Non-game Android Apps Recommendations Catch-All

Just bought my first Android phone ever, due to arrive tomorrow:
http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/2/51...
(it's not available in US yet, though, just premiered in Europe)

Having used iOS for last four years I'm absolutely clueless about Android devices. I mean never-had-one-in-hand clueless. Can anyone recommend me good guide explaining basic differences in what I can and can't do on Android phone?
I'm especially thinking about things like downloading and syncing podcasts automatically. Is that a built-in feature? Will I need an extra app? What is the iTunes counterpart for Android on PC?

After eight years of using iTunes to sync my media I have some catching up to do

UCRC wrote:

Just bought my first Android phone ever, due to arrive tomorrow:
http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/2/51...
(it's not available in US yet, though, just premiered in Europe)

Having used iOS for last four years I'm absolutely clueless about Android devices. I mean never-had-one-in-hand clueless. Can anyone recommend me good guide explaining basic differences in what I can and can't do on Android phone?
I'm especially thinking about things like downloading and syncing podcasts automatically. Is that a built-in feature? Will I need an extra app? What is the iTunes counterpart for Android on PC?

After eight years of using iTunes to sync my media I have some catching up to do ;)

I had a similar experience some months ago - my iPhone broke down and my employer provided me an Xperia L. Took me about 12 hours to get used to it and I don't think I ever want to go back to iOS.
For podcasts there are several apps which are able to download podcasts even without PC. I use PocketCasts and it is pretty damn fabulous, much better than my everyday syncing with PC.

As for media syncing, you can pretty much copy anything over USB cable. Android is way more permissive than iOS.

For contacts transfer, just sync your iPhone contacts with Google Contacts in iTunes. Once you login to your Android phone with your Google account, they will just sync in.

(Hey, good to see you, man!)

That sounds very tasty and enticing. But also implies that instead of one umbrella solution for music library + auto-downloaded podcasts + listening to my audiobooks (that I rip myself instead of, dunno, getting them from Audible) I need an separate apps for everything. Or is there some good app+PC library manager that will do everything that iTunes did?

UCRC wrote:

(Hey, good to see you, man!)

That sounds very tasty and enticing. But also implies that instead of one umbrella solution for music library + auto-downloaded podcasts + listening to my audiobooks (that I rip myself instead of, dunno, getting them from Audible) I need an separate apps for everything. Or is there some good app+PC library manager that will do everything that iTunes did?

I don't really know to be honest, I don't feel the need to sync around all that much. That said, I do a lot of the things you say: for audiobooks I have Audible app (does its downloads by itself) and Morte player (free) - you just point it to a directory on your SD card and it does its stuff automatically. So instead of sync I just copy folders around. I would guess there are some library management applications for Android but I have not tried any yet.

UCRC wrote:

Having used iOS for last four years I'm absolutely clueless about Android devices. I mean never-had-one-in-hand clueless. Can anyone recommend me good guide explaining basic differences in what I can and can't do on Android phone?
I'm especially thinking about things like downloading and syncing podcasts automatically. Is that a built-in feature? Will I need an extra app? What is the iTunes counterpart for Android on PC?

Welcome to Android! You'll have to let us know what you think about that Moto G. I'm seriously considering a Moto X next time I'm up for a phone...

A few quick notes:

1). Use Pocket Casts (or Doggcatcher) - I think Pocket Casts is generally more popular 'round these parts, but Doggcatcher has a following, too. Either will suit your podcast needs, though I'm unsure as to whether you can simply transfer your list of podcasts from iTunes into these bad boys. Still, searching for your old podcasts is pretty easy, and you can always plug in an RSS feed and it'll find the podcast that way, too (though Pocket Casts almost always finds what I'm looking for). Pocket Casts costs, er, something (I can't tell, 'cause I own it...) and Doggcatcher has a free version and a paid version for $2.99.

