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Is it hard using two ecosystems?

C

cnguyen0320

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 14, 2012
177
0
I want to get a Nexus 4 as an upgrade from my iPhone 4 but I also have an iPad 3 that I'm not willing to give up. Is it difficult using two different OS's?

Basically due to the patent wars, I'm afraid that pinch to zoom and double tap to zoom will be phased out on Android soon since that was a patent in dispute in the Samsung/Apple lawsuits in the U.S. Also, I read that Jellybean (Android 4.2) will have triple-tap to zoom in Gmail and two finger panning. I'm afraid that'll cause a lot of confusion and frustration since Apple (and my iPad) will still be double tap to zoom and one finger panning.

I'm by no means a tech newbie but these things seem like they'd be confusing to any user. It's like trying to use both a PC and a Mac at the same time, something I often do with my iPad/iPhone combo.
 
I don't find it an issue. Once you get the hang of both, they're interchangeable.

For reference, I have a Galaxy Nexus and an iPad 3rd gen. For what I need and do with my smartphone versus my consumption/liesure device, those are the best of both worlds.

And Google has a better method of zooming, in my opinion, which I hope they will implement across the board. It's double tap and hold to zoom. It's ingenious and great for that all important one hand use. :rolleyes:

You double tap, and on the second tap, hold, and you can slide your finger up and down to zoom in as much as you want. It's easy to do and gives you more control. You can try it on the latest Google Maps on an Android device.

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Uh, I tried to embed the video, but failed. Here's the link: http://www.droid-life.com/2012/09/19/tip-single-handed-zoom-with-google-maps-6-12/


EDIT: How does one embed videos here? I thought it was [youtube] and then close [youtube]??
 
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Its not really that hard. Usability is not that hard i go back and fourth all the time.

I have both an iPhone 5 and and an Android phone. The biggest challenge is dealing with music and movies. Since we also have an Apple TV, we find that the Android side of things is less useful as an entertainment ecosystem, but contacts, email etc. all go back and fourth just fine.
 
onthecouchagain said:
I don't find it an issue. Once you get the hang of both, they're interchangeable.

For reference, I have a Galaxy Nexus and an iPad 3rd gen. For what I need and do with my smartphone versus my consumption/liesure device, those are the best of both worlds.

And Google has a better method of zooming, in my opinion, which I hope they will implement across the board. It's double tap and hold to zoom. It's ingenious and great for that all important one hand use. :rolleyes:

You double tap, and on the second tap, hold, and you can slide your finger up and down to zoom in as much as you want. It's easy to do and gives you more control. You can try it on the latest Google Maps on an Android device.

----------

Uh, I tried to embed the video, but failed. Here's the link: http://www.droid-life.com/2012/09/19/tip- single-handed-zoom-with-google-maps-6-12/


EDIT: How does one embed videos here? I thought it was [youtube] and then close [youtube]??
Click to expand...

Yeah regardless of which is better, I'm still afraid of being confused and perhaps trying to do the double tap hold on my iPad for example.

Btw, your link seems to be broken. Getting 404 page not found
 
cnguyen0320 said:
Yeah regardless of which is better, I'm still afraid of being confused and perhaps trying to do the double tap hold on my iPad for example.

Btw, your link seems to be broken. Getting 404 page not found
Click to expand...

Edited and fixed: http://www.droid-life.com/2012/09/19/tip-single-handed-zoom-with-google-maps-6-12/

----------

There definitely is a learning curve with Android. Only way to learn is to give it a shot with an open mind, knowing that some things are intentionally different from iOS. Personally, I think you'll be fine, especially with stock Android.
 
onthecouchagain said:
I don't find it an issue. Once you get the hang of both, they're interchangeable.

For reference, I have a Galaxy Nexus and an iPad 3rd gen. For what I need and do with my smartphone versus my consumption/liesure device, those are the best of both worlds.

And Google has a better method of zooming, in my opinion, which I hope they will implement across the board. It's double tap and hold to zoom. It's ingenious and great for that all important one hand use. :rolleyes:

You double tap, and on the second tap, hold, and you can slide your finger up and down to zoom in as much as you want. It's easy to do and gives you more control. You can try it on the latest Google Maps on an Android device.

----------

Uh, I tried to embed the video, but failed. Here's the link: http://www.droid-life.com/2012/09/19/tip-single-handed-zoom-with-google-maps-6-12/


EDIT: How does one embed videos here? I thought it was [youtube] and then close [youtube]??
Click to expand...

Holy crap! I didn't know that about Maps! Its awesome!! You can zoom in the perfect amount with one finger!
 
cynics said:
Holy crap! I didn't know that about Maps! Its awesome!! You can zoom in the perfect amount with one finger!
Click to expand...

Yeah, it gives you a lot of control. Wish Google would implement that to their Gallery, to Chrome, etc... In fact, I don't know what the heck they're waiting for.
 
Hardest part is dealing with things like pictures, music, etc which you would like to be synced across all devices. Each ecosystem has its preferred cloud and sync system and it's tough to tie them together. I find myself using icloud, dropbox, skydrive, etc all at the same time.
 
spinedoc77 said:
Hardest part is dealing with things like pictures, music, etc which you would like to be synced across all devices. Each ecosystem has its preferred cloud and sync system and it's tough to tie them together. I find myself using icloud, dropbox, skydrive, etc all at the same time.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I already looked at this. As a student, I use google for documents and stuff. Might be integrating all my contacts to google soon if I do switch. I hope you all are right and handling two different ecosystems isnt gonna be the nightmare I think it will be...
 
spinedoc77 said:
Hardest part is dealing with things like pictures, music, etc which you would like to be synced across all devices. Each ecosystem has its preferred cloud and sync system and it's tough to tie them together. I find myself using icloud, dropbox, skydrive, etc all at the same time.
Click to expand...

