When Apple introduced the iPod, which did one thing really well—pay music—there was a good reason to use iTunes as a synchronisation platform. Now the link between iTunes and iPads and iPhones is nothing less than a joke. How long must we remain in bondage to an application that was never designed for modern tablets and phones? Darren Murph on Engadget has it right:
Why what, you ask? Why iTunes, I say. Why does Apple force users into an experience that almost inevitably ends in sadness, if not outright disaster? It’s a question that has baffled me for what feels like eons, and it’s a gaffe that played a huge role in pushing me away from my iPhone 3G and onto a Nexus One in the summer of 2010. I should probably circle back and explain that I understand why Apple has interwoven iTunes with its iDevice line. iTunes isn’t a piece of software; it’s an ecosystem. The whole point of selling an iPod touch isn’t to sell an (admittedly titillating) piece of hardware, it’s to loop an end-user into a system that continually dings their credit card. And by making them work so well together, the company has created a decidedly beautiful scheme that keeps customers coming back for more — I’m guessing the repeat business from iTunes users is downright staggering.
How long can this continue? What we need is a complete cloud sync solution, preferably by means of a free, no-frills version of MobileMe.