Eating Humble Pie - Apple, Pie

So you may remember I was very disappointed with the direction Apple is taking lately, with its subscription model and general smugness. So I switched to a Sony Xperia Z3+ via a refurb Z2 (still a good value phone I reckon).

It's not that Android is bad. Indeed, I am completely won over by Google services once more and thanks to Google Music I am actively listening and rediscovering my music library once more.

Google Inbox has matured to a point where it just seems normal to me, I've always used my email as a to-do list, so it's perfect(ing). I've been centralising my schedule with (Microsoft's) Sunrise Calendar and not looked back. And Google Keep has since been released for iOS.

So the software that sits on Android is not bad.

It's the ...

Well.

Those that know me know that I have virtually zero tolerance for a product flake out in critical working situation.

You guessed it.

The Xperia video camera let me down. More than once.

I can workaround the native camera not recording 1080P video for more than 30 minutes, but some things I can't comes to term with:

1. Camera lag. From activation delay to a delay after pressing record, it is not acceptable to me when one of my primary uses for bothering with a smartphone is to have a reliable and robust video camera on me at all times. The Xperia hardware may be robust and reliable but the software has proven to me over the last couple of months that it is neither robust nor reliable.

2. Fixing the exposure. I mean, c'mon. I want to set an exposure and keep it there, please. I didn't realise how important that feature had become to me on iPhone.

3. Third party camera apps that are a bit flakey. Likely because of that F word.

I just don't have time for this shit. I need something that "just works", shit here I am on my knees begging for iPhone to take me back because in my experience it "just works".

So I guess I've learned a lesson here. I love recording live stereo sound, I really love it. However, moreso I love a reliable and robust video camera that records mono. And there always the Shure MV88 and my credit rating before I bankrupt myself with another round of Apple gear and Lightning cables.

Like I say though, Google services have won me over. Android hardware flakiness is to Apple network services flakiness in my experience - frustrating and somewhat second-rate; mediocre.

My next iteration airninja mojo core kit looks like being a previous generation Apple phone running current generation Google services. Win win, right?

How To Use Apple iCloud Easily On Google Android (Part 2: Email)

I'm using a refurbished Sony Xperia Z2 with Android 5.1.1 Lollipop. I'm also firmly entrenched in Apple's iCloud eco-system and am a multi-platform user (Android, iOS, OS X).

Part 2: Email

If you don't use any iCloud aliases then just use the stock email app on the Android device. Stop reading now. It's that simple.

I use an iCloud alias to shield my true Apple ID. Whilst not particularly any more safe or secure, it helps me feel clever.

However most Android email clients do not give you the option of using iCloud email aliases. There are ways and means though (and over time I expect more and more Android email clients to support iCloud aliases).

This was actually particularly easy for me. I've been using Gmail as my back-end email for almost 10 years (Google remembers so I don't have to - I just have to be good with search keywords, which I am).

With Gmail I'd already setup my default sender address as one of my iCloud aliases. So on Android I can just use Gmail and my outgoing reply-to address defaults to that alias.

More recently though I believe Gmail have made it more convoluted to add additional email addresses (aliases with differing domains) to your Gmail account. So I don't particularly recommend it unless you want to use Gmail as your backend.

A simpler method for people who keep their email on iCloud and don't forward it anywhere is an app Aqua Mail.

The free version doesn't support iCloud aliases (identities) but reportedly the paid version does (I say reportedly since reviewers say it does, I have not tried it myself - go and read the reviews for yourself).
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