ChromeMarks Lite for Android can sync your Google Chrome bookmarks with your Android device. The tool supports syncing bookmarks in both ways between Google Chrome on your desktop and the Android app. Limitations of the free version include that you cannot edit your bookmarks or sync them with the browsers installed on your Android device.

Set Up Bookmark Syncing In Chrome

For ChromeMarks Lite to work, you first need to enable syncing of your Google Chrome bookmarks between computers. In the browser, click the wrench icon in the top right and open > Options. It will open in a new tab. Go to > Personal Stuff and click the > Sign in to Chrome or > Set up sync… button, depending on what is displayed for you.

In the advanced sync preferences pop-up window, select the items you want to sync, such as your > Bookmarks. When you’re done click OK.

Your bookmarks will now be synced with your Google account. To access your Google Chrome bookmarks on a different installation of the browser, simply perform these same steps and all your synced data will be imported from your Google account and subsequently synced with it.

Set Up ChromeMarks Lite On Your Android Device

To access the bookmarks that are synced from your Google Chrome desktop browser to your Google account, download and install ChromeMarks Lite.

When you first open the app, you will see that there are no bookmarks in the database yet. Click the > sync button to initiate the synchronization.

Note that you first have to provide permission to the app. Once this is done, it will initialize and start syncing your bookmarks from your Google account.

This procedure will only take a few seconds and then all your bookmarks will be available in the ChromeMarks Lite app, as shown below. Note that ChromeMarks Lite does not support auto-syncing. Hence, to get the latest bookmarks from your Google account, you occasionally need to click the > Sync button in the top right.

When you click a bookmark, it will either open directly in your default browser or ask you which browser you want it to open with.

By the way, clicking on a bookmark for more than a second will open a menu with options to open it in a new window, share the link or copy the URL.

Does ChromeMarks Sync With My Android Browser Bookmarks?

ChromeMarks Lite does not offer this feature. To integrate ChromeMarks with your Android browser, you have to upgrade to the full version of the app. Unfortunately, Honeycomb and some Samsung users are partly left out, as the tool does not integrate or sync with the stock browser on Android Honeycomb and some Samsung phones. However, before you risk upgrading, you can verify whether or not your device will support the upgrade options using ChromeMarks Lite.

Click the menu icon in the top right, then select > Settings and go to > Upgrade Options.

A green checkmark indicates that your device supports the respective feature, while items marked with a red cross will not be available. Since I am on a Samsung Honeycomb tablet, ChromeMarks presently is not able to sync with my browser bookmarks.

Conclusion

It is a pity that you have to use a third-party app on your Google Android device to access bookmarks synced to your Google account. However, at least this app comfortably enables you to access bookmarks synced with your Google account and despite the limitations of the free version, it is very useful. I reckon that the paid version is worth upgrading to if your Android device supports syncing with your installed browser. Otherwise it’s only worth it if you want to enable manual editing of bookmarks and auto-syncing.

How do you sync bookmarks between your desktop and mobile devices?

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image.png" alt="free android themes" />

One of the things I like best about Android is how customizable it is. The Market is full of themes you can apply to different launchers, and if your Android device is href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/root-android-phone-superoneclick-2/">rooted, you can even apply themes to the system as a whole, changing the appearance of the notification bar, buttons, and more. But it can often be annoying to sift through the myriad themes just to find the few good ones. That’s where this post, and href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.n3xgenapps.theme.manager">N3xGen Theme Manager, comes in.

N3xGen Theme Manager is a free app that provides an easy, comfortable way to browse and filter lots of themes. Let’s look at how it works, and also at a few of the better free Android themes out there.

The App

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image1.png" alt="free android themes" width="300" height="500"/>

The app bills itself as a “theme market’, and accordingly, it’s styled to look very similar to the new Market app. At the main screen, you can see the most recent themes, each with its price clearly marked (so you don’t have to waste time on paid themes if you just want the free ones). Along the bottom is a toolbar that lets you filter the view to see only ADW themes, themes for LauncherPro, Android system themes, and Go! Launcher themes.

