I guess android works pretty slick if all you do is stream from the cloud. But, if you want to sync music with the phone it's a disaster. The Google-supported way is for me to put MP3s in a folder? Really? And some of the android phones (like the flagship nexus 4) don't support transfer via USB? Really? I have to do it via slow-ass WiFi and a third-party program like doubletwist? Total disaster.
> And some of the android phones (like the flagship nexus 4) don't support transfer via USB?
What? I have the Nexus 4 here and I'm 99% sure I transfered files over USB in the 1h before I installed a custom ROM. Additionally I've never heard that complaint before.
The android file transfer app does not work with the Nexus 4. At least, it doesn't if you're on Mountain Lion. Same goes for doubletwist. The Nexus 4 only supports USB MTP mode, not USB MSC (mass storage) mode. I think other newer phones are this way too.
Agreed, local syncing is indeed unfortunate, but not sure how else it could be better unless Google builds an iTunes-esque desktop client, which is never going to happen. However, once I started using Google Music, I never looked back.
If you want music to be stored on the device, you can tell Google Music or Amazon MP3 to keep the copies on the device. This is accessible by long pressing a song or album and then selecting "keep on device". Alternatively in Google Music there's a menu to select multiple songs/albums.
> The Google-supported way is for me to put MP3s in a folder? Really?
That's the 'over the wire' method. I think that's how it should work seeing as how with iOS you need iTunes in order to do it. And then iTunes has a bunch of non-sense about how certain things can/can't be copied because of drm or however iTunes and that particular iDevice feels that day. As for once the files are in the Android file system, the content manager automatically indexes the files so in Google Music or Amazon MP3, the songs are not arranged by file name, but by album, song title, genre, etc.
> I have to do it via slow-ass WiFi and a third-party program like doubletwist? Total disaster.
The problem here is you've been conditioned to think that wifi is slow, and iTunes is superior. It isn't. When I download an album from the "cloud", I don't sit there waiting for it to finish. I get in my car and go, or I walk to wherever I need to be. The device does it wirelessly and because it is wireless, I don't care about sitting there waiting for it to finish. You're stuck in the iTunes mentality where there's a physical cable attached and you do have to sit there and wait.
if you want to sync music with the phone it's a disaster.
This was indeed an Achilles heal of Android three years ago. Now it is a complete non-issue for the majority of users, and iTunes is becoming as much an albatross as a benefit.
