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Does anyone use the iPhone as a standalone device?

LouieSamman

LouieSamman

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jul 23, 2008
909
9
Orlando, Florida
What I mean is do you not sync your iPhone to your computers iTunes.

It's such a fresh feeling to not have to grab the wires and plug it into both the computer and iPhone to sync many times of the day.

I have found a solution not to do so anymore.

For music you can use pandora/raphsody instead of iTunes music that takes up hard drive space on your computer and flash space on your iPhone. (of course one apple makes a iTunes music subscription, I will switch to that entirely)

As for apps, I download them only on the iPhone and not on iTunes, along with updates.

Now a few downsides. Podcast. Theres no way of subscribing & receiving subscription podcast when available on the iPhone itself.

You always have to go into the iTunes app store on the iPhone and check the individual podcast to see if there is a new video.

But that will change with iOS updates that one day will allow you to subscribe & get your subscriptions from the iPhone just like the YouTube app.

As for backing up to iTunes. Thats another downfall for using your iPhone as a stand alone device. But I always find the backing up to iTunes not much of a help to me because when it comes down to reinstalling mac OS X I lose everything including the backup, or when I get a new mac.

I know there are ways around this and when you get a new mac you could always move everything to the new mac. But I usually sell my old mac before getting the new mac because I use the money for the old mac to help pay for the new mac.

I charge my iPhone using a the power outlet and the iPhone 4 dock because of never having to disconnect or move around the cable.

Soon I believe the iPhone will entirely be a stand alone device and not need a computer anymore. backups will be done on apples server through the iPhone every so often without distractions.

Same goes with the iPad.

I'm just hitting the bandwagon now and not syncing it to my mac to save me the hassle of doing it so many times.
 
I sync mine once a month at most. My wife only when I insist that she let me update her phone. Why would you ever sync multiple times a day? You have that much content?
 
gtscode said:
I sync mine once a month at most. My wife only when I insist that she let me update her phone. Why would you ever sync multiple times a day? You have that much content?
Click to expand...

Podcast, getting new iTunes music, new apps, app updates.

I don't have that much content but just speaking to situations such as this:

2 new podcast on iTunes *needs to sync iPhone to mac*
purchase 3 songs on iTunes * sync iPhone to mac*
app update *sync iPhone to mac*
got 1 new app *sync iPhone to mac*

all in one day.

Now I don't purchase music on iTunes anymore because of hearing how apple will one day come out with a iTunes music subscription so I am holding my cash for that.

Yeah I can sync it once a month like you do but in most people out there who buys music from the iTunes store on the mac. You have to sync it to the iPhone to receive it on the phone.

You could purchase on the iPhone but you get that feeling that if something were to happen to that phone you could lose your new music you purchase because you didn't sync it back to iTunes because you like to wait as long as a month to do so.

As for podcast. I only listen to TWIT. so I can easily just enter the search of TWIT and do a quick check on new podcast videos/audios from there.
 
If you're already using the iPhone 4 dock, then syncing isn't even a step. Just setup iTunes to autosync every time the iPhone is connected. I'm sure you charge your phone every day or so anyway - syncing at the same time doesn't take any extra effort or time.

I just don't see the point in trying to live without syncing. Sync it when it's plugged in anyway. What's the big deal?
 
LouieSamman said:
Podcast, getting new iTunes music, new apps, app updates.

I don't have that much content but just speaking to situations such as this:

2 new podcast on iTunes *needs to sync iPhone to mac*
purchase 3 songs on iTunes * sync iPhone to mac*
app update *sync iPhone to mac*
got 1 new app *sync iPhone to mac*

all in one day.

Now I don't purchase music on iTunes anymore because of hearing how apple will one day come out with a iTunes music subscription so I am holding my cash for that.

Yeah I can sync it once a month like you do but in most people out there who buys music from the iTunes store on the mac. You have to sync it to the iPhone to receive it on the phone.

You could purchase on the iPhone but you get that feeling that if something were to happen to that phone you could lose your new music you purchase because you didn't sync it back to iTunes because you like to wait as long as a month to do so.

As for podcast. I only listen to TWIT. so I can easily just enter the search of TWIT and do a quick check on new podcast videos/audios from there.
Click to expand...