System Themes

Let’s focus on the System Themes category, which contains themes for the T-Mobile Theme Chooser. While you won’t find Theme Chooser on the Market, it is a part of href="http://www.cyanogenmod.com/features/themes-support">CyanogenMod, a popular alternative ROM supporting many devices. While filtering by system themes, you can swipe left to reveal other useful filters and zoom in on just the themes you want to see:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image2.png" alt="android themes" width="300" height="500"/>

Above you can see what the screen looks like mid-swipe, when switching between “All Themes” to Categories. You can also filter by developer, and by free or paid themes.

Some Awesome Themes

Now that we’ve seen how the app works, let’s look at some of the beautiful themes you can discover with it. Here’s what a single-theme view looks like: /> class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image3.png" alt="android themes" width="300" height="500"/> /> This is for href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.r3dx.theme.lunarui.black&feature=search_result">LunarUI Black. Here’s what the theme itself looks like:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image4.png" alt="android themes" width="300" height="500"/>

I really like the thin fonts, as well as the shape of the sliders. The whole theme feels a bit “angular” and sharp.

Let’s look at another theme:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image5.png" alt="android mobile phone themes" width="300" height="500"/>

This one is called href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.kgill7.theme.NakedSimplicityB&feature=search_result">Naked Simplicity. Not everything you see above is a part of the theme – it mainly changes the notification bar, which ends up looking something like this:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image6.png" alt="android mobile phone themes" width="300" height="500"/>

Finally, let’s look at one of the paid themes, just to see what they’re like. This one’s called href="https://market.android.com/details?id=sh.pra.chroma&feature=search_result">Chroma 2.0 and it costs $1.29. There is also href="https://market.android.com/details?id=sh.pra.chromab&feature=more_from_developer">Chroma (basic), which is free. The paid version looks like this:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image7.png" alt="android mobile phone themes" width="300" height="500"/>

Installing a Theme

Now let’s buy that last theme and look at the installation process. First, tap the Download button:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image8.png" alt="image" width="300" height="500"/>

This will take you to the Market, where you can buy or install the theme just like you would any other app.

Once the theme installs, run Theme Chooser. Again, this application is not available on the Market, but it is available with CyanogenMod and other href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/install-custom-rom-android/">custom ROMs. Theme Chooser looks like this:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image9.png" alt="image" width="300" height="500"/>

You can swipe left and right to scroll between your existing themes. Once you found the one you wish to use, simply hit Apply. And… that’s it. There is no step 2. The end result looks like this:

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/image10.png" alt="free android themes" width="300" height="500"/>

I’m not sure yet if Chroma 2.0 is the theme for me (it looked better in the screenshots, to be honest). Do you have a suggestion for a better free Android theme? Let me know in the comments!

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/screenshot1413.jpg" alt="" />Almost a year ago, Apple introduced href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/locate-missing-stolen-iphone-ipad-ipod-touch-find-iphone-mac/">Find My iPhone, an iOS app that locates your iPhone, through an Apple me.com account. It allows you to either send a display message to your phone, a new passcode that will lock it down, or permanently wipe all of the data. With the introduction of iOS 5, Apple has created a similar app for finding your friends and family members called href="https://www.apple.com/icloud/features/find-my.html">Find My Friends.

Find My Friends enables you to geolocate your friends from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch (running the latest operating software, iOS 5). The app requires that both you and your friends are running the program on an iOS device. You and your friends must also have an Apple ID and an iCloud account for the app to work. You can use your contacts in your Address Book to send invitations, but the process doesn’t tell you if your friends has an iPhone or other iOS device.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/screenshot1412.jpg" alt="Screenshot1412" width="580" height="418" border="0" />

After your friends accept your request for location information, you will be able to keep track of where they are. Find My Friends might be useful for keeping track of your teenager or traveling companions when you’re on a vacation. You can’t contact selected found friends from within the app, but you can connect through FaceTime, phone, or email.  But the app could also have other consequences.  Allegedly, it has already been held responsible for href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/17/find-my-friends-iphone-4s-app-breaks-up-marriage_n_1015851.html">exposing an affair and breaking up a marriage.

