(Credit:
Jason Cipriani/CNET)
For some reason it's a common belief that
Android
devices and Macs just don't get along. This misconception may have been
true back in Android's infancy, but nowadays there's a long list of
methods, apps, and services that let you use your Android device with
your
Mac. It's impossible to cover
every app and service available, but I'm going to share the best of the bunch.
Most of the services listed below rely on the cloud to make the
process of moving data between devices painless, while other methods
require the tried and true method of data transfer through a USB
connection.
(Credit:
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET)
Syncing documents
Unlike with the iPhone, transferring files is as easy as dragging and
dropping. The way you do this, however, will depend on what version of
Android your phone runs. Not only can you sync documents on your Android
device, but your phone can also act as a jump drive, storing vital
documents for you or helping move files around among computers.
Older Android devices have a USB Storage Mode that can be activated
by plugging your device into your Mac, pulling down the notification
shade, and tapping on the USB notification. From there, select "Turn on
USB Storage."
At this point, your Android phone will appear as a drive on your
desktop. Open it, and you'll be able to move files to and from your
phone's various folders.
When using this method, make sure you unmount your Android device
before disconnecting it from your Mac. To do this, open Finder and click
on the Eject icon next to your device. Not ejecting, or unmounting,
your device before disconnecting can corrupt the storage on your device,
which results in lost files.
Newer Androids require you to use an app to sync files between your
two devices. Google recommends you use its Android File Transfer (AFT)
program, which you can download at Android.com/filetransfer.
With AFT you can browse the folders system of your Android device and
drag and drop files between it and your Mac. The program is very basic,
but it works.
While AFT is more than sufficient for basic file syncing, other apps
such as Droid NAS make it possible to wirelessly share files between
your device and your Mac with ease. The program works by effectively
making your phone or
tablet
appear as a shared computer in your Mac Finder, allowing you to
transfer files without ever reaching for a USB cable. Read through Ed
Rhee's guide to Droid NAS to see how you can set up syncing profiles based on Wi-Fi networks. I've been using this app and love it.
Another
way to wirelessly access files and other content on your Android device
is to use AirDroid, a free service that lets you remotely access and
modify your phone's files from a browser window. AirDroid 2
is currently in an open beta and will allow you to manage a long list
of items on your device wirelessly. Or you can install the original version of AirDroid, should you not want to mess with a beta.
Music
There
are a number of scenarios that will determine how you sync music files
on your computer with your Android device. As you know by now, you
could
just drag and drop your entire music library on to your phone, but
you'll run into a couple of issues. First, you don't want to have to do
this each time you download a new song. Second, you might not have
enough room on your device to store all those files.
Luckily,
Google Music solves these problems and makes the process of syncing
music easy. With Google Music, you're able to upload your entire music
library (up to 20,000 songs) and stream or download to your phone so
long as you have an Internet connection. And, each time you download a
new song on your Mac, it'll become available on your phone.
To get started with Google Music, you'll first need to download the Music Manager app.
After
downloading the app on your Mac, you'll need to show it where your
music is stored. Once you've given it a folder to monitor, the app will
automatically upload your music to Google's Music service. Not only does
this method provide a simple way of getting your music to your device,
but it also frees up storage space that would otherwise be taken up by
music.
(Credit:
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET)
Once you've set up your library, you can download any artist,
album, or playlist via Wi-Fi or cellular connection within the Android
Music app itself. Just tap on the pushpin icon to start the download
process.
Best of all, you won't have to fuss with iTunes when
syncing music between your Mac and your Android device. You simply tell
the Music Manager where your music library is; when new files are added,
they're automatically uploaded for you. You can store 20,000 songs for
free.
Photos
There are a few different ways to sync
photos between your Android device and your Mac so that each time you
take a photo, it's backed up to your Mac. The beauty of some of these
approaches is that -- beyond initial setup -- you don't have to do
anything else to get the photos from your phone to your Mac. Not only
does this type of system allow you to easily access photos on your
computer, but it also ensures that you constantly have a backup of your
photos should you lose your phone. Before you continue, sign up for a Dropbox account if you don't already have one.
Dropbox provides a free way for your photos to automatically sync via its service,
which downloads them to a Camera Uploads folder on your Mac. This is
the quickest way to get photos from your device to your Mac, but not the
only way. SyncMate
Expert will also help you achieve the same results, as will the AFT and
Droid NAS apps, albeit not automatically as Dropbox does.
There's also another app called DoubleTwist,
which has an AirSync add-on feature. The app requires you to install
software on both your Android device and your Mac. Once installed and
set up, you can sync your music, photos, and videos wirelessly between
the two devices.
