I edit an address on my desktop using a local application, and my phone has the new address in seconds.
Ah, see, you take out "using a local application" and it's the same thing. This is a perfect example of what I'm talking about when I say that the alternative ecosystem doesn't fit you, because I don't care - nay, I prefer - that my contacts are all on the web.
You can sync Gmail calendars and contacts with iCal and MacOS Contacts. If you subscribe to Google Apps for Business, you can also sync with Outlook if that's your preference.
I have a YouTube video on the phone I want to share with friends, so I turn on the TV and display it using AirPlay.
Just FYI, this is easily done between an Android phone and a Google TV. Plus, I can do it at any time, like in the middle of watching TV since I don't have to change inputs.
I have extensive experience with AirPlay and I think it's a big feature that keeps many iOS users from experimenting with Android. If GoogleTV actually works well like you say, I may have to invest in one of those $99 Vizio boxes.
I edit a spreadsheet on the desktop, then edit later on the phone. No manual syncing or digging through folders to find a file.
I don't understand the second part of that. Manual syncing?
I think Tom is talking about iCloud document syncing which works pretty well. Google Drive accomplishes the same thing, but you have to actually keep your documents in Google Drive and install the desktop OS syncing software. The upside to that is it works on Windows and OS X (and Chrome OS if that means anything to you).
My router detects a problem with the internet connection and an app on the desktop reports the problem to me.
Bah, easy. My browser tells me that. It's called "I can't get to anything on the internet"
Windows Vista and 7 (and I assume 8) do this. When there's no connection to the internet, the network icon in the task tray changes and a balloon pops up. Any non-skinned/Nexus Android device also does this. When the signal meters turn grey, you can't reach the Google mothership.
I take a picture on the phone, and it's on the laptop photo program ready to be edited or shared with no cables.
Dropbox does this on Android. Google+ also does something similar, but the photo is in the cloud, not on your desktop.
I'm on the road, and need a file off the home computer. I simply copy it as if I was on the same network, just a little slower.
That's not happening with an Android device at the moment, but the
Chrome Remote Desktop extension works quite well. Unfortunately, it only works with Chrome on Windows, OS X, Linux, or Chrome OS. Hopefully it will be extended to Android at some point.
If any of these devices fail, a replacement can be brought back to 100% of where the previous device was before the failure.
Sadly, Google is lacking in this area too. You can backup your device to the cloud and restore some of its settings to another device, but it's nowhere near as good as Apple's implementation. Google will just restore your WiFi access points and passwords and your installed apps (if you're lucky). If you're unlucky, it will either restore nothing or every app you ever downloaded (including ones you've uninstalled in the past). It's too flaky and I usually choose not to restore when setting up a new Android device. I change phones every couple months, so I'm pretty good at manually restoring things at this point.
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