You can also use the Temporary feature to allow selected friends to receive your geolocation for a specified period of time without them requesting it.

Find My Friends is href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/find-my-friends/id466122094?mt=8">a free download from the iTunes App Store.

What do you think of the app?  Extremely useful or rather creepy?

Source: href="http://www.macworld.com/article/162969/2011/10/apple_releases_find_my_friends_for_ios.html#lsrc.rss_main">Macworld

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/find-friends-ios-device-news/">Find Your Friends Using Your iOS Device [News] is a post from: href="http://www.makeuseof.com">MakeUseOf

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/gpstrackingthumb.jpg" alt="gps tracking device" />GPS is one of the more frequently overlooked enhancements in consumer technology.  It’s at least as useful and interesting as Wi-Fi, but often taken for granted. That’s a shame, because it can be incredibly useful, even in older smartphones.

One potential covert use is GPS tracking. A GPS connection from a mobile phone can be used to pinpoint its location, and by extension, the person or vehicle carrying it. Let’s have a look at how you can do this, and the problems you might encounter.

Tracking Apps

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/gpstracking1.jpg" alt="gps tracking device" width="288" height="480" />

Surprisingly, actually installing a tracker onto a smartphone is the easy part. There are a lot of options available and they’re easy to install straight from the market.

For families, Android has a great solution in the form of the imaginatively named href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.fsp.android.c&feature=search_result">GPS Tracking app. Once installed on a mobile device with GPS, its location can be checked from another phone. It is marketed as a way to keep track of family members, particularly children, and works well for that purpose. Just be warned that it will only run on phones that support Android 2.1 and up, and although the app is free, continued use will require a $4.99/month subscription.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/gpstracking2.jpg" alt="phone tracking device" width="320" height="204" />

Another option is to use an anti-theft app like href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/2-easy-ways-recover-lost-stolen-android-phone/">Where’s My Droid? It can track your phone when you send a specific text phrase, so if you’re interested in using your own device for tracking or afraid of losing your phone, it’s a better option.

Apple fans also have access to their fair share of apps, but I don’t own an iPhone. Fortunately, MakeUseOf already has an article covering the href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/9-iphone-gps-apps-case-lost/">9 best iPhone GPS apps, including href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gps-tracker/id286658744?mt=8">GPS Tracker for iPhone.

Learning The Limitations

Now that you have the right app, you’re ready for some gumshoeing – or you can keep track of your kid, at least.

Not so fast! Before you start going GPS crazy you should take a moment to consider the limitations, which can make use of a phone as a tracking device less compelling.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/gpstracking3.jpg" alt="phone tracking device" width="304" height="304" />

All GPS devices need to be able to connect with GPS satellites. Depending on the quality of a phone’s GPS radio, this can be rather difficult if a phone is not kept out in the open. Penetrating the cloth of a backpack or pocket could work, but a phone in a car glove box will have real difficulty. It may be able to report a location, but not accurately enough to be of use.

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/battery-life/">Battery life can also be a problem, as GPS radios suck a lot of power. Using GPS in bursts now and then won’t have much impact, but constant GPS use can take a big slice out of battery life. On newer big-screen smartphones, which already struggle to last a day, frequent use of GPS tracking can reduce endurance to a few hours.

These problems aren’t always an issue with all phones, but I think they’re enough to call GPS tracking with a phone unreliable. That’s not to say you should not use it, but remember that it may not work consistently.

Alternatives To GPS On A Smartphone

If you really need GPS to work reliably, I suggest that you don’t rely on a smartphone. Standalone radios tend to have a stronger signal and better battery life, often lasting for several weeks rather than hours. Some of these devices can even communicate with a computer or phone through an authorized app.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/gpstracking4.jpg" alt="gps tracking device" width="403" height="279" />

The cost is a higher price. Inexpensive units start at around $80, but a more serious standalone GPS tracking device can be over $200. Still, if accurate and reliable tracking is required, I would rely on a product designed specifically for that purpose.

