Ditching Apple

[B3njam1n]

Can anyone offer me any advice?

I have a 32gb iPhone 4G. I have it synced, music and pictures, to a really old desktop that I want shut of. I have been thinking about getting a netbook but really want a tablet, I have found that the Asus Transformer tablet almost replaces a netbook BUT I couldn't sync it with my iPhone.

So I am thinking of ditching Apple and getting the Asus tablet and an Android phone.

Can I then sync an Android phone to the Asus tablet? And if so, how would this work with my media files? The Asus tablet doesn't seem to have a very big hard drive. I am guessing it makes use of some kind of cloud storage? This would be fine at home i.e. with wifi but, if say I am at the gym or on the train with no internet access, how would I access my music through my phone? It would need to be saved on the phone.

Could I perhaps keep all my media on an external hard drive and drag and drop files on to the phone via the Asus tablet? Can I also download torrents using the Asus tablet and save them to an external HD?

I am looking at moving out next year and getting my own place and am quite akin to the idea of having a media server at home so will make use of external hard drives a lot then, on a side note, could the Asus tablet set this network up? If not I have a works laptop I can use for this purpose when the time comes (though I can't keep my media files on this so would not be able to sync my phone to my work laptop).

Also, when I do look at setting up a home network, I will be quite keen to rip my brothers DVD library to HD - can the Asus do this? I know I would need to employ the use of an external CD-ROM drive but does Android have the software?

I am not sure what phone I would be getting - perhaps the Samsung Galaxy unless anyone can suggest otherwise?

 

[lunatic59]

Hello B3njam1n, welcome to Android Forums.

As long as you register each device under the same gmail account, your contacts, apps and calendars will sync to both (all, if you ever get more) devices. For files you will need a different solution, but there are apps that will sync pictures (like picassa) or music (Google music) which work mostly if not entirely through cloud services.

The transformer is expandable through the addition of MicroSD cards up to 32 gb (I have heard of 64 GB cards being used, but i don't think Asus supports them officially.) If your intent is to stream media from the sd card, make sure it is class 6 or higher. A slower card will have problems with media, especially at HD resolutions.

if say I am at the gym or on the train with no internet access, how would I access my music through my phone? It would need to be saved on the phone.

Yes, it would. Depending on the size of your music library, you could keep a copy on a 23 gb MicroSD card to take to the gym.

... media server ... could the Asus tablet set this network up?

It depends. Most NAS devices have their own setup interface which is accessed through http (web browser.) I can setup and administer my network storage right from the tablet, so you might want to check into individual solutions before you commit to any media server.

I know I would need to employ the use of an external CD-ROM drive but does Android have the software?

It's more a question of hardware and drivers. I don't know that a.) the transformer can support a DVD player via USB host mode (through the USB connector on the keyboard accessory) or that it has the horsepower or storage space to rip a DVD. Maybe someone else (in the Transformer forum, most likely) will know for sure.

Here's a link to the Transformer sub-forum here at AF:

http://androidforums.com/asus-eee-pad-transformer/

 

[dan330]

you can sync things to the cloud.. and there are a lot of services for that. Dropbox is one solution...and it can sync across different platforms... look in my sig.

dont your phone come with data service? of course, if it is not unlimited, you might keep an eye on that.

i dont think you can use a tablet to setup a network or use Laser Disk devices. so some sort of PC/mac will be needed. you said you have an old Mac... why not use that as your server?

 

[B3njam1n]

Thanks guys. Sorry about the mis-posting - I am a newbie

I have an old Packard Bell desktop - not Mac, it needs binning really

I have been looking at the Samsung Galaxy S2, I see that has the facility for a 32GB SD card, so that might be the way forward - I have also half found that you can DL torrents and such directly to the S2 using an App, I guess with dropbox I could manage the SD card from the phone when in internet access. I have unlimited internet access with my network provider.

I have just been looking into Google Music - it's not currently in the UK, so I either need to hang fire until it is or look at another cloud service - maybe Amazon or the Asus one to use with the transformer - but I am not entirely sure whether the S2 could connect to that Asus cloud?

I am starting to feel quite liberated at the prospect of moving away from an Apple phone

Does anyone know if the S2 EVER needs to be connected/synced with a PC/Laptop?

 

[dan330]

NO android device "needs" to sync with a PC/Mac...
it syncs with google and you can then access it anywhere.

with the asus cloud service.. I would GUESS... with the free cloud service, you get an ID and Password to access. which you should be able to use in other devices for free!

I have heard Amazon music is pretty good.. and they also have a free cloud service!!
but i am not sure how save it would be if you have torrented media!!!!

I saw on newegg.com a 32GB Class4 sdcard for $31 (free shipping). so a Class 6 or higher should be dropping to $50 soon.