Introduction
This page provides instructions on how to sync a T-Mobile G1 Android-based phone with Ubuntu.
By default, contacts and calendar data are shared via the Google apps, such as Gmail and Google Calendar. If you use Gmail for regular mail, you should not have to bother about syncing with your PC.
Synchronizing music with your phone
You can synchronize music with your phone via the supplied USB cable.
- Connect the phone to your computer.
- On your phone, you should see a "USB Connected" message in the Notifications area.
- Expand the notifications area by swiping it down with your finger.
- Tap the "USB Connected" message.
- Tap the "Mount" button.
Ubuntu will recognize it as a music device and will display a popup message. You may have to choose to open it with Rhythmbox.
Here you can choose to always open Rhythmbox if you connect your phone.
If you use Rhythmbox, you can synchronize files using the steps below:
In Rhythmbox, choose Edit > Plugins and enable the Portable Players - MTP plugin
You should now see the phone listed in the left pane of the Rhythmbox screen under Devices
- You can drag and drop music between the phone and your music collection or other devices.
EDIT: With the G2 the previous method doesn't work, the only software capable of syncing music is Banshee.
Hint: In my G1 manual, which was in Dutch language, it stated that I should create a folder called Muziek on the SD card of the G1 to store my music in. However, Rhythmbox only recognizes files if the folder is called Music. So I had to rename the folder on the phone in order to have Rhythmbox recognize the music I put on it earlier.
Synchronizing videos
Well, of course your Android based phone supports the playback of YouTube videos using its built-in video player. But if you want your phone to carry private stuff, such as family videos, that you don't want to share on YouTube, you can copy over videos to your phone.
AndroidVideoEncoding explains the process of converting your private videos to G1-compatible formats.