Android And Chrome Should Talk To Each Other

[Megalith]

Anyone who uses apps like Pushbullet would probably agree with this article. It is surprising to me that Google does not have some kind of app, extension, or other built-in functionality that bridges Android and Chrome.

Pushbullet shows that there's an obvious way for Google to match — and even beat — Apple's iPhone-to-Mac Continuity feature: Chrome. Google may not have a widely used desktop operating system, but it does have a widely used browser (which, yes, is also sometimes an operating system). Chrome is on OS X, Windows, and Linux. According to NetMarketShare, it's used on just over one-third of desktop computers, second only to Internet Explorer. So Google could give Android phone owners the same type of experience that Continuity does, and it wouldn't even matter what computer they're using. They'd just have to use Chrome.

 

[Skripka]

The Verge are f'ing idiots.

That kind of integration has been around for YEARS. Every time my phone has rung in the last year+ so does my desktop where I'm logged in on Chrome. Everytime I have gotten a text in the last year+ I get a ping on my desktop where I am signed in. Same for GMail/Inbox.


The Verge are f;ing idiots. This kind of thing has been working for years on Android.

 

[westrock2000]

The Apple iPhone to Mac (or rather iOS to OSX) compatibility is briliiant, Google has a LONG way to go before that will ever happen. Microsoft could definitely do it, but they need to get more phones out there.

But Google didn't even have the foresight to allow Android apps to run on ChromeOS, which was a boneheaded move.

Google's version of Airprint, Google Print, is another example of this rag tag setup they have. These kinds of services need to be at the OS level, not something in the browser.

 

[Skripka]

The Apple iPhone to Mac (or rather iOS to OSX) compatibility is briliiant, Google has a LONG way to go before that will ever happen.

"LONG" in this case meaning it has already been possible for the user with actual knowledge of the platform over a calendar year.

 

[ChefJoe]

After installing Chrome on my desktop, I was suddenly surprised by how my computer was "ringing" a moment before my cell phone would ring. It is a part of google voice having my "display" number and forwarding calls to my "private" cell number.

 

[Jahx]

Erm... For the past 2 years I see call notifications, texts etc on my chrome browser from my android phone. Perhaps the authors of the article aren't particularly interested in spending the 20 seconds it takes on googling how to do this? (Or more likely Siri didn't understand what they were asking for...)

 

[kac77]

The Verge are f'ing idiots.

That kind of integration has been around for YEARS. Every time my phone has rung in the last year+ so does my desktop where I'm logged in on Chrome. Everytime I have gotten a text in the last year+ I get a ping on my desktop where I am signed in. Same for GMail/Inbox.


The Verge are f;ing idiots. This kind of thing has been working for years on Android.

I read it just to make sure I wasn't mistaken. Yes, the ability to have a call, text, or even Chrome information carry over to all devices has been on Android/Chrome for a VERY long time. I really don't know WTH they are talking about.

 

[westrock2000]

"LONG" in this case meaning it has already been possible for the user with actual knowledge of the platform over a calendar year.

I am not speaking about phone calls and text messages specifically. I am talking about the general state of communication between the things you can do on iOS and OSX and AppleTV.

 

[kac77]

I am not speaking about phone calls and text messages specifically. I am talking about the general state of communication between the things you can do on iOS and OSX and AppleTV.

Elaborate on the type of status you are speaking of because the sharing of data isn't limited to calls and texts. It also happens on websites you visit, videos you watch, etc etc. It just seems to me to be yet another example where somehow people just believe that Apple invented something that it most certainly didn't.

 

[bigstusexy]

Anyone want to start posting links to how I can pick up calls, reply to texts via my desktop, and get notifications via a solution that is: OEM, don't require porting my number, and free?

I don't know all of what Continuity can do as I have zero Apple products and have only seen the introduction. I've got two Google accounts and the one I use on a Chromebook is different than the one I use on my phone, besides we didn't get to keep any Chromebooks in the department and I am rarely on one so if this is automatic I haven't experienced it or seen it mentioned.

The article does mention that there are ways to do things on Android, mentions Pushbullet, even talks about the Chrome to phone integration. I don't think you all are giving it enough credit. I had a similar opinion last year while watching Pushbullet grow into the great service it is now, that opinion was "This is great! Why doesn't Google buy them up and integrate this and more?

 

[westrock2000]

Elaborate on the type of status you are speaking of because the sharing of data isn't limited to calls and texts. It also happens on websites you visit, videos you watch, etc etc. It just seems to me to be yet another example where somehow people just believe that Apple invented something that it most certainly didn't.

