Gmail contacts
So far I have no regrets about my recent switch from an iPhone 3G to an HTC Sensation. Of course, I would like if it could be switched on in the same way as the iPhone–with one’s thumb. That’s the main thing I miss.
Sure, there were some apps that are not available on Android, but not many. On the other hand there are more decent free apps on Android. It’s got momentum now.
As for the device: the screen is better (bigger and higher resolution), the processor is faster, the battery is replaceable, the storage is expandable, the integration with Google apps and services just works, and a useful upgrade to the next Android release, code named Ice Cream Sandwich (they’re all named after desserts), will be available in a few weeks. Then there’s the camera, HD video recording and more.
That a new phone is better than one more than 3 years old is, of course, no surprise.
I had the idea that I could pass my iPhone to my numba one caller, and then get a new 3rd party battery installed (Apple wanted £119 for a refurbished phone, which is how it replaces tired batteries; thanks but no thanks).
Switching to Android was a simple enough matter, with most important data synchronized via Bluetooth.
However, passing on the phone was A LOT more work than I might have guessed.
First, the phone had been jail-broken and I needed to update the operating system — which I hadn’t done in order to avoid re-locking the phone. I had since requested an unlock, but wasn’t sure if it had been done or not. It was time to find out.
That was not quick but it ended well, with an updated phone that worked on other networks with no extra software.
Next, I had to delete a lot of apps unlikely to be used by anyone else, and then rearrange those that remained.
After that I had to remove my data:
- contacts
- photos
- notes
- recordings
- music
- podcasts.
I thought it would be straightforward to sync contacts across the Mozilla Thunderbird mail program, Google Contacts and the iPhone’s contacts.
Syncing Thunderbird and Google was simple and worked using an extension: Google Contacts.
Syncing the iPhone and Google contacts was a little more difficult but not very. It also worked, but the Google syncs with Thunderbird and iPhone were to different groups: My Contacts and Other Contacts, and I found no way of suppressing this undesirable behaviour. Struggling with it caused me to end up with no contacts and duplicated contacts on a few occasions. One again, my old friend Albert the Aardvark was needed.
In the end I got it working, more or less, manually using iTunes, not automatically via Google Sync. It’s not perfect but it’s livable with.
It’s hard to believe that something as basic as this is a hassle, but it is, even when the biggest don’t make me deal with it factor, namely Microsoft, is removed. Apple’s success is founded to some extent on people just having HAD IT with Microsoft product complexities and 3rd party interaction effects.
Now and then the siren call of simplicity exerts a powerful tug, but I resist. I just can’t believe that betting on a single brand at this point would not likely result in further chagrin before long. I was interested to see Eric Schmidt of Google recently refer to Facebook, Amazon, Google and Apple as the four horsemen of the Internet, implicitly rubbishing Microsoft as a has-been. Broadly, I think he’s right — about Microsoft, whatever about the horsemen or their canonical number.
But the more attractive the walled garden the warier I think I should be.
My favourite new app is My Tracks, used in conjunction with Google My Maps..
Tags: google contacts, iphone, thunderbird
