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hollandog

macrumors regular
Mar 13, 2014
226
82
Macbook Pro, iPad, Nexus 7, Nexus 5.

Mostly use Google services. Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Chrome, etc.
Google supports Mac very well with their apps.

I don't use any native Apple services like mail, map, calendar etc.
 

thering1975

macrumors regular
Jun 5, 2014
215
136
Sync is not a problem chrome for bookmarks google calendar works fine across devices as for data sync I run my own cloud on my synology NAs so all works fine
 

iososx

macrumors 6502a
Aug 23, 2014
859
6
USA
I'm just wondering if any of you use mac computers/ipads etc but have a different phone to the iPhone? The one thing winning me over is compatibility between devices but I am really missing android!

My entire computer network at home is Mac and has been for years. My mobiles are a cross platform selection of all types. I was pure iOS from the first iPhone till Androids offered larger far more useful displays. Sadly since Apple ignored the market demands for over two years I switched my primary smartphones to Android.

Then while waiting for Apple to wake up and stop being stubborn, Android OS became innovative and far better than iOS for both my professional and home requirements.

Android easily interacts and syncs with all my new and recent Macs. Just as easily if not more successful than iOS since Android doesn't use an antiquated USB centric iTunes type of Store. Being 100% wireless and very innovative, Android is my mobile platform of choice.
 

gadgetgirl85

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Mar 24, 2006
3,797
365
Thank you all for your help. Swayed my final decision! Would isyncr be the way to go for iTunes?
 

jamezr

macrumors P6
Aug 7, 2011
16,080
19,080
US
Thank you all for your help. Swayed my final decision! Would isyncr be the way to go for iTunes?

I have all Macs and Android phones. I use Dropbox to sync all of my photos and it syncs them on all of my Macs. I use Google for all of my calendar and contacts on all of my Macs......everything is in sync. Make one change on any device and it replicates to all of them. I use iSyncr for itunes and movies and my playlists. Hope this helps! :)
 

ggibson913

macrumors 65816
Sep 11, 2006
1,119
643
How do you guys get around the sync ability issue? like with photos/calendars/reminders etc.

I have a Macbook Pro and an iPad in addition to my GS5. Synching is a breeze, the only limitation is you can't do it via iCloud. I simply switched everything to Google and it all works mostly seeamlessly. You can even download an Android app called AirDroid to monitor your phone from your browser and text from there as well much like your mac does with iMessage.
 

tdc02

macrumors newbie
Dec 11, 2011
25
5
Use the following and everything work and sync fine.

MacBook Air, Notes 8, Notes 4

Clouds=Dropbox, OneDrive
Music=Google Music
Text & File=Might Text, AirDroid
Calendar=Sunrise Calendar
 

cracksoup

macrumors 6502
Mar 26, 2014
287
258
I'm using an MBA, iPad Air and Galaxy Note 3. It works great if you're not using apples limited services :)
i use Box for videos and pictures (I got 50GB for free), Google drive for documents and such and Spotify premium for music. Stay away from the prison of Apple and you'll be fine switching platforms back and fourth :)
 

gadgetgirl85

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Mar 24, 2006
3,797
365
I've used up all my space in my dropbox. Would it be better to create another account or use google drive?
 

gadgetgirl85

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Mar 24, 2006
3,797
365
https://plus.google.com/photos
I've got 1TB of storage and all of my photos are automatically backed up, uncompressed... along with all of my 4k video.

Macbook Pro here, btw.

Switched from iOS jail (mainly iPhone) about 1.5 yrs ago and haven't looked back. So happy.

I am happy too! (once I get it a case and protector which are so hard to find here - phone was only released yesterday). So google drive would be the way to go then?
 

Chodite

macrumors 6502a
Sep 23, 2007
586
0
Baltimore, MD
I am happy too! (once I get it a case and protector which are so hard to find here - phone was only released yesterday). So google drive would be the way to go then?

Indeed. Let Google do all of the heavy lifting in the background!
Oh and I just saw that you picked up a Note 4. CONGRATS! I couldn't be more in love with mine. Such a great phone.

P.S: the Note 4 is just about indestructible. No need for a case on this beauty!!
 

sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,405
13,290
where hip is spoken
The key to freedom from ecosystems is not to use any cloud/integration systems they're shoving at us. Always use file system. (Using file system sync services like Dropbox, One Drive, GooDrive is fine, because you can switch from one to another in seconds.) I don't use calendar, contacts, notes, reminders apps - I simply do them in platform-independent way. For example, my notes are simply .txt files in dropbox. My contacts are either empty folders named with contact info, or folders with .txt files if there's lots of info in the contact. Same for reminders and calendar. All of these are in my dropbox and I can switch from platform to platform instantly and painlessly. Sure, I don't get notifications, but I just review my organizer every day and keep things to remember in the RAM between my ears.

I use Android, Windows, iOS on multiple phones and tablets, MacOS and Windows on laptops or any computer if traveling, and my organizer is always with me and looks and behaves the same everywhere, because file systems are essentially ghe same, and .txt files are universal.

F the ecosystems! Don't be a stupid fly in a spiderweb.
This mirrors my setup with the exception that I use Google services for calendar, contacts, and mail.

I have a variety of devices on iOS, Android, OSX, Windows 8, Chrome OS. Using this approach I can easily transition from one device to another without much fuss.

The "hub" for me is DropBox. In my opinion it has the most stable clients across platforms.

My notes are .txt files stored in a DropBox folder tree which can then be access by different apps on different systems:

iOS: Notesy
OSX: nvALT
Windows: ResophNotes
Android: Draft
 
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