Here's things I use, there may be more. I am not a hardcore Apple user, so there may be lesser used features I don't know.

Send/recieve texts from OSX through iOS device
Send/recieve calls from OSX through iOS device
Send/recieve imessage texts amongst multiple iOS/OSX devices and perceived as one device to other person
Answer calls from OSX
Airdrop files or webpages back and forth from iOS and OSX
Stream media from OSX to iOS/AppleTV
Print from iOS to OSX
Stream songs/videos from OSX to iOS/AppleTV
Stream songs/videos from iOS to AppleTV/OSX
Control AppleTV from iOS
Passwords shared amongst OSX and iOS devices
Bookmarks shared amongst OSX and iOS devices
Notes/Calander/Reminders shared amongst OSX and iOS devices
Purchased content in iTunes shows up on all devices. I buy on phone and it automatically is on my computer.
Metadata updates made to songs is applied to content on OSX and iOS
Full access to music library amongst OSX and iOS (and not talking LAN)
Send Map information and Contact information between OSX and iOS
Facetime between OSX and iOS


I never said they invented any of these things. What I said was that Google needs more then just a "browser" to get all this stuff working just as well, they need it at the OS level. Google does have a OS, ChromeOS, but it is not well integrated to the rest of their infrastructure....which is boneheaded for a company whose entire philosophy is to be connected.
And then I said Microsoft could certainly do this (if not better), but their market penetration in the phone sector is lacking.

I use all modern operating systems because they all have useful aspects. I do not pledge allegiance to any of them. You should try it.

 

[ManofGod]

Here's things I use, there may be more. I am not a hardcore Apple user, so there may be lesser used features I don't know.

Send/recieve texts from OSX through iOS device
Send/recieve calls from OSX through iOS device
Send/recieve imessage texts amongst multiple iOS/OSX devices and perceived as one device to other person
Answer calls from OSX
Airdrop files or webpages back and forth from iOS and OSX
Stream media from OSX to iOS/AppleTV
Print from iOS to OSX
Stream songs/videos from OSX to iOS/AppleTV
Stream songs/videos from iOS to AppleTV/OSX
Control AppleTV from iOS
Passwords shared amongst OSX and iOS devices
Bookmarks shared amongst OSX and iOS devices
Notes/Calander/Reminders shared amongst OSX and iOS devices
Purchased content in iTunes shows up on all devices. I buy on phone and it automatically is on my computer.
Metadata updates made to songs is applied to content on OSX and iOS
Full access to music library amongst OSX and iOS (and not talking LAN)
Send Map information and Contact information between OSX and iOS
Facetime between OSX and iOS


I never said they invented any of these things. What I said was that Google needs more then just a "browser" to get all this stuff working just as well, they need it at the OS level. Google does have a OS, ChromeOS, but it is not well integrated to the rest of their infrastructure....which is boneheaded for a company whose entire philosophy is to be connected.
And then I said Microsoft could certainly do this (if not better), but their market penetration in the phone sector is lacking.

I use all modern operating systems because they all have useful aspects. I do not pledge allegiance to any of them. You should try it.

Thank you. Yeah, this is one of the things that frustrate me about Microsoft in that they could easily come back strong in the phone market but, they are not really trying. (Throwing a token 2 phones out and an unstable beta level OS does not cut it.) The integration with the Microsoft ecosystem is somewhat there as I have a Windows Phone with XBox One, 360 and Windows 10 Pro computers. But, the integration is not complete with the Windows phone and, despite what some may say, I doubt it ever will be. (The Windows Phone, in my opinion, is dying because of a lack of effort on the part of Microsoft.)

 

[JMccovery]

Anyone want to start posting links to how I can pick up calls, reply to texts via my desktop, and get notifications via a solution that is: OEM, don't require porting my number, and free?

I don't know all of what Continuity can do as I have zero Apple products and have only seen the introduction. I've got two Google accounts and the one I use on a Chromebook is different than the one I use on my phone, besides we didn't get to keep any Chromebooks in the department and I am rarely on one so if this is automatic I haven't experienced it or seen it mentioned.

The article does mention that there are ways to do things on Android, mentions Pushbullet, even talks about the Chrome to phone integration. I don't think you all are giving it enough credit. I had a similar opinion last year while watching Pushbullet grow into the great service it is now, that opinion was "This is great! Why doesn't Google buy them up and integrate this and more?

Hangouts can do pretty much what you need. I sometimes make calls via Hangouts Dialer when I have only data service on my phone (T-Mobile Band 12 areas where AWS is fubared); of course, you need a Google Voice number.