Even when I purchase stuff on my phone or through Itunes, I still don't synch multiple times a day that's just too much. At the most a couple times a week or at the very least once a week. It's not like it takes a long time to do it so it doesn't bother me.
 
I just don't get why your explaining how/why you don't sync your iPhone to your Mac.

Syncing is great for backing up, imagine if you're doing an update and it goes wrong? Or organise your music on your iPod.app faster? Maybe videos? Don't you want videos stored on your iPod.app?

I duno, I always sync my iPhone to my Mac as it's really fast and you get the extra charge into your battery while it does it as well.
 
If I need to sync stuff I use Wi-Fi Sync and when I need to update I use my cable, no complaining from me :p
 
Demosthenes X said:
If you're already using the iPhone 4 dock, then syncing isn't even a step. Just setup iTunes to autosync every time the iPhone is connected. I'm sure you charge your phone every day or so anyway - syncing at the same time doesn't take any extra effort or time.

I just don't see the point in trying to live without syncing. Sync it when it's plugged in anyway. What's the big deal?
Click to expand...

I have it plugged into an outlet to the iPhone dock which I keep stationary.

To sync I have to get my laptop to the area where my iPhone dock is unplug the usb end of the cable and plug into my Macbook & set my iPhone in the dock.

So it's the bringing my laptop to the area to sync.

I honestly don't need iTunes anymore. The only feature it has is the backing up which won't led up to it being a good use to me because of the situation I bring where I will just lose the backup anyways, which I illustrated in my first post.

I only have 33 apps. When it comes down to games that don't have a cloud back up and is only of local storage. I just beat the game, keep it for awhile as I play it a little more then just delete it when it gets old. So no need for me to back up the game apps with iTunes.

I understand it's not much of a hassle but it's just the idea of keeping the iPhone as a stand alone device and just keeping the content on the iPhone and no where else.

I use netflix for movies on my iPhone.
I use pandora & raphsody for cloud music.
I use the podcast on my iPhone to download podcast.
I download and update apps on the iPhone.

No necessary need to store anything on my macbook.
 
I sync my iPhone to my PC about once a week, but rarely using the USB cable.

I mostly use a jailbroken app called "Wi-Fi Sync" to sync wireless to iTunes.

I like syncing once a week cause usually not much as changed since the last sync which makes syncing quick.
 
LIVEFRMNYC said:
I sync my iPhone to my PC about once a week, but rarely using the USB cable.

I mostly use a jailbroken app called "Wi-Fi Sync" to sync wireless to iTunes.

I like syncing once a week cause usually not much as changed since the last sync which makes syncing quick.
Click to expand...

I believe Apple will be coming out with wifi syncing which would be awesome.

Or to skip ahead of that. Since Apple is making a big server data, could use it to remove the whole syncing altogether and have the iOS saved on the cloud for you by signing into your apple ID.

Just imagine getting a new iPhone after selling your old iPhone and just signing into your new iPhone and all your music, apps, podcast, settings, & saved files are brought up without needing a computer. Thats the simplicity I believe we will see from Apple in future iPhones.
 
It sounds like you are being lazy/being dramatic for no other reason than to be different. You already have a dock, stop moaning that plugging in a usb cord into a laptop is a big deal

Its clear your main beef is with iTunes, but guess what ? You don't even have to use it. Just have it set to autosync and you'll never have to mess with any settings

btw you listed ZERO positives to not syncing with itunes, only your "well I don't need that feature" commentary

Things you are missing out when not syncing

a) easily transfer/organize music, that you can play whenever at any time, that doesn't drain your battery like streaming music does, and you don't ever have to worry about things like skipping or ads. I seriously doubt you don't have any music you would love to have on your phone that is on your laptop at home ?

b) Organize apps, you can organize all your apps at one time, viewing 4 windows, compared to draggin and dropping an individual app, one screen at a time

c) Podcasts

d) Using Netshare, VLC, etc you can transfer files from your computer to your iPhone

and the biggest

E) BACKING UP YOUR SETTINGS AND APPLICATION in case your phone ever gets stolen, stops working or needs to be replaced

If you've never synced your iphone to your computer you would have to redownload EVERY single app/option/tweak you did to your phone

Personally I sync my jailbroke iPhone at least once a week manually
a) Doesn't sync when i don't want it to
b) having a working backup is a saving grace when you have a jailbroken iphone
c) having a pre-jailbroken backup is a saving grace is I ever want to go back to OEM and still have all my apps, settings, mail, passwords, etc all ready to go
 
Last edited:
To sync I have to get my laptop to the area where my iPhone dock is unplug the usb end of the cable and plug into my Macbook & set my iPhone in the dock.
Click to expand...

