Pro 3 Not for Google Users

[Kif]

That's the danger of fully investing in one ecosystem. I try to pick and choose the best in breed solutions for each product type I need assuming they're cross compatible. The disadvantage of this approach is the synergy you can get from one ecosystem. The problem is that the industry is still too dynamic to pick winners so you might wind up betting of the wrong horse. Google has been known to kill products on a whim.

 

[Cothek]

See if one of these doesn't suit your fancy:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mmv/console-os-dual-boot-android-remastered-for-the-pc

http://www.genymotion.com/

 

[Seneleron]

Yea, until they replace the windows store with Google Play store, you're essentially out of luck. Whether or not that actually happens is mostly based on Microsoft's short sightedness [they want to cash in on their own ecosystem, naturally] but I have read they've tossed the idea around.

The only other option is bluestacks:

http://www.bluestacks.com/

It's not 4.4, but it WILL run your android apps.

 

[Akairu]

There are also a number of other mail clients that can utilize POP3 servers, which I think Gmail is. Check out thunderbird. I doubt it has a metro version but the desktop version is free and pretty good.

 

[Heresteve2]

Again, I must mention that Hangouts is not a problem nor are the notifications. You can install any app, including Hangouts that you would install on a PC.

Maybe I don't fully understand how that works, but are you saying use chrome and log into each account to use hangouts? That seems to be the only way which kinds defeats the purpose of a tablet. Its a little cumbersome to have to open the tablet go to the browser and log in every time. I know they have a chrome extension but I dont see how to get multiple accounts on that either

 

[Heresteve2]

See if one of these doesn't suit your fancy:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mmv/console-os-dual-boot-android-remastered-for-the-pc

http://www.genymotion.com/

I am a contributor to the kickstarter campaign for this exact reason. But they need to get to 125K to develop for Surface.

 

[cdf3]

I rely on several GMail accounts for Email and calendar syncing.
I found 2 apps in the app store that works great for my needs.
I'm using MetroMail. It allows me to add multiple GMail accounts, and easily switch between them.
I'm using OneCalendar for syncing all of my Google Calendars.
Both apps also support live tile in Metro UI.

 

[leeshor]

Maybe I don't fully understand how that works, but are you saying use chrome and log into each account to use hangouts? That seems to be the only way which kinds defeats the purpose of a tablet. Its a little cumbersome to have to open the tablet go to the browser and log in every time. I know they have a chrome extension but I dont see how to get multiple accounts on that either

No, not for Hangouts. It's a standalone app, find it here http://www.google.com/hangouts/?dclid=CN2yo4XH878CFZR8fgodAb4AKg

As for the mail. I too endorse Thunderbird. It handles multiple accounts for IMAP and/or POP and can do either separate inboxes or a combined inbox, but no Metro UI.

If you are looking for a single solution, (app) for all the things you mentioned that's not likely to happen and wouldn't happen even if you were using Android.

 

[Heresteve2]

No, not for Hangouts. It's a standalone app, find it here http://www.google.com/hangouts/?dclid=CN2yo4XH878CFZR8fgodAb4AKg

As for the mail. I too endorse Thunderbird. It handles multiple accounts for IMAP and/or POP and can do either separate inboxes or a combined inbox, but no Metro UI.

If you are looking for a single solution, (app) for all the things you mentioned that's not likely to happen and wouldn't happen even if you were using Android.

I dont need one app for all those apps. The hangouts that you linked to is a chrome extension and I do not see any way to add multiple accounts. Do you use that for more then one account? Thanks for the help!

 

[laestrella]

I use IM+ to access my hangouts conversations. Only thing missing is group chats.

 

[savaytse66]

I am currently in a similar situation as the OP. Our backend at work is Google; we use it for email, hangouts, and calendars, mostly. The first thing I did after installing Office 2010 is install the Google Apps Sync program for mail, calendar and contacts. We use this on all of our workstations, and it worked just fine on the new SP3. That being said, it's a desktop solution, but isn't that the beauty of this device: being able to run both?

I understand your point though. I too wish there were native apps for the most common Google features. What I like about my phone is that I have dedicated Gmail, Calendar, and Hangouts apps, and the notifications come through seamlessly. That being said, I already have my phone to do this, and I am more likely to have my phone with me than my SP3. This thing immediately replaced my (old) laptop and (old) tablet, but it will never replace my phone.

Now if I can only find the best solution for marking up PDFs...another thread, perhaps.

 

[kristalsoldier]

Now if I can only find the best solution for marking up PDFs...another thread, perhaps.

You can try Drawboard PDF for this.