I haven't fully checked, but I think Chrome's Hangouts extension also supports making voice and video calls to other Hangouts/Google Fi users.

 

[kac77]

Here's things I use, there may be more. I am not a hardcore Apple user, so there may be lesser used features I don't know.

Send/recieve texts from OSX through iOS device
Send/recieve calls from OSX through iOS device
Send/recieve imessage texts amongst multiple iOS/OSX devices and perceived as one device to other person
Answer calls from OSX
Airdrop files or webpages back and forth from iOS and OSX
Stream media from OSX to iOS/AppleTV
Print from iOS to OSX
Stream songs/videos from OSX to iOS/AppleTV
Stream songs/videos from iOS to AppleTV/OSX
Control AppleTV from iOS
Passwords shared amongst OSX and iOS devices
Bookmarks shared amongst OSX and iOS devices
Notes/Calander/Reminders shared amongst OSX and iOS devices
Purchased content in iTunes shows up on all devices. I buy on phone and it automatically is on my computer.
Metadata updates made to songs is applied to content on OSX and iOS
Full access to music library amongst OSX and iOS (and not talking LAN)
Send Map information and Contact information between OSX and iOS
Facetime between OSX and iOS


I never said they invented any of these things. What I said was that Google needs more then just a "browser" to get all this stuff working just as well, they need it at the OS level. Google does have a OS, ChromeOS, but it is not well integrated to the rest of their infrastructure....which is boneheaded for a company whose entire philosophy is to be connected.
And then I said Microsoft could certainly do this (if not better), but their market penetration in the phone sector is lacking.

I use all modern operating systems because they all have useful aspects. I do not pledge allegiance to any of them. You should try it.

Android / Chrome does all of these things except the printing..LITERALLY. Again if Apple people would stop thinking Apple invented the wheel articles like this wouldn't exist. The only thing out of this list I can't verify is the printing. Never tried it. But everything else you have up there exists between Android + Chrome.

If you think your platform is better that's A'OK with me. But at least know about the platform you are comparing it to.

Edit: Checked on the printing. You can cloud print from any Android device or Chrome. Meaning any printer you have can be made available to any Android or Chrome browser.

 

[westrock2000]

Android / Chrome does all of these things except the printing..LITERALLY. Again if Apple people would stop thinking Apple invented the wheel articles like this wouldn't exist. The only thing out of this list I can't verify is the printing. Never tried it. But everything else you have up there exists between Android + Chrome.

If you think your platform is better that's A'OK with me. But at least know about the platform you are comparing it to.

Edit: Checked on the printing. You can cloud print from any Android device or Chrome. Meaning any printer you have can be made available to any Android or Chrome browser.

Through Chrome though right? Meaning a browser must be running on a computer somewhere. Which was entirely my point, it needs to be at the OS level.

And you are saying that in the case of files, that Chrome can download things to my computer without me being there? I'm just asking. Seems like a security issue, again though they might have some side process that works through secure channels. Which is fine, but seems significant for a browser. Based on some google searches, it sounds like you have initiate a download from Chrome to transfer media from Google Play to your computer. Which would seem to make sense for a browser.

I do not see any pure Google solution to stream music from a PC or ChromeOS device to an android or Chromecast stick. The only solution is to stream from Google Play (cloud) or set up some type of 3rd party program on the PC. And I do not see anything for ChromeOS. But this is what I was TRYING to point out. While many of you may not like iTunes, there is no better integrated solution available. Alot of you will recommend WinAmp or Foobar2000. I use Foobar2000 a whole lot on music before I put it into iTunes, but it absolutely is not an iTunes replacement in any way. From iTunes I can make purchases (that are synced across devices), I can organize my media (that syncs across devices), and I can stream to many devices at the same time on LAN. There may be solutions that address certain aspects, like Plex, but it can't address all that stuff.

Am I incorrect?

I never ever said that Apple could do things that Google couldn't. What I said was that the Apple system was brilliant....because....its at the OS level. There is a system wide philosophy of integration.

EDIT:

Let me add a couple instances of my usual workflow and you tell me if Google can do this as well or better.

I download a dozen or so foreign albums (you can't buy these in America). I load 'em up into foobar2000 and get all the metadata and album art sorted out.But I do not HAVE to use foobar2000 as I can do everything in iTunes, but I find it easier to have these particular songs separated at first. Also foobar2000 only works on Windows, so I do not have access to it when being on OS X, but I am able to do the exact same things using the tools solely provided by Apple through iTunes. -added disclaimer

I drop all the files into a folder on my OSX desktop at home (an iTunes generated folder call Automatically Add To iTunes).

