Having struggled, cursed, been derided by iPad owners and got really irked over the synchronisation issues with the Galaxy Tab 10.1 I have spent some more time in the last few days looking into the problem in more detail. I was prompted to do this by the arrival, over the air, of Android 3.1 – which singularly failed to address the problem – so it must be a Mac software issue. As Samsung have started selling the Galaxy Tab I thought perhaps they would have made sure this issue was addressed.
Things started off well when, on Samsung’s own marketing page, I saw an FAQ:
“How do I transfer music, video, photos, and other media files from my computer to the Galaxy Tab™ 10.1?”
Surely this would be the answer to my prayers? Samsung are supplying an answer to the question we are all asking, so this must mean that they have fixed Kies for Mac? Then I read the answer:
“Music, video, photos, and other media files can be transferred to the tablet via the 30-pin USB data cable included with the tablet. Connect the cable to the tablet and to a USB port on your computer.
On a Microsoft® Windows computer, open Windows Explorer and drag and drop files from the computer onto the tablet’s drive icon.
On an Apple® Macintosh® computer, you should visit android.com/filetransfer to install the Android™ File Transfer utility. Follow the program instructions to move files.”
Sorry. Did I read that wrongly? On an Apple® Macintosh® computer, you should visit android.com/filetransfer to install the Android™ File Transfer utility - not “Click here to download Kies for Mac”? Samsung know that their own dedicated software does not work. And their solution is to tell you to download Google’s own software. Which… does not work. That’s a neat side-stepping of the issue and a great way to suggest that the fault is all Google’s – although it must make one or two Samsung people squirm?
Before I move on to investigate the underlying issue, I noticed that Samsung now have a link to a dedicated Galaxy Tab support at the bottom of the page. It reads “Don’t see what you’re looking for? Visit Galaxy Tab 10.1 Support“. So I tried this link (at 10am BST on June 19th 2011) only to get Samsung’s 404 page. Sorry guys but you’ve not just dropped the ball here, you’ve dropped it, punctured it and then kicked it over a 30 foot wall into the local garbage incinerator. What’s the point in trying to out-Apple Apple on the hardware when you drop the ball so badly on the software? And support? And basic “can we build a web site”?
So what is the underlying issue here? Going back to basics, as it were, we start with MTP or Media Transfer Protocol, the new-to-Honeycomb way to move files between your tablet or phone and your computer. MTP is supported natively on Windows because the Zune (remember that?) uses MTP. The Zune is not alone in using MTP however, as Creative have a number of media players that also use MTP, and others such as Sony have started to pick up the protocol too. If you are having problems on a Windows machine the rule of thumb seems to be (a) make sure your OS is up-to-date and (b) make sure Windows Media Player is up-to-date (even if you don’t use it). That should ensure that MTP support is also as up-to-date as it can get. You should – in theory – be able to plug in your Galaxy Tab, a drive gets mounted and you are home and dry. Without even installing Samsung Kies. Although I’ve not been able to do this on my ageing copy of Windows XP.
On the Mac however its a different picture. Apple don’t use MTP to sync data on the iPod and iPhone, so the protocol is not supported natively in the operating system. I can’t really see Apple adding MTP support to help out Android owners any time soon, so we need some third party software to fill the gap.
Google provide Android File Transfer and there is also a third party product called XNJB. Neither currently work and the reason for this is that they both use libmtp which is an open source implementation of an MTP Initiator. To understand why this is we need to go back to MTP. In MTP each device has a manufacturer code and device code, a list of which is maintained in the libmtp source code (take a look at music-players.h). Building the library hard-wires the device list inside it, which, at the last build of both Android File Transfer and XNJB did not include the requisite codes for the Samsung Galaxy Tab.
On May 21st a defect was raised against the libmtp project to add the Galaxy Tab to the supported device list and this was completed on May 24th. As of June 16th there is no new version of either Android File Transfer or XNJB – and until one or the other is released with the new libmtp in it, Mac users will have to resort to other means to move their files around. Fortunately there is plenty of Android software out there to fill the void, and for anything other than large video files, wifi is certainly more convenient.
The best free software I have found so far is File Expert. This ticks all the boxes for moving files on an ad-hoc basis but does not allow me to set up automated synchronisation schedules or file/folder sets. On the paid front iSyncr for Mac ($2.99) with the iSyncr wifi add-on ($0.99) seems popular and has excellent feedback, and I’ll be trying this out in the next couple of weeks.