Hey, current iPhone users, I'm Sharon Vaknin.
Since you've probably already decided to switch to Android, I'm not gonna tell you all the benefits of doing it.
You already know that you're getting a highly customizable interface, and then you can choose from a huge selection of phones.
I also don't need to tell you that you're probably getting a faster
processor and a better camera along with free turn-by-turn navigation.
You know these things and more.
So, now it's time to figure out how to get all your iPhone data to your shining new Android phone.
Alright.
Get your iPhone, Android and computer out in front of you.
The least you need to do before following these steps is add your Google account to your new phone by going to Menu, Settings, Account & sync, Add Account, Google, and then
following the steps on the screen.
If you don't have a Google account, there's also an option to create one.
Let's start by transferring your contacts.
Connect your iPhone to your computer and launch iTunes.
Click on your phone's name, then go to the Info tab.
Check sync contact with Google contacts, and now enter the same Gmail account associated with your phone.
Then apply the changes.
Your contacts are now being transferred from your iPhone to Gmail and from Gmail
to your Android.
Calendars and Notes are also easy to transfer.
On your iPhone, go to Settings, and then Mail, Contacts and Calendars.
If the Gmail account you're using with your Android isn't here, add it.
Then go back to Mail Settings, tap the account and turn Syncing on for Calendars, Notes.
Now your calendar will transfer to your new phone and your notes will be filed under a label in Gmail called Notes.
You can't sync notes back to your Android, but they're safe in Gmail and searchable if you
ever need to find them.
Now, it's time for some bad news.
There's really no easy syncing for Android like there was for your iPhone through iTunes.
Everything is done with manual dragging and dropping, mostly for photos, videos, and music.
Let's start with photos and videos.
We first need to get them off your iPhone and on to your computer.
Mac users, just connect your iPhone to your computer and lounge image capture.
Put the photos in a new folder on your desktop and hit Download All.
If you're on Windows, plug-in your phone and open My Computer.
You will see the phone show up as an imaging device, right click it and hit Explore.
Then drag and drop all the photos and videos into a new folder on your desktop.
Now, connect your Android phone to your Windows or Mac computer.
Mount the phone and you'll see it show up on your desktop.
Open it and find the pictures folder.
Sometimes it's called DCIN, but if you don't see one, just create it.
You can name it photos.
Then, just drag and drop the files from your hard drive onto the Android pictures folder and let it transfer.
Once it's done, the photos will show up in the gallery app on your phone, and of course, you can also add other photos and videos from your hard drive using the same drag and drop method.
The same method applies to putting music on your Android.
You might be thinking about your text messages and voicemail.
Right now, there's no simple way to export these items from your iPhone.
It's possible
but the process itself really deserves its own how to.
If there are specific text messages you want to keep, you can forward them to your email account by going to messages, opening the conversation, hit at it, and then tap the messages you want to forward.
Hit Forward and send it to your email address.
That's really the only easy option.
With your contacts, calendars, photos, music, and videos on your Android, what are we gonna do with your old iPhone?
Well, you can keep it and basically use it as an iPad or you can sell it somewhere online like Gazelle or you can make your mom happy and give her a nice gift.
For CNET, I'm Sharon Vaknin, and I'll see you on the interwebs.