I then drive to work and the files start showing up on my iPhone as I'm driving. When I get to work iTunes on Windows has all the files ready to go and they show up in a playlist called Recently Added. I can then spend the day listening to them, adjusting the tags to indicate that I like a certain song.

I have iTunes set up to put things into playlists based on tags. So as I am editing the songs on Windows iTunes, my iPhone and my OSX computer at home are being updated and updating the playlists. Now the other thing to consider is that at work and on my phone, these are 256kb/s AAC, but the files on my home computer could be 320kb/s MP3 or AAC or even Lossless. And iTunes is changing the metadata within THAT file as well as the 256kb/s versions it sync's across other devices.

When I get home I can now plug in all my various iPods and they will now get the updated playlists with the original files, but with updated metadata.

At no point did I ever have to say upload or download anything.

And you are saying that Google can do this?

 

[kac77]

Through Chrome though right? Meaning a browser must be running on a computer somewhere. Which was entirely my point, it needs to be at the OS level.

If you want it at the OS level then that's what Chrome OS is for. Otherwise all activity is accessible via Chrome.

And you are saying that in the case of files, that Chrome can download things to my computer without me being there? I'm just asking. Seems like a security issue, again though they might have some side process that works through secure channels. Which is fine, but seems significant for a browser. Based on some google searches, it sounds like you have initiate a download from Chrome to transfer media from Google Play to your computer. Which would seem to make sense for a browser.

Individual files no. I wouldn't want that for so many reasons. Now applications and their settings you can push.

I do not see any pure Google solution to stream music from a PC or ChromeOS device to an android or Chromecast stick. The only solution is to stream from Google Play (cloud) or set up some type of 3rd party program on the PC. And I do not see anything for ChromeOS. But this is what I was TRYING to point out. While many of you may not like iTunes, there is no better integrated solution available. Alot of you will recommend WinAmp or Foobar2000. I use Foobar2000 a whole lot on music before I put it into iTunes, but it absolutely is not an iTunes replacement in any way. From iTunes I can make purchases (that are synced across devices), I can organize my media (that syncs across devices), and I can stream to many devices at the same time on LAN. There may be solutions that address certain aspects, like Plex, but it can't address all that stuff.

Am I incorrect?

Not really. I use subsonic I can stream from my PC and I can make any device play movies or music from my PC remotely. For example if somehow you took my phone and I was sitting at home I could make it stream and movie, music, or playlist remotely.... really good for finding your stuff at a party etc. I did a write up on this.... it's pretty slick actually.

I never ever said that Apple could do things that Google couldn't. What I said was that the Apple system was brilliant....because....its at the OS level. There is a system wide philosophy of integration.

But every OS has similar functionality to what you describe even Windows to some extent. Apple just isn't alone in this.

EDIT:

Let me add a couple instances of my usual workflow and you tell me if Google can do this as well or better.

I download a dozen or so foreign albums (you can't buy these in America). I load 'em up into foobar2000 and get all the metadata and album art sorted out.

I drop all the files into a folder on my OSX desktop at home (an iTunes generated folder call Automatically Add To iTunes).

I then drive to work and the files start showing up on my iPhone as I'm driving. When I get to work iTunes on Windows has all the files ready to go and they show up in a playlist called Recently Added. I can then spend the day listening to them, adjusting the tags to indicate that I like a certain song.

I have iTunes set up to put things into playlists based on tags. So as I am editing the songs on Windows iTunes, my iPhone and my OSX computer at home are being updated and updating the playlists. Now the other thing to consider is that at work and on my phone, these are 256kb/s AAC, but the files on my home computer could be 320kb/s MP3 or AAC or even Lossless. And iTunes is changing the metadata within THAT file as well as the 256kb/s versions it sync's across other devices.

When I get home I can now plug in all my various iPods and they will now get the updated playlists with the original files, but with updated metadata.

At no point did I ever have to say upload or download anything.

And you are saying that Google can do this?

Yup. I could be in freakin Tibet and get to my music, playlists, etc. Subsonic does that.

 

[westrock2000]

That is a streaming app and has nothing to do with Google or ChromeOS.

I tried to talk to you.

 

[kac77]

That is a streaming app and has nothing to do with Google or ChromeOS.

I tried to talk to you.

Um it runs on Android and Chrome. It looks to me that you really are just grasping here. It's OK. If you want me to tell you that Apple users are like snowflakes I can do that. **strokes hair** it's OK your purchase was worth it.