Movies
The larger screens commonly
found on Android devices make them ideal for watching movies. But you
don't only have to rely on Netflix, Hulu Plus, or HBO Go for your
entertainment; you can load movies you own on your phone and watch them
anywhere, even when you're offline. Transferring movies or large videos
between your Mac and Android will be time-consuming, so make sure you're
not doing this when you're rushing to make a flight.
Solutions
like AirDroid, DoubleTwist, SyncMate, Droid NAS, and AFT will all allow
you to transfer movies and videos to your Android device from your Mac.
But, do keep in mind that some of the wireless services may be slower
than the wired approach the Android File Transfer app offers.
No
matter which method you choose, you'll need to add any movie files to
the Movie folder located on your Android device. If the folder isn't
already present, go ahead and create it.
Where you're likely to
run into problems is with playing the various video file types on your
Android device, as the stock video player only supports so many formats.
But if you'd rather not worry about that, download MX Player from the Play store and use it as your primary video player. It supports a long list of file types.
Of
course, all this video-transferring will quickly hog precious storage
space, so consider incorporating a cloud solution. One option is to stream videos stored in your Dropbox
account through the Dropbox app. Just keep in mind that streaming
videos over a cellular connection will eat into your data plan.
Contacts and calendars
Many
of us would be completely lost if we were to lose the contacts in our
address book. Long gone are the days of memorizing phone numbers,
addresses, and birthdays; now we rely on our devices to store this vital
information for us. Also long gone are the days of needing a USB
connection to sync this type of information between devices; now service
providers such as Google and Apple ensure that all of our devices are
up-to-date with important information once it's added to an account.
(Credit:
Screenshot by Jason Cipriani/CNET)
The good news is that Google and Apple really do play
nicely together when it comes to syncing your contacts and calendars. On
your Mac, sign in to your Google account in both the Contacts and
Calendar apps. You can do this by launching either app and navigating to
the Preferences (from the menu bar, click on the app name, then click
on "Preferences"). Once you can see the Preferences page, click on the
Accounts icon at the top. In the Contacts app, click on "On My Mac" and
then check the box to begin synchronizing with Google. You'll need to
sign in to the same Google account you used on your Android device.
The
process in the Calendars app is similar, but instead of selecting On My
Mac, you'll need to click on the "+" sign at the bottom of the window
and then select Google from the list of services you can add. Again, log
in with the same Google account as you did on your Android device.
On
your Android device, launch the Settings app and view your Google
account under the Accounts section. Tap on your account name and make
sure the check box next to Calendar and Contacts is checked. Any changes
made to this information will wirelessly sync between your Android
device and Mac on a regular basis. Most of the time the changes are
near-instant, but there can be slight delays in syncing.
If
you're an iCloud user who would rather not switch over to Google
services for your contacts and calendar needs, check out the SmoothSync
for Cloud Calendars or Contacts apps. Either of these apps will allow you to sync your iCloud information with your Android device.
Browser bookmarks and tabs
Syncing
your browser's bookmarks and tabs is one of those features that once
you start using it, you don't understand how you ever lived without. It
allows you to seamlessly switch from your Mac to your smartphone (or
vice versa) and continue browsing where you left off. Instead of
e-mailing or messaging yourself a link, you simply launch your browser
and everything will be waiting for you.
The easiest way to
ensure that your bookmarks, open tabs, and other browser preferences
sync between your Mac and your Android device is to use Google's own
browser, Chrome.
If your Android device doesn't come with Chrome preinstalled, you can download it for free
here. And of course you'll need Chrome for Mac, which can be downloaded
here.
Log
in to Chrome on both devices with the same Google account and then view
the Settings page. Check the box next to the services you'd like to
sync.
Note that you'll need to be using an Android device
running Android 4.0 and above to install Chrome. If you happen to be
running an older version of Android, you can try using
SyncMate. The free version doesn't provide bookmark syncing, so you'll be looking at paying $35 for the Expert version.
Obviously
we can't cover every app or service when it comes to using an Android
device with a Mac, so if you have one you're fond of, please mention it
in the comments. And if we left any categories out, please let us know
so we can go back and add it.
Source :
cnet.com
When
it comes to the world of headphones, making a particular purchase
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Well, one name that I am quite sure is able to serve up decent value for
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feature in majority of the headphones out there, leading us to only one
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the family name.
Kids
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thing is, kids are not the most tech savvy bunch of people out there,
and neither can you guarantee that they are the most careful tablet
users, too. If only there was a company that rolled out tablets which
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of the InnoTab 3 tablet for kids.