Do you agree? Or do you think smartphone tracking is reliable enough to make more specific devices obsolete? Let us know in the comments.

Image Source: href="http://www.spacetoday.org/Satellites/GPS.html" rel="nofollow">Space Today Online

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/image28.png" alt="" />One of href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/apple/">Apple’s biggest cons is their restrictions. True, their devices are amazing, superbly crafted and work like a charm, but why can’t they play more than one specific video format?

I’ve been spending my days converting videos into M4Vs that my href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iPad/">iPad will agree to play, and even then I sometimes found myself confronted with the cryptic “the video cannot be played on this iPad” error. Apple, in general, tend not to approve alternative players that allow you to play multiple formats, and after some sort of disagreement, the VLC app was removed from the market.

True, I can jailbreak my iPad and just get VLC, but are there any alternatives that don’t require jailbreaking?

The Free Option: href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/flex-player/id451024857?mt=8">FlexPlayer

FlexPlayer is a free media player for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch (OS 4.2 and later) which allows you to play many different video formats. According to its iTunes page, FlexPlayer supports “AVI, DivX, Xvid, VOB, MP4, MOV (plus many more)”. Let’s see if it really works.

When you first launch FlexPlayer, you will get detailed instructions on how to add videos. This is useful because adding videos to FlexPlayer is not done by just adding videos to your iTunes library. If you do that, you won’t be able to upload anything that’s not in the acceptable format, and the videos will not be added to FlexPlayer.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/2011-09-08-13h24_40.png" alt="2011-09-08 13h24_40" width="580" height="541" border="0" />

In order to add videos to FlexPlayer, plug in your device and launch iTunes. Select your device on the left menu bar, and then choose the “Apps” tab.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/2011-09-08-13h27_53.png" alt="2011-09-08 13h27_53" width="354" height="231" border="0" />

On this page, scroll down until you find the “File Sharing” menu. Look for FlexPlayer on the list and start adding videos. You can either click on the “Add” button or drag files straight into the documents interface.

As you can see, I tried adding an AVI file, an XVID file and a MOV file. All of them formats the iPad would not dream of playing normally.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/2011-09-08-13h27_21.png" alt="2011-09-08 13h27_21" width="580" height="441" border="0" />

When you add videos to the list, they will immediately appear in your FlexPlayer. You don’t have to sync it manually. The options are limited – you can watch videos and you can delete videos. That’s pretty much it.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/2011-09-08-13h25_25.png" alt="2011-09-08 13h25_25" width="579" height="507" border="0" />

And here you go, here is what watching an AVI looks like. Both video and sound worked without a hitch and I was able to play all three file formats with no problem.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/image29.png" alt="image" width="580" height="773" border="0" />

There are no further options that I could see, but the existing options worked great.

The Paid Option: href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id384098375?mt=8">CineXPlayer

CineXPlayer comes in two versions, an href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id384098375?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4">iPad version ($2.99) and an href="http://itunes.apple.com/il/app/cinexplayer-the-best-way-to/id391790896?mt=8">iPhone/iPod touch version which is also iPad compatible ($1.99). I tried the iPad version, and my guess is that the iPhone version works on the iPad, but only as iPhones apps usually do – covering about 1/3 of your screen with a X2 option. In my opinion, this is not a good solution for a video app, but if someone has actually tried it and thinks differently, do tell us about it.

Now to business. CineXPlayer offers many more options. When you first launch it, you will get a tutorial, complete with screenshots, which explains exactly how to add video files.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/image30.png" alt="image" width="580" height="773" border="0" />

The method is identical to the one I described for FlexPlayer. Go to the “Apps” tab, scroll down, find CineXPlayer and add your files. Again, I tried adding an AVI, an XVID and a MOV.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/2011-09-08-13h57_27.png" alt="2011-09-08 13h57_27" width="514" height="376" border="0" />

