Android App of the Day: iSyncr

Every app has a pre-amble - the reason I bought it. I cut to the chase below, but here is the pre-amble for iSyncr: I have an iPod Touch and I have a few songs on it that I have bought and can only listen to on my iPod Touch. That gets to be a tiresome....pulling out the iPod to listen to the handful of songs there sourced from iTunes, then pulling out my HTC Magic android phone to listen to the 100-ish songs there ripped from the CDs in my private music collection.

Why not just put them all on the iPod? Well, I guess I could, but then my iPod Touch won't let me delete any of the songs unless I go home and sync with the single PC on the planet that is allowed to host my iTunes library.

Whereas, my android phone lets me delete, on the spot, any song I don't want on the phone right now. Even better, the "AndFTP" app on my android phone let's me access (via FTP over the Intenret) my entire music collection at home. I can upload / download any song I like.

I haven't bought many songs on iTunes lately simply because they are locked in my iPod and I don't always have it with me. My phone caries the vast majority of my music.  I'm also a bit down on my iPod since iTunes blew away well over $100 worth of songs two weeks AFTER I had apparently successfully transferred my iTunes to a new PC. One day working / syncing fine....then next, I synced and all paid songs were gone. I went to download them again (worked for apps), but it wouldn't let me and told me I would have to buy them again.

No thanks. Already stung me once.  C'ain't trust dat.

Cutting to the chase:  Thanks to iSyncr, that's changed.

Now I don't have to trust iTunes because the iSyncr app let's me transfer the songs (or podcasts or videos) in any iTunes playlist  from my iTunes onto my android phone. Songs come across as *.mp4 files. Now I can safely buy more music via iTunes and be able to listen to them when I want or do something as simple as just delete them from the device (my phone) anywhere, anytime.

The iSyncr app is two things: a tutorial and a Windows program. You step through the app and  connect your phone to your Windows PC. The app places a Windows program called "iSyncr.exe" in the root of your sdcard. When your sdcard is then mounted on Windows, you run this program on your Windows PC from the sdcard. (I haven't tried copying the app to the PC. I'm thinking it won't work if I do that, but will try it.)

iSyncr.exe starts up iTunes and presents you with a window (seen, right, in the screenshot of the tutorial on the phone) allowing you to select which playlist(s) you want to copy to your phone. It also offers you the option of deleting all songs not on the playlist(s) from your phone, so you can use it exactly like iTunes if you want to. I just wanted to add the iTunes songs to the ones already there, so I didn't choose that option.

It worked as advertised. The four songs I have reluctantly bought via iTunes since iTunes ate my music were transferred to my HTC Magic (as *.mp4 files) and they play properly and sound great on my phone. The songs I sync'd over came with the artwork they picked up from iTunes, so that's another plus. You can see that in the first screenshot above of Anna Nalick's "Breathe (2a.m.)".

For anyone with an android phone who has bought music through the Apple Store, iSyncr is a must-have app. Even the smallest, cheapest iPod can now give android owners access to the iTunes music collection.....if you want to think of it that way.

I am.  This app might sell a few iPods to owners of Android phones. Win / Win. iSyncr is a paid app, but worth every penny of the $2-$3....I don't remember how little it was. :-)

The iSyncr FAQ is here.