Going back to Apple Only - After a year with Android

Goodbye to Android

I have made the decision to go back completely to Apple products even though I have enjoyed my year with Android. Without a doubt, the first six months I had with my Samsung Galaxy S3 were very good indeed and I really enjoyed using the phone. Same thing with the Nexus 7 although the experience with that has been better than with the Galaxy S3. The problem with the phone is that the carrier did not put out any updates to the operating system. I had to use rooting and CyanogenMod to get the thing to work with the latest software. I think that this is a bad problem for Android that should be sorted out. The main reason for me going back to Apple is that there are three or four applications that I want to use more of and they are iOS only. It is quite frustrating when I want to do something and the perfect application I don't have with me due to me only having Android in my pocket. I could possibly find some workarounds to be able to get what I want to do into these applications, but it is just too much messing around. It is this sort of messing around that I have had to do that has made the Android user experience for me disappointing and slightly second-rate. I am pretty sure that when I go back to using Apple I will not miss anything from Android. Well, maybe I will miss the Google Now just a little bit. It is quite handy for it to tell me what the traffic conditions are like for my drive home from work before I even ask for the information. It is also useful to get the latest scores from my football team Barcelona FC as they happen.

listen to ‘ Switching from Android to IOS’ on audioBoom

iOS 8 and New iPhones

Another reason that I have been able to go back to using Apple is because of the larger phones that have been introduced. I have gone with the 4.7 inch iPhone 6 as I have to have something that will fit into my shirt pocket. The iPhone 6 plus would have been far too big for that. I would always be worried that it would fall out and crash to the concrete. The addition of the third-party keyboards such as Swype and Swiftkey is also big news for me. I like being able to type by swiping my finger around the keyboard rather than tapping. The first version of Swype didn't work for me and I had to wait until there were new versions before I could properly use it. Now it is working a treat and I am pleased with it. I do have to go back to the ordinary keyboard from Apple, which is also improved, if I want to use the Siri dictation.

As I was dictating this into my Mac using DragonDictate my iPad thought I had said "Hey Siri". Siri started listening to my voice for a question.

Hey Siri

This is another thing that I quite like with iOS 8 and yes I know that there is already something similar with Android. It is just another of those catch up things that Apple have done that mean I can go back to using just the Apple ecosystem.

Another thing that can be annoying when you are using two different systems is when you are entering things into your contacts or into your calendar. What happens is that you end up having two sets of data that are not exactly the same. Now that I am going back to just using Apple I am going to have to merge those two sets into one set. This is going to make it so that things are less confusing all around. I have found working with text annoying when I wanted to be precise about the position of the cursor on Android. It works much better on iOS.

Passing the devices down the line

I did think about keeping the Nexus 7 as I still like the device and enjoy using it, especially for reading. Then I remembered that my youngest son was looking for a tablet to use and I offered him this Nexus 7. Naturally, he wants to get his hands on this excellent Android tablet and so I will pass it on to him when I see him in a months time. The iPad that I am presently using will also get passed on when I get the new iPad next month. My wife will benefit from this as she is still using the iPad 1.

One month with the Samsung Galaxy S3

The change from iPhone to Galaxy S3

Right from the start I loved the newness of the swap form one operating system to another. I was scary and refreshing. I love to find out new things about different technology so this experiment has be just brilliant for me. I have been using iOS and the iPhone for four years before this and making the change from iOS to Android has been interesting. Lots of new things to try and stuff to work out and sometimes make workarounds for things that I was able to do on the iPhone. So far nothing has completely stumped me and the plusses have been far greater in number and amplitude than any of the minuses.

listen to ‘Testing out the audio boo app talking about my phone’ on Audioboo

Loading up with software

I got a photo app that came in from a place other than the Play Store and mostly it worked out. It has a great sphere photo function that is really easy to use. I just have to put the spot in the cross hairs and it takes the next picture for the 360 sphere. The first I did I was able to get online and spin it around, but the second one I did would go up as a sphere. I need to try out other ways of doing it. I must have forgotten exactly what I did to upload it.

Changing over from iCloud services to Google Services

Seemed that the best thing to do was to use Google calendar and contact apps / services as it was easier to get that data into the phone that it would be to get the iCloud stuff available on the S3. It needs some tweaking still to get it working just right but I don't have so much time to be able to work with it.

Audioboo Podcasts

I was doing these most days but I have less time and the App for Audioboo was not too reliable when I started using it. I have just done one Audioboo and it worked out great. Very easy and the boo was uploaded really quickly. I was kind of shocked.

Loving my Galaxy S3

Very easy to use indeed.

I’m pleased at I’m getting on well with the Galaxy S3. And I have been learning more about how to set up my new smartphone. For the moment, I’m really preferring the smartphone is that the Samsung Galaxy S3 works compared to the the iphone

Blogger or Wordpress?

Up until now all of my web sites are on the word press platform, but I have also started a new 1 on blogger com. Today I was able to download an application and I am hoping that it will it possible for me to send a blog post from the Draft application directly into blogger. There is an app with a similar name on iOS called Drafts which has hooks into all manor of destinations. I would like to see this evolve to be just like it.

Getting Started as an Android User

Android Newbie

Just got the Galaxy S3 even though the S4 has just become available. Delighted with the first few days of using the device. I have loaded up a few apps and I have even paid for a few of them. One I have only just this minute bought is Draft and I am so pleased that the app gives me easy access to the Markdown syntax. I tried out Denote and Mark Dawn but neither did the job that I was expecting it to do and they will now be deleted, never to be seen again.

Not all is perfect, like the couple of times I have had to wait too long for the device to start up from sleep and once I had to turn it off and back on again to get it running again. A couple of times I thought it was slow to operate on a task, but I am in the honeymoon period and still quite forgiving. Probably as I get further into the Android way of doing things I will be more aware of what I should expect.

Bye Bye iPhone

I am not even a little bit sad right now that I will be saying bye bye to the iPhone as the Samsung Galaxy S3 is such a fresh new plaything for me. Lots of new things to try and plenty to fiddle and twiddle with. The configurability of the device is astonishing. I will writing all about this on the Nostylus Blog and I expect to be making a video or two also to put on the Wizardgold Channel. Maybe I will have to set up a different channel for the Android stuff.