After you’ve added movies, they will appears as thumbnails or as a list. As a default, CineXPlayer plays an amusing, computer-game-like background music when you browse your movies, which is somewhere on the border between annoying and fun. CineXPlayer offers folder options and you can catalogue your files for easy browsing.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/2011-09-08-14h42_58.png" alt="2011-09-08 14h42_58" width="529" height="328" border="0" />

The playing itself wasn’t perfect. My AVI file only played sound – no image. My XVID file played well, but when I tried it a second time there was suddenly no picture. Closing the app and re-launching it fixed it, but the AVI file remained picture-less. The MOV file played well.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/image31.png" alt="image" width="580" height="773" border="0" />

As you can see, CineXPlayer offers many more options – 3D (requires a further download), TV viewing, subtitles and social sharing to name a few.

The whole social sharing thing was a bit clunky, but I finally managed to get this window:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/2011-09-08-14h30_04.png" alt="2011-09-08 14h30_04" width="433" height="411" border="0" />

Pretty cool if you’re into social sharing and want your friends to know what you’re watching. It seems to be limited to Facebook, though.

As opposed to FlexPlayer which lets you play videos and that’s it, there are some settings here you can adjust to your liking. You can also buy some add-ons to enhance your experience with CineXPlayer.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/image32.png" alt="image" width="580" height="773" border="0" />

Bottom Line

As much as I like tweaking things, I did not feel that CineXPlayer provided an overall better experience. This is probably due to the fact that not all the videos actually worked. If I can’t play all formats, all the extra settings become less relevant.

Having said that, the file type I couldn’t play has given me trouble on other devices, and your files might work like a charm. If the bear-bones interface of FlexPlayer is just not enough for you, give CineXPlayer a spin, it’s not that expensive and it seems to be well thought out. For me, I will stick with FlexPlayer for now. Sometimes you just can’t beat simplicity, and I sure do love the price tag that comes along with it.

Want to share your own experiences? Know of some more alternative players we should try? Share in the comments.

Image credit: href="http://thumb10.shutterstock.com/photos/thumb_small/751306/751306,1313340189,3.jpg" rel="nofollow">Shutterstock

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/image24.png?54167" alt="android manager" />I love my smartphone. I think it’s an absolutely amazing device, and can’t wait to see where smartphone technology goes in three or five years. But there’s just one thing that scares me. What if someone steals it, or I lose it? My life is on that thing. It’s a treasure trove of personal information, with access to all of my contacts, Gmail correspondence, calendar, and even all the files on my Dropbox. Definitely not something I’d like to see fall into the wrong hands! If it ever does, class="vt-p" href="https://cirrusmanager.appspot.com/#home">Cirrus Manager will be the first site I turn to.

Like just about every other “find my device” solution ( class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/find-wipe-phone-remotely-android-lost/">Android Lost and friends), Cirrus Manager is an app-and-website combo. You install the app on your phone and configure it to talk to the website, and then use the website if the need ever arises. I have been testing Cirrus Manager for over a month before writing this post, so the app is already configured on my phone. When someone (hopefully me…) runs the app, the first thing they see is a password prompt:

class="aligncenter" style="border:1px solid black" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/image25.png?54167" border="0" alt="android manager" width="300" height="500" />

Once you enter the correct password, you get to the main menu:

class="aligncenter" style="border:1px solid black" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/image26.png?54167" border="0" alt="manage your android phone" width="300" height="500" />

This is not an “all or nothing” proposition. You can select how much control you wish to grant Cirrus Manager over your phone.

class="aligncenter" style="border:1px solid black" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/image27.png?54167" border="0" alt="manage your android phone" width="300" height="500" />

As you can see, I chose not to manage contacts, messages, and processes via the Web interface. If anyone ever steals my phone, I would be able to tell who they’re calling. More importantly, Cirrus Manager constantly sends location updates to the server, and you can even turn the GPS on remotely for better accuracy.

