your needs.

OK, thanks. Are there any good comparison articles that you're aware of that breakdown the best of the best in email clients?

 

[anon5664829]

OK, thanks. Are there any good comparison articles that you're aware of that breakdown the best of the best in email clients?

Have a look at K9 mail or mail droid both are very nice and I am sure they support everything you need.

 

[gnr_2]

Re Find my iPhone
See suggestions here -
http://www.androidauthority.com/how-to-recover-lost-android-phone-177318/

The AVG app includes a screaming function.

Sent from my totally awesome Sprint Galaxy Nexus, even if I don't know all its secrets yet.

 

[McSkullough]

I've got two solutions, one for your iTunes and one for podcasts.

First, there's an app called Double Twist that allows your iTunes library to sync to your Android phone.

Secondly, Pocket Casts. I used them coming from an iPhone 4, and the transition easy as ever. Their library is very extensive. Hope this helps.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[Lanhoj]

You might miss (as I did) GLOBAL Badge Notifications (those little red #'s on individual App icons) coming from iOS.
Here's how to achieve it on Android--> http://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?t=199709