2). Use Google Play Music - I may be the only person on here that does this, but when Google Music first launched, I uploaded my 8000 songs to their cloud service and never looked back. I set up Playlists using their web interface, then go to my phone and "pin" my playlists to the device so they download and I don't have to stream them. If I want to change the playlist, I do it on the web interface and it's updated on the phone automatically. Google Music has an "iTunes Match"-like feature that I've never used, as I uploaded everything, but I suspect that may get around iTunes DRM if you've bought music from them in the past without needing to upload your library.

I also use Google Music All Access, which is their Spotify competitor. Either one is a great option if you like listening to music, and both allow you to download whatever you want to your phone. If you want to pay for Spotify, I know they will let you import your iTunes playlist.

3). Use the Google Play Store web interface - There have been more than a few iPhone users that didn't know Android can send apps to phones from the web, rather than having to search for everything on the phone. If you log in under your Google Account, your phone should just "show up" as an option when you click "Install." Very useful!

Hope that helps! Lots of folks around here happy to give recommendations.

DoubleTwist will also do the job. People call it the not sh*tty iTunes of Android. http://www.doubletwist.com/ You can even setup WiFi sync so when you get home it'll sync you music, podcasts and videos as the phone charges.

DoubleTwist will also do the job. People call it the not sh*tty iTunes of Android. http://www.doubletwist.com/ You can even setup WiFi sync so when you get home it'll sync you music, podcasts and videos as the phone charges.

Edwin wrote:

DoublePost will also do the job. People call it the not sh*tty iTunes of Android. http://www.doubletwist.com/ You can even setup WiFi sync so when you get home it'll sync you music, podcasts and videos as the phone charges.

Edwin wrote:

DoubleTwist will also do the job. People call it the not sh*tty iTunes of Android. http://www.doubletwist.com/ You can even setup WiFi sync so when you get home it'll sync you music, podcasts and videos as the phone charges.

Heard good things about DoubleTwist. Never tried it myself. Pretty sure I picked it up for free at some point during an anniversary sale or something...

Edwin wrote:

DoubleTwist will also do the job. People call it the not sh*tty iTunes of Android. http://www.doubletwist.com/ You can even setup WiFi sync so when you get home it'll sync you music, podcasts and videos as the phone charges.

Oh, great! I will check it out and report back. Automatically downloading new podcasts as soon they are available is probably the most important thing for me and iTunes was great for that: come back home, turn on iTunes, sync and I have all of the stuff I want to listen to while commuting ready in literarly two clicks.
I will also report back on Moto G when it arrives. It sounds like really exciting device in that price range.

The DoubleTwist app on Android will handle podcasts and the sync app for your Windows desktop will handle the media on your PC. I don't know of a solution if you have a Mac or Linux.

UCRC wrote:

Oh, great! I will check it out and report back. Automatically downloading new podcasts as soon they are available is probably the most important thing for me and iTunes was great for that: come back home, turn on iTunes, sync and I have all of the stuff I want to listen to while commuting ready in literarly two clicks.
I will also report back on Moto G when it arrives. It sounds like really exciting device in that price range.

Yeah, but, see...with Android...it just downloads...without needing to sync to iTunes.

So while I'm here at work, if a new podcast gets posted, it just downloads. And you can tell Pocket Casts whether you want it to download over-the-air or only on Wifi, so you can place restrictions if you don't want to use up all your data plan.

Seriously, an iPhone can't just automatically download podcasts without syncing to a physical computer!? That's what pushed me over the edge with my old iPod: it got too annoying to have to wait to get home and turn on a computer in order to listen to something I wanted to.

I agree with ilduce620. Outside of hacking I don't have a reason to hook my phone up to a PC. The phone gets whatever I need it to get on its own, and any photos/videos/data get uploaded to the cloud. The great majority of that happens in the background without my having to intervene.

