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Going with what you know
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Posted by Sarah
Jun 29, 2021 at 05:11 AM
Well, I tried for almost a year to learn Android but wasn’t getting enough out of it to continue. I signed up to trade in my very slow, very old Apple devices & my newer Galaxy for (most of the cost of) a new iPhone.
I’m most looking forward to getting back:
• Bear
• Cloud Outliner Pro
• Day One
• Awesome Note
• Hash Photos &
• Grid Calendar.
I’d used these apps daily for years, and their features, extensively, but quit in an effort to force myself to adapt to Android.
This was a bad idea. I’ve never seen anything take the fun out crimping or steal my chance at having a productive day faster than trying to work with my notes and outlines while trying to find, then learn new apps, and adapt to a new operating system all at once.
I’m coming out of this looking forward to pulling everything back together, and with a few new thoughts:
• Software is to be used and when we’re lucky, enjoyed, but not necessarily kept up with, if there’s nothing requiring us to do so.
• Sometimes we’re learning and sometimes we’re not, and that’s fine.
• Obsidian looks amazing…ߘ
Posted by Stephen Zeoli
Jun 29, 2021 at 10:23 AM
My first smart phone was an Android. I hated it. I could never get the feel of it. When I got my first iPhone, I felt completely at home with it. Although I must admit I still haven’t settled on my app set as you have.
Curious: How do you integrate Awesome Note with your computer… or do you?
Steve
Posted by MadaboutDana
Jun 29, 2021 at 12:38 PM
Well, I have an amusing admission. Living in France as I do, but with a business still in the UK, I had two iPhones for my two phone accounts.
Silly!
So I looked into upgrading to an iPhone XR (the earliest version, I believe, that supports two SIM cards, one being an eSIM, of course). I also wanted one for my wife/business partner.
And wow! Even refurbs are impressively expensive! Or more than I expected/wished to pay, anyway.
So I did something that only a CRIMPer would do. Despite my major (and ongoing) reservations about Android, I investigated Android – specifically, Android 11, which is supposed to be more privacy-aware than previous versions. Please note that I have always been a passionate anti-Android person, not least because of Google’s octopus-like embrace.
And behold! I am now the proud owner of an Android smartphone (Blackview A70, for those who’re interested, because (a) seriously cheap, (b) enormous screen, (c) enormous battery, (d) support for dual SIM and 128GB SD card, not the usual and/or kludge).
Having brutally turfed out anything that could compromise privacy (with the exception of certain Google apps to which I have had to resign myself), I’ve been favourably impressed.
So many more apps are available for macOS/Android than was the case last time I conducted a brief, negative pilot (about 3 years ago). The transition is so much more seamless. Android 11 is so much more like iOS (not by accident, I assume). And Android 11 even has a number of desirable traits that iOS doesn’t have.
For someone who’s not a major smartphone person, like me, the new phone is more than sufficient. I’ve got my key data on there, mainly in UpNote (but not NotePlan, alas, an Android version of which doesn’t yet exist); I’ve got shared calendars, contacts and e-mail; I’ve got an amazingly huge screen (my iPhone was a 7, and I was very fond of it, but I look at it now and it seems positively Lilliputian); I’ve got an enormous 5,400 mAh battery which usually lasts a couple of days (although it’s quite variable, which I gather is not unusual in Androidland). And I’ve got ALL my music on a big SDX card.
What’s more, the phone cost me about EUR 80 (ca. USD 85 or GBP 70, depending on market rate fluctuations). I can’t believe how good it is. No, it’s not super-fast, but I don’t play games. The sound is clear, the screen is clear, the messaging notifications are clear, settings are easy to access (with a command centre that’s at least the equal of iOS’s). It’s not too heavy (actually, it’s lighter than my wife’s iPhone 7S, and about the same size, even though the screen is an inch larger).
Android is still a shifty, devious weasel. But I feel more in control of this particular shifty, devious weasel (V11.1) than I did using previous versions (no, I don’t use Gmail, although I do use Microsoft Outlook).
Yes, I’d return to an iPhone like a shot if I suddenly inherited lots of money or was offered one for free. But in the meantime, I’m a fairly happy Android bunny (although maybe I’m also waiting for the other shoe to fall…)!
Cheers!
Bill
Posted by Sarah
Jun 29, 2021 at 07:50 PM
Steve,
I never had a need to bring to my PC, but since Evernote appears to be the only way to get them off of my iPhone, they are everywhere Evernote is.
I’m waiting for DoogiePIM v3 to be released in a few days, and if the documents section is a little more developed than before, I’ll move them from Evernote & be busy linking for quite some time.
The apps I mentioned have suited me for years. Having no business or group sharing needs, no content creation to be shared as of yet and no task sharing keeps me on the shallow side of the software pool, for sure, much easier to stay with the same apps.
Stephen Zeoli wrote:
My first smart phone was an Android. I hated it. I could never get the
>feel of it. When I got my first iPhone, I felt completely at home with
>it. Although I must admit I still haven’t settled on my app set as you
>have.
>
>Curious: How do you integrate Awesome Note with your computer… or do
>you?
>
>Steve
Posted by Pierre Paul Landry
Jun 29, 2021 at 08:35 PM
Stephen Zeoli wrote:
> My first smart phone was an Android. I hated it. I could never get the feel of it. When I got my first iPhone, I felt completely at home with it.
Interesting… I have the exact opposite experience. I’ve had a number of iOS devices (from ipod touch to a recent iPad) and feel claustrophobic in the very limited freedom Apple give its users.
Switching to Android was a liberation. Free at last! Everything from the launcher, the SD card expansion, a functional file manager, to a real USB port is great (and a stylus, as it is a Samsung Note). Not to mention the most important, being able to install any version of an app (through .apk loading). “Upgrade” anxiety free !
Typical case of YMMV of course ;-)
Pierre Paul Landry
IQ Designer