iTunes was the original all-access music application, but since the introduction of iOS devices, it's morphed into a hodgepodge of apps, music, movies, application data, and other iOS-device data storage. If this ever-growing mixture of services is a bit too much for you to handle, then why not consider another method to get data onto your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad?
With iOS 5, Apple finally cut the cord, allowing users to set up their iOS devices without the use of iTunes. We'll use this functionality, along with some additional apps and services, to finally say, "good riddance" to iTunes.
What You'll Need
>> iOS 5.0 or higher
>> Free Google or iCloud account
>> GoodReader for iPhone ($4.99)
>> GoodReader for iPad ($4.99)
Applications
Unless you have a jailbroken device (and use Cydia for your app purchases), you will still need to get your applications from the iTunes App Store. With iOS 5, you can easily purchase and download your applications over the air on a cell or Wi-Fi connection. Downloading purchases over a cell connection requires the app to be under 50MBs; however, you can download any application over Wi-Fi.
You're probably already familiar with application purchases from the mobile App Store, but did you know that you can also restore previous purchases directly from your device? It's true.
To restore previous purchases, navigate to App Store > Updates > Purchased. From this section, you can choose to show all purchased applications, or just the ones not currently installed on your device. To download a previous purchase, tap on the small iCloud icon, and enter your iTunes account credentials. Your application will begin downloading to your home screen.
Files and other Data
There are many ways to get files and other data onto your device through third party applications. We'll show you two ways: through email and GoodReader OTA file transfer.
Email
Emailing yourself a file is one of the simplest ways to get a file into iOS for viewing in QuickLook in the mail app, or opening and manipulating the file in any numerous 3rd party application. iOS can automatically view the following documents through Quick Look in the Mail app:
- iWork documents
- Microsoft Office documents (Office '97 and newer)
- RTF (Rich Text Format) document
- PDF files
- Images
- Text files conforming to .text (or .txt) format
- CSV (Comma-separated value) files
In the email, attachments will be displayed in-line at the bottom of the message. Tap on any of attachments to have them displayed in Quick Look (if the file type is supported).
In the Quick Look preview, you can scroll through the document, viewing the contents of the file.
To open the file in another application, tap on the Share button in the upper, right-hand corner of this window, and then tap "Open In..." from the sheet that is displayed. In this new sheet, you will be able to select the application to open the file in for further viewing or manipulation.
GoodReader
If you need to open unsupported files in iOS (such as ZIP files), then you should take a look at a $4.99 application called Good Reader. Worth its weight in gold, this application lets you open, compress/decompress, and otherwise manipulate files that you normally couldn't in iOS. Good Reader also doubles as a great PDF viewing application with annotation abilities.
Good Reader can open and manipulate the following file formats:
- Large PDF files
- Large text files
- MS Office (.doc, .ppt, .xls)
- HTML and Safari webarchives
- High-res images
- Audio and video files
Sure, you could email yourself a file and use the "Open In..." button to open the file inside Good Reader, but you can also transfer files directly to the Good Reader application OTA through your Wi-Fi network using your Mac.
To do this, open Good Reader and and select the "WiFi Transfer" icon in the toolbar. Good Reader will then create a small server on your device capable of receiving files from your Mac over your Wi-Fi network.
On your Mac, open your web browser and type the "IP-address" listed in Good Reader into the address field in your browser. In the resulting web page, click on your Documents folder, and then you will be presented with the files in that directory. You can transfer a file to your iOS device by clicking on the "Choose file" button and selecting a file on your Mac in the file browser. You can also create a directory by entering a name in the text field and clicking "Create Directory."
When you're done uploading files to your device, tap on the Stop button in Good Reader to close the Wi-Fi transfer connection. The uploaded files will be available in the application on your iOS device.
Music
iOS 5 also ushered in a new way to get music onto your different devices: iTunes Match. This $25/year matches the music that you have in your iTunes library, and then makes the tunes available on your various devices, available for download or streaming. You can follow our guide here to learn how to set up iTunes match.
Once you have enabled and matched your music on your Mac, you can easily turn on iTunes Match on your mobile device and begin listening to all of your matched and previously purchased tunes. Navigate to Settings > Music, and flip the switch labeled "iTunes Match" to the ON position. Next, flip the switch for "Use Cellular Data" and "Show All Music" to ensure that all of your music is shown in the Music app.
When you use to the Music app on your device, all of your songs and iTunes-purchased music videos will be available for your listening pleasure. Tap on the song title to begin streaming, or tap on the small iCloud icon to download the song directly onto your device for listening on a limited cellular data plan or offline listening.
Maybe iTunes isn't your preferred way to listen to music? No problem, there's also Pandora, Rdio, Spotify, and a host of other options for streaming tunes for free, or with a nominal fee per month for extra goodies.
Videos, Movies, and TV Shows
While you could use the iTunes Store to snag all of your movies and TV shows, this can become a bit costly over time, depending on the shows that you watch and if they offer a season pass for purchase.
Some alternatives for watching your favorite content are:
- ABC Player (for all of your ABC TV shows and specials)
- Hulu Plus (requires a subscription; lets you watch shows from most major networks, except CBS)
- Cartoon Network (for all of your cartoon-watching needs)
- Netflix (subscription required; lets you watch movies and TV shows)
If you have a home video that you would like to put on your iOS device for later viewing, then you can transfer it using the GoodReader application. Good Reader can display most common video and audio files right from the app.
Contacts and Calendars
Contacts and Calendars are another commonly synced item, however, you can also sync these items OTA using some free services: Google Contacts/Calendars and iCloud.
Google Contacts and Calendars
If you use Gmail and Google Calendars, then you'll want to use this method to get your contacts and calendars in sync across your various devices. To begin syncing your Google data, we need to head to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Add Account > Exchange.
In the Email and Username fields, enter your gmail address, complete with the "@gmail.com" ending; and then enter your password and an optional description of the account. Tap next, and then enter "m.google.com" in the Server field that appears.
After verifying your account, you will be asked whether you wish to turn on certain services. Among these services is Contacts and Calendars. After ensuring these services are switched ON, tap on the Save button in the upper, right-hand corner to save the configuration.
iCloud
iCloud is a bit easier to configure for syncing. After you have signed in on your Mac (under System Preferences > iCloud) and checked the option to sync Contacts and Calendars, open Settings > iCloud on your iOS device.
After signing into your account, flip the switch to ON for Contacts, Calendars, and any of the other services you wish to enable.
Cory Bohon is a freelance technology writer, indie Mac and iOS developer, and amateur photographer. Follow this article's author, Cory Bohon on Twitter.
We may be Apple fans, but we can still appreciate when competitors bring their best game to the table. Microsoft and Nokia are betting the farm with the new AT&T-branded Lumia 900, which the carrier seems to think will have a bigger launch than even the iPhone. We're hoping that's a misquote, but we won't have long to wait -- the Lumia 900 will hits stores on April 8. Since you're sitting at home plotting which AT&T store will have the shortest lines on that day, why not catch up on the day's news for Wednesday, March 28, 2012…?
