We all knew it was probably too good to be true: An enterprising developer creates a slick app to wirelessly sync the iPhone, only to have Apple slam the App Store gates in his face.
One of the more head-scratching omissions from Apple’s iDevices in recent years is syncing with iTunes wirelessly, over a Wi-Fi connection. Sure, if you’re going to move gigabytes of data, tethering through the dock connector is probably still the way to go. But for quick app updates or syncing photos or some new tunes you just downloaded, shouldn’t we be able to do it over the air by now? It is 2010, after all.
That’s what one enterprising developer thought as well, so he submitted an app called Wi-Fi Sync to Apple last month, which was covered here as well. While our fingers were crossed that Apple would allow the app into the store, the developer received his walking papers this week in the form of a rejection, according to MacRumors.
“While he agreed that the app doesn’t technically break the rules,” explains the developer, referring to the rejection notice he received from Apple, “he said that it does encroach upon the boundaries of what they can and cannot allow on their store. He also cited security concerns.” Sad, but true.
However, the story doesn’t quite end there: Wi-Fi Sync is now headed to Cydia, the App Store equivalent of the “Land of Misfit Toys” -- that is, where rejected apps like GV Mobile, Wi-Fi Sync and others can hang a shingle, at least for jailbroken device users. Wi-Fi Sync is now available on Cydia for $9.99, along with a free Mac OS X sync app for your desktop (a Windows version is forthcoming). Check out a video of the app in action embedded below.
I wouldn't be surprised if something like this were added to Mobile Me. You can already sync some data through the cloud, why not permit other data syncing within certain parameters - like over one, identified, dedicated wireless network, or by pairing over bluetooth. Not through the cloud of course, but as a "perk" to a yearly subscription - you would gain this certain functionality. That would tip the scale for my adoption of the service - immediately.
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