The security settings are quite comprehensive:

class="aligncenter" style="border:1px solid black" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/image28.png?54167" border="0" alt="manage your android phone" width="300" height="500" />

I recently got to test the “Lock on SIM change” feature, accidentally. I switched carriers, and upon inserting my new SIM card and booting my phone, Cirrus presented me with a password prompt. I then entered my password (correctly), and it just shut off. No matter how many times I did this, this kept happening. The only way to get it to work was to insert the original SIM, access the app, disable “Lock on SIM change” and then change the SIM. CirrusLabs (the developer) say this should not happen, but that was the case when I tested it.

Still, it was a good example of how effective the locking mechanism can be. I found no way to circumvent the lock when it happened, and I consider myself a fairly skilled Android user. If your device is rooted, someone can always plug it into a PC and use adb shell to uninstall whatever is locking your device – but this is true for all such security solutions (so you can only hope your device doesn’t fall into skilled hands, or that you’re faster than the thief).

The last feature in the main menu, Auto Update Interval, is only available for paid plans (I subscribed to the $3/mo. plan). But even if your device doesn’t auto-update the site, you can always poll it manually. Which brings us to the site itself:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/image29.png?54167" border="0" alt="android phone manager" width="580" height="431" />

In a word: slick. The site runs on Google App Engine, and you get to use your normal Google account to log in. The gorgeous interface is dominated by a side menu that opens as soon as you hover over the strip of icons:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/image30.png?54167" border="0" alt="android phone manager" width="330" height="500" />

The menu is fairly self-explanatory. The two most important features, for me, are geolocating your device and remotely wiping it in case you cannot retrieve it. Let’s look at geolocation first:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/image31.png?54167" border="0" alt="android phone manager" width="580" height="497" />

Yup, this is where I am. You may be wondering why I live in a country that has no streets. This is not an issue specific to Cirrus Manager. The Google Maps API simply does not support all countries and territories, and I’m unlucky enough to be located in such an unsupported country. Clicking the pin icon reveals the latitude and longitude coordinates reported by the device, which you can then search for on Google Maps or any other mapping solution. If you’re in a supported location (North America, for example), you won’t have to go through that extra step.

Another interesting option is visualizing the location history over time. This shows the routes the device made over time as red lines over the map, and while it can be a bit creepy, it’s also very interesting to see how your device has been moving all over town.

Next, let’s look at the “nuclear option”. If someone steals your device and you become convinced you can’t have it back, you really should wipe it remotely. This is what the Wipe Device option looks like:

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/image32.png?54167" border="0" alt="android manager" width="580" height="350" />

Note the option to wipe the SD card as well. This is a crucial option. If you just wipe your device without wiping the SD card, any would-be thief would still have access to lots of personal information, and possibly complete copies of all of your apps and data (if you use class="vt-p" href="https://market.android.com/details?id=com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup&feature=search_result">Titanium Backup, which you really should). The SD wipe option is only available for paid plans, though (and is one of the key reasons I chose to pay for the service).

Bottom Line

Cirrus Manager has plenty of other features, including detailed hardware information for your device, SMS control (wipe your device using an SMS if it has no connectivity), and more. The free version is very good, but the paid version is even better. This is the security solution I chose for my own device – definitely recommended.  Let us know in the comments which security app you use to protect your Android phone.

href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/close-watch-android-device-cirrus-manager-22/">Keep A Close Watch On Your Android Device With Cirrus Manager [2.2+] is a post from: href="http://www.makeuseof.com">MakeUseOf

More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/google-android/" title="google android" rel="tag">google android, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/mobile-apps/" title="Mobile Apps" rel="tag">Mobile Apps, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/protection/" title="protection" rel="tag">protection, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/security/" title="security" rel="tag">security, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/theft/" title="theft" rel="tag">theft, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/tracking-tools/" title="tracking tools" rel="tag">tracking tools />

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/intro11.jpg" alt="transfer music to ipod" />If you’re using an iPod or iOS device, Linux might seem like a daft choice of operating system. Apple doesn’t officially support it, and whilst that’s a real shame (especially considering the UNIX similarities between OS X and Linux) it’s not, in some cases, insurmountable.

