Kies vs. SyncToy?

[Dread Polack]

So, I've played around a bit with Kies, and it doesn't seem to work the way I want it to. Maybe I need more time to use it, but it also keeps locking up on me and I have to end task on it, so it's kind of frustrating.

Podcasts:
I subscribe to several podcasts via iTunes. I successfully copied one over via Kies, but when I tried to get all of my podcasts listed in Kies by porting them over from iTunes, it locked up. After I restarted the program, it only added the ones that currently had episodes on the HD. When I tried searching for them in Kies so I could subscribe, I couldn't find any. Not even Wait Wait.. Don't Tell Me!, which is a very popular podcast. Then, when I tried to add the podcast's website, it locked up again and won't let me delete it from the list while it tries to find it. Finally, I noticed that with the successful podcasts, it actually created *copies* of the mp3 files in a separate folder, so if I want all my podcasts on my phone (at least by using kies) I have to have 2 copies of all my podcasts - 16 gb worth. That's just plain annoying.

Does it do the same thing with music files? Am I being forced to use Kies over iTunes?

Anyone got any tips on how to work with kies?

SyncToy:With my Samsung Captivate, I used Microsoft SyncToy to synchronize all my podcasts from my PC to my phone's SD Card. Now I'm noticing that SyncToy won't let me do this. Any ideas why?

 

[Dread Polack]

In fact, the music player isn't recognizing any files dragged & dropped onto my phone or SD card. It looks like it is trying to force me to use Kies. This is why I chose Android over Apple. Am I doing something wrong?

Update: Okay, fiddled around a bit, and it seems to work now that I put it into a folder called "Music". First it didn't recognize the music. Then, I had to drag my "Podcast" folder into my "Music" folder.

I notice the default Music Player doesn't keep podcasts separate from music, like my old iPod touch did. Anyone suggest an app for this?

 

[Hogan773]

I haven't used Kies but I went straight onto AirDroid which is a pretty sweet app that allows you to wirelessly access your phone from your PC, and then move things on an off, etc. I think it does what Kies is supposed to do, although from the reviews I read it seems to do them better.