Refugee from Island iPhone, please take me in!

[Labyrinthine]

Hello! I hope I'm on the right Forum, because I'm drowning in my own confusion and this one seems mighty friendly.

I've had an iPhone for the past 5 years, but things are going "no contract/cheaper monthly bill but you pay full price for your phone," (I'm AT&T BTW, hope that's OK), and once I picked myself up off the floor after looking at the iPhone 6 price, I decided to stick with my ancient 4s, though it was having some charging problems. That was Thurs. evening. The phone completely died Friday, unable to take a charge at all, AT&T voodoo, I say. Not wanting to pay more for a phone than I did for my last laptop, I chose the LG G3 Vigor. It is a lovely phone, and in general, I'm really good with electronics. But there is something about being used to iPhones that is making learning the Vigor a truly frustrating experience. A few questions of you all:

For those of you who have made the switch from iPhone to Android, any words of wisdom? Is there something I'm doing that is universal to iPhoners that I need to unlearn? Anything you have to say would be helpful.

I got my Contacts onto my new phone using Bluetooth, and now I have to tackle the calender. Does SmoothSync work? Why does it cost close to $4,00? Will it also transfer my notes? I read something about things being erased when the app is updated. Huh?

I listen to a lot a lot of podcasts. I've gotten a lot of them through a Podcast app through Google Play, but they don't stream all that well, i.e. they pause. Why?

OK, this is a big one, something I should have asked about before buying the phone. I used Siri, and imessage, a lot. I dictated most of my texts. Now, I get that i can do "ok google" for searches, and I even by accident got the phone to call my husband, but does it have voice to text capability? If not, is there an app for this?

Sorry to be such a spaz. I usually welcome change and am amazed at my frustration level with this phone. Perhaps Apple brainwashes people, I don't know. Thanks for your help. And hey, if there is a better place for me to be, like "AT&T Degenerates.com" just let me know.

 

[gbsa]

I've always done android so not much help from me on most of what your asking but I have used "ok Google" to open my contact, type out my text then send it. I know the 2 platforms are very different my daughter's iPhone confuses me and she can't navigate my phone at all. Searching the Web and also YouTube are good places to learn about your new phone. Just have fun and patience.

 

[Ollie]

Your texting keyboard should have a microphone symbol on the lower left row of keys. It activates voice to text.

 

[Garemlin]

Welcome to the forum!!!!

Your transition from iOS to Android would probably be similar to most of us doing the reverse transition. I have played with my daughters iPhone and I get lost. She tried Android for a little bit and she was even more lost.

One of the biggest things you will notice with switching to Android is you can go customizing crazy. If you can think of something you would like, a function that would be nice or a particular look or theme more than likely you can find and app that will do it.

Best thing to do is play with your new phone. Experiment. Read. Ask questions if you get lost. There is a wealth of knowledge and plenty of helpful folks right here on the forum. There is a bit of a learning curve with Android. But once you catch on it is easy peasy.

 

[Jonny Kansas]

Welcome to the Dark Side! We have cookies. Glad you found us! You're correct. We've got a very friendly and helpful membership here.

Anyway, as Garemlin said, it's hard to go from being a long-time user of one to the other. I tried to give iPhone a shot when the 4 came out. Had it for a couple days and decided it really wasn't something I was interested in.

I'm sorry I can't help you with the syncing issue, as I wasn't on the iPhone that long.

As for podcasts, what app did you download? I don't listen to them very often, but my brother-in-law suggested one called BeyondPod to me. The pausing could also be an issue of connection speed to the internet too though.

As Ollie said, you can tap the mic button on your keyboard for speech-to-text input. If you have Google Now setup to be listening when you're on any screen, you can also simply say "Ok Google" to wake it up and then say "Text [Bob] How's it going today [question mark]" or similar.

Google now can do quite a few things. There's a thread somewhere on here that gives a great idea of things you can use it for, but I can't find it right now. If you google "Google Now Tips," there are several write-ups all over the web as well.

Don't worry about being an AT&T customer. We've got members from all sorts of different carries here. The forum may have originated with the Verizon Droid brand phones in mind, but it branched out quick.

