Using Droid w/Mac?

[SkipII]

I am all done with iPhone 4. Most of my calls either do not go through or drop -- usually several times.

My question is how well the Droid phones integrate with all of my Mac programs (iCal, Mail, Address Book...secondarily iTunes, etc. I am VERY wary of Missing Synch and others that simply never worked well in the past and had absolutely NO customer support.

Have things improved? I just want a phone that can actually make and hold a call.

Thanks for the newbie help.

 

[pigpen]

iCal syncs with google calendar. So if you add it to the phone, it automagically updates to the ical.

For your address book, export to sdcard. Connect to mac via usb, or mail the .vcf file to yourself. Double click the file on your desktop, integrates to address book very nicely. If you update your phonebook on the phone, when you want to back up, just export to sdcard and transfer Mac again. It will update your address book. No dupes.

On the phone, i use the stock gmail acct and my verizon fios email acct. So far no issues with verizon mail in the email apk, syncs very nicely.

The phone makes calls, and recieves them too as an added bonus. ... and doesn't drop them.

i'm using a rooted droid 1.

 

[drpurp]

As for iTunes, there is an application called iSyncr that syncs iTunes (non copy protected stuff) with Android devices. Other people use DoubleTwist, which is a separate program to manage media.

 

[SkipII]

Thanks for replying.

Frankly, given the jargon, I have no idea what all that said! Export to sdcar...mail the vcd file... export to vcd and back again...verizon fios acct...email apk...rooted droid

I does should like I have 3-4 separate operations to get calendar, address book and mail transferred over, nothing is in real time and I have no idea what it means to have my calendar in the Google cloud.

I sounds to me that smooth integration with Mac is not smooth at all.

 

[SkipII]

Mac ups and downs

Right now I don't have to do ANYTHING to get the iPhone and the Mac synched. All done by MobileMe in real time and all of my files remain resident on my Mac...no need to export, import, mail or send calendars to some other cloud.

Only problem is that the phone is total garbage. And that is the problem.

 

[hookbill]

Right now I don't have to do ANYTHING to get the iPhone and the Mac synched. All done by MobileMe in real time and all of my files remain resident on my Mac...no need to export, import, mail or send calendars to some other cloud.

Only problem is that the phone is total garbage. And that is the problem.

The problem is you don't understand how to use it, and there is a huge learning curve. Maybe you are better off with the iPhone. The Droid isn't for everybody.

I have a Mac and have absolutely no problem with my calendar, my contacts or anything like that. Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't Mobil Me charge a monthly fee? I would think that an iPhone should hook up to a Mac with no problem and without Mobil Me.

And I could be wrong but I thought Mobil Me worked with everything. At least that's what I read, that's why they charge so much for it. I looked at it and I'm thankful I don't have a need for it.

Paying for Mobil Me to have your iPhone connect to your Mac? Man, I'm sure glad I don't have one.

 

[cleassan]

Before I got my Droid X, I spent some time switching my iCal calendars to Google, and learning how to sync my mac address book to my Google account. Mail was not a problem, either, though I did switch all my accounts to Imap so that my mail is always synched no matter what computer I'm on, including the phone. It all worked seamlessly once I got the phone. iTunes syncing isn't 100% for me yet, but Salling Media Sync works pretty well. DoubleTwist is also OK.

I'm a huge Apple fan, and love the DX.

 

[bigaudiofanatic]

Ok I have a macbook pro and a incredible. The ical you can have sync with your gmail account "a email account from google that you have to create to use the incredible. Also your contacts can be synced with gmail as well and that updates with whatever you do to either gmail your phone or your contact list on your mac.

The Itunes I just drag and drop to the phones music folder BUT I have a 160gb ipod so I really do not worry about music that much on the phone. Email is not a problem you can have it sync with just about any email account.

 

[hookbill]

Ok I have a macbook pro and a incredible. The ical you can have sync with your gmail account "a email account from google that you have to create to use the incredible:.

The Itunes I just drag and drop to the phones music folder BUT I have a 160gb ipod so I really do not worry about music that much on the phone. Email is not a problem you can have it sync with just about any email account.

Ummm…close… iCal syncs with Google Calendar. Email can be forwarded to gmail through the settings of your gmail account on line. Or you can use an app to get your email as well. Many people prefer the app because they say it's faster, many say it's just as fast through gmail. YMMV on that.

 

[SkipII]

A few questions

The last 2-3 posts were very helpful, but let me share a question of mine that always comes up.

