Syncing data between my iPhone, iPad and Ubuntu PC has involved running iTunes in a virtual machine and accessing iCloud.com from my web browser; not a seamless system to say the least. I've been exploring the idea of switching to Android, thinking that there would be more options, but I've been trying things out with my Nexus 7 tablet and haven't really found anything that would appear to be easier than iCloud.

Email is covered, as I'm simply using Gmail in my browser, which is fine.
I haven't tried many music options yet, but Banshee looks like it would do the trick.
Dropbox would be fine for the occasional document I want to sync.
The only time I really need to access my contacts list is on my phone or within Gmail, so that's already taken care of.
Keeping notes in sync isn't essential, but Simplenote looks like it would be good.
Calendar syncing isn't essential either, but I've heard that iCloud supports CalendarDAV.
Browser tabs, bookmarks, etc. are taken care of by Firefox.

Now comes the main issue... Photos. Having to login to iCloud any time I want to access my photos is a pain, and I'd like for them to be stored locally as well. Dropbox sounds like it would work, but the 2GB free storage limit isn't enough, and I don't care to pay a monthly fee for it. Other solutions like Google Photos or Amazon Prime Photos don't have a Linux client.
Syncthing is something that has come up and sounds pretty nice, but the fact that both devices have to be online at the same time wouldn't work for me. Maybe I could setup a central server on a Raspberry Pi, but I'm not sure how well that would work, especially with my slow and unreliable Internet connection.

A MacBook Pro would be the best solution , but much too expensive for the hardware you get and I like using Linux.
What types of services do you guys use for keeping your data in sync?

Absolutely none(Ok so I use usb).... This gadget doesn't need to know what that gadget did.

I use nothing fancy. Just a USB connection so as to access the Android and download the pictures and upload mp3.

You use the jmtpfs utility to mount the Android. Most if not all of the Android file system is accessible.

A full SSH connection is possible if you 'root' the Android. But since rooting is dummy style: "install this package, press this button 3 times and hold that button while restarting and then the utility will do its work" I never dared to do that. I'd like to see, know and control what is going on. SSH allows you to use the wireless connection.

All in all I hate the entire smartphone paradigm. You have no clue as what is going on inside with regards to processes, files, passwords and security. 99.5% of the earth's population wants it like that.

jlinkels

i dont auto-sync my devices. i just drag-n-drop whatever file i need at the time.

i've heard of script-kiddies on this forum who would set up rules to rsync whenever plugged in.

I use a MacBook Pro – which I purchased from Apple on the refurbished equipment section of their web site. (These are the units that were distributed to retail stores ... now fully-reconditioned and sold with the same (available) warranty as brand-new equipment.)

If you're willing to buy "the machine that you lusted-after last year," you can get some very sweet deals there. (The equipment can be updated before delivery – e.g. you can ask for more RAM to be installed.)

I also very-calmly bought an iPhone-5 ... for $130 ... directly from my phone carrier. From which I buy phone service for $40 a month with no contract.

In both cases, "I'm not such an Apple fan-boy" ... ... that I am particularly even attracted to the goodies that Apple is always rolling-out. It will be a very cold day in a very hot place before I ever pay $1,000+ for a telephone. If I can buy a Mac for significantly less money, then "earn my daily bread" with it for years to come, then that's what I'm gonna do.

I do not use iCloud. At all. I turned it off. I back up my phone to my computer, using iTunes, and photos using iPhoto. I do this quite religiously. When one phone unexpectedly "went the way of all phones," it was a wonderful thing to know that I had backed it up the day before: I replaced the hardware, and lost absolutely nothing.

I happen to then run Linux – and Windows, sometimes – in virtual machines, under VirtualBox.

For just browsing photos, I find Google Photos works fine (in web browser). Typically, an Android Phone will upload all photos to Google Photos, so there's that. If you're already logged onto Google because of GMail, Google Photos is right there anyway.

But like others here, I prefer to also have a local copy. Like others, I just use a USB cable and manually do the file transfers. I use "gmtp" to do the file transfers, and to also delete the photos off of my phone to conserve local storage space. Compared to an iPhone:

1) It is possible to delete photos off the local storage of an Android Phone! Why this is not allowed for iPhone is puzzling to me. Okay, not SO puzzling, since Apple gets more money if they force you to buy a phone with more storage...

2) Deleting photos from local storage HAS NO EFFECT on them in Google Photos. Assuming the photos have already been synced over to Google Photos, deleting off of local storage does NOT delete off of Google Photos. In contrast, the only options to delete a photo on an iPhone also deletes it everywhere else.

Anyway, "gmtp" is not a very fancy tool, but it works and it's simple. The only annoyance is that I have to manually tell my Android phone to allow mtp file transfer mode when I plug it into my laptop. I mean...okay, it's an annoyance but it's obvious why this is a good idea for security.