Or just move the dock to your work area...

As to your point that backing up is useless because your computer might crash... Really? That's pretty dramatic and ridiculous. And if you back up your computer properly, it's not even remotely a concern.
 
You're trying to make it seem like syncing to your computer is more of a hassle and more difficult than not doing it. But the irony is that what you're doing is much more burdensome than syncing it to your computer. You're cool with losing all your contacts if eventually you have to do a restore or something of that nature? Ok.
 
The only thing I do these days with iTunes is backing up the phone (more specifically settings/progress in Apps).

I download my Apps on the iPhone itself. I get all of my music through Spotify now so I don't need to sync with iTunes for that either.
 
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HeezyBear said:
You're cool with losing all your contacts if eventually you have to do a restore or something of that nature? Ok.
Click to expand...

Everyone should be syncing their contacts wirelessly. There should be no need to sync for that.

The OP has the right idea in that we should all be moving things onto cloud-syncing as much as possible. Contacts, Calendar, Dropbox...I have a LOT of things that would be fine if my phone fell in a lake.

And that's great! We should be minimizing the things that need the cable. But there's a HUGE difference between 80% there and 100% there. I think that you're basically correct...taking that final leap is just silly for no reason. Just because I don't have to sync for my contacts doesn't mean I don't want to back up my games' progress.
 
Small White Car said:
Everyone should be syncing their contacts wirelessly. There should be no need to sync for that.

The OP has the right idea in that we should all be moving things onto cloud-syncing as much as possible. Contacts, Calendar, Dropbox...I have a LOT of things that would be fine if my phone fell in a lake.

And that's great! We should be minimizing the things that need the cable. But there's a HUGE difference between 80% there and 100% there. I think that you're basically correct...taking that final leap is just silly for no reason. Just because I don't have to sync for my contacts doesn't mean I don't want to back up my games' progress.
Click to expand...
You're right. I did jump to the conclusion that everyone's like me and not a mobileme subscriber, but maybe this guy is. I don't know. I agree that it'd be awesome to have everything cloud based (for my phone at least), but we're not all the way there yet. And as long as you have to plug your phone in to charge somewhere, how is it much more of a hassle to plug it into your computer's USB port at which point everything can sync on its own?
 
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I really dont get this thread its not hard or does not take much time at all to sync my phone. I like having a backup of my phone just incase something goes wrong or i get a new phone.
 
Okay it's seems to many of you guys that it's the struggle of syncing that is taking me away from doing so. It's not the case.

Yes I am a MobileMe subscriber so when it comes to contacts, calenders, mail, & note, it is all in the cloud. No need to sync with my computer.

I use evernote which is cloud based for photo reminders & notes.

I usually get applications that is either cloud based or doesn't have progress saved locally such as Amazon App or Apple Store App since it just requires you to sign in.

For games that are saved on the device and not on the cloud. Well I usually would play through them, keep the game for awhile, and delete it. I don't want to forever keep my saved progress in the game because I am finished and bored with the game and probably never come back to it.

Things are going to get much simpler. Buying an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. All you have to do is sign in with your Apple ID and the OS brings back everything you had. Done.

Like a few of you guys said. It's not anytime soon. But with the new Apple data Center being made. I believe that will be apart of doing this very thing including other use for the data center.
 
I sync about once a month mainly to back up in case smth happens with my iPhone.
I get all my apps and updates directly on my iPhone.
I guess if I buy music, books or movies in iTunes, I sync. But even in this case, I don't sync every time I get a new song in my iTunes library, or an album for that matter. So it doesn't bother me at all that I have to plug my iPhone into the laptop, iTunes syncs and backs up without my help.;)
But it'll be nice if/when Apple comes up with wireless syncing.
 
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