I think the biggest difference between iLand and Android is that Apple stuff tends to be tethered to iTunes for a lot of things that on Android happen on the device itself. I use BeyondPod for my podcasting and have it set up to update overnight. I use Google Play and never have to mess with downloading my music. I back stuff up when on WiFi. I get all my apps and e-books through the phone. In fact, I never connect my phone to anything other than a charger. The bottom line with Android is that it is its own computer and you do everything through it instead of it being essentially an accessory that requires a computer to do a lot of the work.

I get grumpy when I have to mess with my kids' iThingies because it seems so primitive now.

Edit: ilouducefer620-hausered

Recommendation for audiobook apps, if you're still looking for something for ripped books: Simple or Listen. I've got both, and they're both nice.

LouZiffer wrote:

I agree with ilduce620. Outside of hacking I don't have a reason to hook my phone up to a PC. The phone gets whatever I need it to get on its own, and any photos/videos/data get uploaded to the cloud. The great majority of that happens in the background without my having to intervene.

That's all so... future
Thanks for so many great recommendations, you've answered my most burning questions, I think. I'll be back as soon as Moto G arrives with impressions and whole lot more questions. Probably on Friday.

Another vote for Pocket Casts. Does what you need to get Podcasts the very moment they release, not just when you sync. Of course, I used Downcast on ios to do the same thing, so this magic is not exclusive to Android.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

Another vote for Pocket Casts. Does what you need to get Podcasts the very moment they release, not just when you sync. Of course, I used Downcast on ios to do the same thing, so this magic is not exclusive to Android.

For that matter, Pocket Casts is on iOS. Just seems to be a little behind the Android releases.

THE EAGLE HAS LANDED

Impressions soon.

edit: It's great. It's overwhelming. And I knew that Androids were Google-centric devices, but this is over the top. Does anyone know some sort of guide to non-Google alternatives for all major services? I'd like to stay free from at least parts of Google's ecosystem.

UCRC wrote:

edit: It's great. It's overwhelming. And I knew that Androids were Google-centric devices, but this is over the top. Does anyone know some sort of guide to non-Google alternatives for all major services? I'd like to stay free from at least parts of Google's ecosystem.

There are plenty of alternatives. What are you trying to replace?

Although if you're really trying to avoid Google, I have no idea why you'd go Android. A lot of it's greatest features like Google Now are directly tied to Google.

Yeah. Android isn't as tied to Google as iOS is to Apple, but it's close. There are alternatives, but that would involve splintering your library and stuff. This is not an altogether bad idea, but it does, well, splinter your library.

I'm unaware of any "guides," per se. I'd probably need more specific requests in order to make a recommendation. I know Yahoo! has its own mail app, for example. There's Mapquest. Aside from Google Play Music or Google Play Movies, there's Spotify, Netflix and Vudu. Amazon MP3 works well for music.

MannishBoy wrote:

Although if you're really trying to avoid Google, I have no idea why you'd go Android. A lot of it's greatest features like Google Now are directly tied to Google.

Truth. Google Now is glorious. Sure, they know everything about you...but that just means they can give you information you need before you know you need it.

MannishBoy wrote:

Although if you're really trying to avoid Google, I have no idea why you'd go Android.

Well, but if I'm trying to avoid Apple, what choice is there? Seriously, though, I'm not trying to "avoid" Google, I'm just trying not to use it as default option for anything because I see that as a dangerous habit. (It probably helps that my life doesn't really require me to sync contacts/calendar/docs the way most Google users do, so it was relatively easy to stay out of the ecosystem.)

Sorry about being so unspecific with my questions. Maybe I'll do my own research for now, and come back a bit later

UCRC wrote:
MannishBoy wrote:

Although if you're really trying to avoid Google, I have no idea why you'd go Android.

Well, but if I'm trying to avoid Apple, what choice is there? ;)

Windows Phone? It's inexpensive enough to pick up a Lumia 520 these days, and Google and Apple have little to no support for the platform.