Dropbox, SkyDrive or Google drive easily solves the pictures and documents syncing across devices and Google has a plug in that automatically syncs your itunes music with Google Play and your devices, it is seemless and works automatically. For me, Dropbox is the universal go to sync app for pictures and docments.

For Calendar and Contacts I purchased two apps from Google Play that automatically sync them between iCloud and my Nexus 7.

So the only real issue I haven't solved yet is Photostream, which honestly is not that big of a deal to me; but for others it can be. Dropbox can be a substitute but it is not as seemless and automatic as Photostream. I haven't tried shared Photostreams on the Nexus 7 yet however.

Otherwise it is easy to swith back and forth, I do it all the time between my iPhone and my Nexus 7; I will say in all honesty iOS just feels "old" when I grab my phone after using the Nexus, with both devices next to each other, I grab the Nexus first.
 
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marc11 said:
Dropbox, SkyDrive or Google drive easily solves the pictures and documents syncing across devices and Google has a plug in that automatically syncs your itunes music with Google Play and your devices, it is seemless and works automatically. For me, Dropbox is the universal go to sync app for pictures and docments.

For Calendar and Contacts I purchased two apps from Google Play that automatically sync them between iCloud and my Nexus 7.

So the only real issue I haven't solved yet is Photostream, which honestly is not that big of a deal to me; but for others it can be. Dropbox can be a substitute but it is not as seemless and automatic as Photostream. I haven't tried shared Photostreams on the Nexus 7 yet however.

Otherwise it is easy to swith back and forth, I do it all the time between my iPhone and my Nexus 7; I will say in all honesty iOS just feels "old" when I grab my phone after using the Nexus, with both devices next to each other, I grab the Nexus first.
Click to expand...

Another real issue for me is iCloud. I don't use iCloud email (I use Gmail, which is incidentally ideal), but I use iCloud for contacts (have been using contacts on iCloud/MobileMe for a long time, long before the contacts part of Gmail stopped completely sucking), and calendar (mainly because others in my family who I share calendars with use iPhones, so it's easy with iCloud).

And guess what? Apple does not use standards with iCloud at all! No CalDAV or anything like that. Frustrating.
 
ravenvii said:
Another real issue for me is iCloud. I don't use iCloud email (I use Gmail, which is incidentally ideal), but I use iCloud for contacts (have been using contacts on iCloud/MobileMe for a long time, long before the contacts part of Gmail stopped completely sucking), and calendar (mainly because others in my family who I share calendars with use iPhones, so it's easy with iCloud).

And guess what? Apple does not use standards with iCloud at all! No CalDAV or anything like that. Frustrating.
Click to expand...

Maybe SmoothSync for Cloud Calendar and SmoothSync for Cloud Contacts is what you're looking for.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/...GwsMSwxLDEsIm9yZy5kbWZzLmNhbGRhdi5pY2xvdWQiXQ..

https://play.google.com/store/apps/...wsMSwxLDEsIm9yZy5kbWZzLmNhcmRkYXYuaWNsb3VkIl0.
 
I use Android, iOS, Windows & OS X, all concurrently. It's Fast Fun & Easy, once you're setup as suggested above. Since I like variety, it's really nice to just grab whatever I want, and go. Never a dull moment, with ready access to all my data, it's a very satisfying feeling.
 
I DJ using a mac, game on my desktop windows pc, take notes on android tablet use android phone because google services are much better i never loose a contact gmail and google drive are so effortlessly i no longer have to connect any phone to pc to transfer files . Once the ipad mini gets retina display ill use it for media only. Sucks it diesnt have hdmi abd micri sd natively like my tf700 does
 
I'm carrying Android, iOS and a Windows Mobile device on a daily basis. Its overkill, and I use the iOS devices more than anything else, but I don't really find it difficult to jump from device to device. On Android/iOS, Dropbox ensures that I always have the most current business files for my needs.

Really, my only issues are with content synchronization beyond business documents. Keeping my playlists up to date on all devices, keeping unwatched videos (mainly episodic fare from HBO and cable), etc. That's a royal PITA. Its pretty easy with iOS since most (not all) my content is organized via iTunes. But its harder to do this with Android unless you free your content from iOS. Its currently VERY HARD to do it on Windows Mobile at all.

Its a YMMV thing as "difficult" is in the eye of the beholder but for me, its better to keep media content segregated by device. Its just too difficult and requires a lot of workarounds.
 
I've been using an Android device for the past 2 weeks, and i can honestly say once you get the hang of it, they're really both quite simple to use. Funny enough, i picked up my iPhone for the first time in 2 weeks tonight, and after using my HTC, i went to hit the back button on the bottom of the iPhone screen screen.
 
I have a SG Nexus and an iPad, and I don't find it to be a problem at all. The stuff I need to sync is synced either via DropBox or google calendar. The only thing that is a bit of a hassle IME is music. I ended up getting a second hand iPod so now my music sits there and syncs easily with my mac book air. In any case, my Nexus didn't have sufficient space and doesn't have expandable storage.
 
It's not hard but it can be annoying at times.

As of right now I am working between iOS and Windows 8 Pro. Doable but sometimes agitating. Nothing to lose sleep over however.
 
I think it's easy using 2 Ecosystems I have a iphone 5 and a galaxy s3 and i find that it's fun to use both. I use Dropbox and rdio although I wish google would release an app so I could stream my owned music from their cloud to my iphone.
 
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