 

[smalltowngirl13]

Hello and welcome to the forum...

Congrats on the android device! SmoothSync does have good reviews but I have not used it so I cannot comment if it functions as says or if there are issues with events / details being erased.

As for the voice to text - as mentioned, you can use Google Now for this function, it will ask for access to your contacts. There is an app in the market called "open mic" Open Mic for Google Now - Android Apps on Google Play - that runs in the background and once you have set your catchphrase, it automatically opens and then you can say "text Leroy" and then the message.

Good luck and keep an open mind ...

 

[Jeffrey]

This is the link to Google Now Voice Commands

A List Of All The Google Now Voice Commands Android Forum at DroidForums.net

 

[Jonny Kansas]

This is the link to Google Now Voice Commands

A List Of All The Google Now Voice Commands Android Forum at DroidForums.net

There it is! I couldn't find it for the life of me. I searched, tried to go back through threads I'd posted in, tried to go through threads started by you...

Thanks Jeffrey!

 

[Mike.757]

The iPhone does basic things very well. But your freedom it's limited. Android gives you LOTS of freedom and that can be intimidating at first. I recommend sending hubby out with the boys, the kids over to a friend's house, a glass of wine (or hot chocolate. It is pretty cold out) and just tinker. Look through all of the menus. Try things out. Turn something on then turn it back off. Don't worry, you can't really mess your phone up. If it gets too out of whack, do a factory data reset. You'll find that as you try things, that the phone isn't as scary as you thought. You'll be rooted and ROMing before you know it!

 

[Mike.757]

Oh, forgot to add. Google now is good. If you want a more Siri like experience, try Assistant. It is byte for byte a better app than Siri IMHO. Enjoy!

 

[Ollie]

Not sure if it was mentioned or not...

On the iPhone when you press the home button while using an app it will put that app into a dormant state.

On Android phones most of the apps will continue to operate in the background and continue to use your battery. Use the back button to cleanly exit out of the apps unless you intend for it to continue running. The majority of apps support back button exits.

For example.. In iOS if you load 5 pages in Safari and then exit using the home button and then launch Safari again you will usually see those pages reloading.. Do the same thing using Chrome in Android and your pages will still be there.

The biggest regret that I have when using my i6 is not having that back button. It will become a daily part of your routine after messing around with it for a while to see how it works within apps and settings etc.

 

[FoxKat]

Hello! I hope I'm on the right Forum, because I'm drowning in my own confusion and this one seems mighty friendly.

Is there something I'm doing that is universal to iPhoners that I need to unlearn?

Sorry to be such a spaz. I usually welcome change and am amazed at my frustration level with this phone. Perhaps Apple brainwashes people, I don't know. Thanks for your help.

Well, I think your final comment answers your first question... LOL!

All kidding aside, welcome to our forum and you will find for sure that this IS the place to be. We are ALL devoted Android people, and even better, highly enthusiastic when we have a convert! We LOVE to help people see "the dark side" (thanks @Jonny Kansas), and discover the hidden light.

If there is one thing our forum prides itself on it's helping others. There isn't hardly a question you could ask that won't be addressed with respect and sincerity, while looking to provide valuable guidance and support. Truth is, iPhones are great devices, hands down the easiest to pick up and start using with very little learning curve for the primary functions. Android on the other hand can be a bit overwhelming at first, especially once coming from the IOS arena.

Take your time as @Mike.757 eluded to. Have fun discovering all that this incredibly diverse OS can allow you to do. Don't be too overwhelmed, trust us, there are solutions to all your questions and we'll be here to help you detox from the Kool-Aid (*JK*) .

There isn't really much that I can think of which the iPhone can do, and which Android can't however there are a plethora of things Android can do that IOS won't allow. This IS the new world "over the hedge". So partake of the Natcho Cheese flavored chips and become one with the overindulgence of the Android experience!

 

[Ollie]

Didn't Google just release a migration app that helps iOS users with making the switch?

Samsung's version hooks into iCloud to pull all information over without much fuss.

 

[FoxKat]

Didn't Google just release a migration app that helps iOS users with making the switch?

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