Switching to an S3, could use some tips

[grkmnl]

Hello all,

I have an iP4 at the moment but as of February, I'm switching to a Samsung Galaxy S3. However, I have a couple of quick questions.

It seems like by using Samsung Kies, it's quiet easy to switch to S3 from the iP4. However, I don't have a Google account. Do I have to have a gmail account to use the S3 at its full capacity?

I don't really "sync" any of my contacts or calendar (my main email is Hotmail). I just do regular backups and thats it.

Also, for the backups, is there a cloud service that the S3 can back up and restore from? Or do I have to do all my backup on my pc.

Any tips etc I should know before transferring all my data? Contacts, mail, photos, music, calendar events etc.

Thanks a lot, I'm really excited and can't wait to switch my phone!

 

[meyerweb#CB]

I can't help you with transferring data, as I've never had an iPhone. But for some of your other questions:

As part of the setup process, you'll be prompted to enter or create a Google account. Android phones are pretty heavily tied to that, so yes, you need to have one to use the phone to it's full capacity.

By default, Android will save your contacts and calendar entries to the Google cloud, so you might as well let it. They'll be automatically backed up, and if you ever have to replace your phone, they'll sync back to your new one (assuming it is Android, too.)

I'll let people who know more about it answer your question about backups.