Cool, Google Play Music now allows you to store music on an external SD card. Much better.

Kurrelgyre wrote:
UCRC wrote:
MannishBoy wrote:

Although if you're really trying to avoid Google, I have no idea why you'd go Android.

Well, but if I'm trying to avoid Apple, what choice is there? ;)

Windows Phone? It's inexpensive enough to pick up a Lumia 520 these days, and Google and Apple have little to no support for the platform.

There's that BlackBerry10 thingie people keep laughing at talking about.

MannishBoy wrote:

Recommendation for audiobook apps, if you're still looking for something for ripped books: Simple or Listen. I've got both, and they're both nice.

I use MortPlayer Audio Books

cheesycrouton wrote:
MannishBoy wrote:

Recommendation for audiobook apps, if you're still looking for something for ripped books: Simple or Listen. I've got both, and they're both nice.

I use MortPlayer Audio Books

I tried that, and can't remember what it was that I wanted that it didn't do. But that seems to be a popular one.

One more random thought: SwiftKey is an amazing keyboard for someone who is fluidly switching between languages while writing. That alone is a reason enough to never consider going back to the iOS. Apple's autocorrect does it's job when writing in English, but it just fails miserably with multiple language input.

Said I will be back with impressions and when I have more questions. That took some time because I had a busy weekend, but at least that means that I got to test phone some more.

Moto G impressions:

Well, I guess majority of my impressions so far are Android-centric as I never had one of those before, and therefore not of much interest to any of you, but let me just say that for someone coming from iOS it's amazing how well apps are designed. I think that overall user experience trumps iOS's by a quite big margin. However, I am still adjusting - there are small things like iOS-like scroll lag or tapping on top of screen that feel missing.

Phone itself is really, really snappy. Here's a nice Verge review that I might've linked to already:
http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/2/51...
Overall it's a big device and I'm still not quite used to bigger size and find reaching for corners with my thumb quite problematic, but if you guys have Nexus or Galaxies then it's probably nothing new for you. Good news is that back panel is well designed and minimizes risk of phone slipping.

Performance is amazing. Again, I can't compare it with any Android phones, but people mention that it's more snappy experience than iPhone 4s and I'd agree. The longest load time I experienced was 5-10 seconds for launching Real Racing, everything else launches with no loading. Constantly switching between a lot of open apps also seems to work fine.

Battery lasts about two days of moderate use. In first day of constantly downloading and testing apps, I managed to get it down to 25%, but that is the most extreme use scenario. After day of normal use yesterday it was down to 60%.

Also, I seem to have slightly better mobile reception with this phone than on all my previous ones.

Camera is alright, but could be better. (In other words: it's a smartphone.) See online reviews for demonstrations.

***

App question time:

Okay, I still haven't had time to get most of apps I want running. I am still missing music app and subsist on PocketCasts and Soundcloud. But at least I made up my mind on what I need:

My music library is a couple of well-organised folders with music and audiobooks. Assuming I only have 3 gigs of space for audio on the phone, I will need a fast way to copy albums I want to listen to and delete unwanted ones. Same goes for audiobooks. Preferably I'd like to do that through WiFi.
Ability to stream my library while I'm home and my library PC is running would be a plus but it's not necessary.
For listening itself I don't need anything beyond what Apple Music app had. Ability to rate music would be a plus.

Does DoubleTwist do that? Does it work with aubiobooks? Are there any nice alternatives? Does MediaMonkey serve as a good audio manager for Androids?

(Incidentally, I have a huge iPod classic for keeping my whole music library, so I'd prefer to have a media manager that can manage both Androids and iPods, but I know this is a tall order.)

So, to sum up four variables are
1) syncing selected albums from PC library through wifi
2) ability to stream from that PC
3) syncing music ratings a plus
4) a library that would work with both Android and iPod

I'm not interested in uploading my music to the cloud, especially since The Google Play music player is currently available in select territories. as I was just informed.