When you say "you can" I always wonder: "How" and "What does it mean if I do?" In other words, once my iCal is moved to the Google cloud, am I using a different interface to see and send e-mail? Do I lose a lot of the integration I enjoy today between iCal, Address Book and Mail?

It also seems there are a lot of manual and disparate steps to get everything synched each day. Correct?

 

[bigaudiofanatic]

Google how to....... and you will see the steps to do it.

 

[kmo]

You're over thinking this, it isn't rocket science. I have a Macbook and have zero issues with all the "posible problems" you are describing. Maybe the iphone is for you, Apple makes all the decisions for you. Not trying to be malicious but c'mon. This phone really does most things with ease. If your really over the iphone then just move on and you will eventually get used to a new "different" device. Every new phone will have a learning curve but once you get there it's all pretty straight forward....

 

[SkipII]

You're over thinking this, it isn't rocket science. I have a Macbook and have zero issues with all the "posible problems" you are describing. Maybe the iphone is for you, Apple makes all the decisions for you. Not trying to be malicious but c'mon. This phone really does most things with ease. If your really over the iphone then just move on and you will eventually get used to a new "different" device. Every new phone will have a learning curve but once you get there it's all pretty straight forward....

I am only over-thinking it because some here appear to have over-worked it! I'm not big or jargon as a way to explain things. Everything I am seeing in this thread suggests there are several steps involved with keeping everything synched. A simply explanation -- if, in fact, the process is fairly simple -- would go a long way to assuaging my concerns or ignorance. I have Googled it and the information is all over the map.

I am still grateful for help and an explanation that appreciates that I am not familiar with some jargon and that I don't want to make managing the phone my day job.

Thanks for any help.

 

[cleassan]

You definitely need to be technically savvy to get it all set up on your Mac. I consider myself very technical, and still got a bit of a headache doing it all. What I did first is make sure that all the automatic syncing worked with my iPod Touch. I had to change all my settings there so that it didn't rely at all on syncing via iTunes or MobileMe. (Not contacts, though -- I don't think the Touch/iPhone has a way to sync from Google.)

In plainer terms:
1) Set up a Google account with gmail
2) Create a calendar there, and figure out how to export/import your iCal events so that Google is now your "master" calendar
3) Change your iCal setting to read from that Google calendar. Stop using any local (On My Mac) calendars
4) Get you iPhone to use your Google calendar -- google instructions
5) Google instructions for syncing your Address Book with Google; when you make changes on your Mac, there will be a sync button on your toolbar that you can press to sync with Google
6) Find out if your email provider supports "IMAP" mail in addition to "POP". If so, follow their instructions on setting up IMAP mail on your Mac AND iPhone. If you get that working, then you'll do a similar setup on a droid.

Unfortunately, if this still sounds like jargon, then a droid phone probably isn't the right choice for you...

ETA: after it's set up and working, the only manual syncing you'll be doing is for Address Book (where you just click the button) and iTunes, which should be similar to what you do now, just using different software.

 

[SkipII]

You definitely need to be technically savvy to get it all set up on your Mac. I consider myself very technical, and still got a bit of a headache doing it all. What I did first is make sure that all the automatic syncing worked with my iPod Touch. I had to change all my settings there so that it didn't rely at all on syncing via iTunes or MobileMe. (Not contacts, though -- I don't think the Touch/iPhone has a way to sync from Google.)

In plainer terms:
1) Set up a Google account with gmail
2) Create a calendar there, and figure out how to export/import your iCal events so that Google is now your "master" calendar
3) Change your iCal setting to read from that Google calendar. Stop using any local (On My Mac) calendars
4) Get you iPhone to use your Google calendar -- google instructions
5) Google instructions for syncing your Address Book with Google; when you make changes on your Mac, there will be a sync button on your toolbar that you can press to sync with Google
6) Find out if your email provider supports "IMAP" mail in addition to "POP". If so, follow their instructions on setting up IMAP mail on your Mac AND iPhone. If you get that working, then you'll do a similar setup on a droid.

Unfortunately, if this still sounds like jargon, then a droid phone probably isn't the right choice for you...

No, that I understand.

Pretty awkward for what I get now with Mac/iPhone but the phone reception issues with iPhone/AT&T are a deal breaker for me. Disgusting that Apple will not address the issue and continues to handcuff its customers with such bad service. I will try your routine.

Thanks!