Unless you’re using the 4th generation device (or iPad) you shouldn’t have any issues transferring media, provided you’ve got the right software on your side. Unfortunately iPod Touch 4, iPad and iPhone 4 users running iOS 4.1+ won’t be able to use this method until the vital libgpod library used by class="vt-p" href="http://www.gtkpod.org/">gtkpod is updated to support these devices. Until then, they will mount (using the first method below) as read-only. As soon as libgpod gets an update we’ll pencil in the details here. For the rest of you it’s easy, and you’ll be loading music onto your Apple device in no time.

Getting Penguins To Talk To Fruits

Note: If you’re using a non-iOS device, e.g. iPod or iPod nano, you do not need this – skip to the next section below. If you are using an old iPod Touch (1G, 2G, 3G) or iPhone (1G, 2G, 3G) then you do need this.

In order to get Linux and your iPhone or iPod Touch (old ones, remember) on speaking terms you’re going to need to download libimobiledevice. Once you have installed this package, your Apple device and Linux operating system will play along nicely.

Visit class="vt-p" href="http://www.libimobiledevice.org/">libimobiledevice.org to either download a package suitable for your particular distribution, or class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/compile-install-tar-gz-tar-bz2-files-ubuntu-linux/">compile from source if you’re that way inclined. Ubuntu users who would like a quick install can open a Terminal window and paste:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pmcenery/ppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install libimobiledevice1

Note the 1 at the end of the command! There are other packages available for OpenSUSE, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/fedora-12-a-visually-pleasing-highly-configurable-linux-distro-you-might-want-to-try/">Fedora, Mandriva and Debian, all located at the above URL. Once you’ve set that up, you’re good to go – time to plug in that iPhone!

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/mounted.png" alt="transfer music to ipod" width="297" height="167" />

On most distributions the device will mount itself automatically. If it doesn’t you’ve either not installed the above package or will need to mount the device according to your distribution’s guidelines.

You now have filetree access to your device. Prod around if you want, you’ll find your camera images in the DCIM folder if you want to quickly copy and paste them to a local folder for backup.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/iphone_root.png" alt="transfer music to ipod without itunes" width="551" height="558" />

Note: don’t delete anything from the DCIM folder (or any location, really) as this does not update your iTunes database. Your iPhone will think the files are still there and you’ll have to manually delete a bunch of fuzzy thumbnails later.

Transferring Music & Video

From experience, there’s only one program I would recommend for this task – class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/banshee-20-comprehensive-media-player-streamer-podcast-tool-linux/">Banshee, a clever little all in one solution. The app supports music, video, podcasts and audiobooks. In fact, you can use anything listed at the bottom of class="vt-p" href="http://www.gtkpod.org/wiki/Libgpod">this gtkpod webpage and this includes a few familiars like Rhythmbox, Amarok and podtool.

Here I’ll be sticking to Banshee as it is the standard music player for Ubuntu 11.04, but if you’re using an older version or different distribution you’ll need to grab the appropriate one at the class="vt-p" href="http://banshee.fm/download/">Banshee download page.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/banshee_pretransfer.jpg" alt="transfer music to ipod without itunes" width="580" height="450" />

With your iPhone (or iPod Touch) connected and mounted, start up Banshee. Click on your device in the left hand sidebar and Banshee will display a page which allows you to determine whether you want manual or automatic music sync – manual is always best.

Next you’ll need to add music to the Banshee database. Simply choose Media then Import Media then decide on whether to import your entire library or simply the selection you want on your device. There’s no support for .FLAC, .OGG, .APE or similar so make sure you’ve class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/convert-flac-mp3-music-portable/">transcoded any class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/convert-flac-mp3-music-portable/">of these to something like .MP3, .AAC, .ALAC, .AIFF or .WAV.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/transferring.png" alt="transfer music to ipod without itunes" width="335" height="306" />

With your music imported, choose your default Music playlist. Next simply select the artists, albums or single tracks you would like on the device (Ctrl+Click for multiple choices). The next step is simple – drag your chosen artists, albums and so on to your device listed under Devices in the side menu (e.g. iPhone). Banshee will immediately begin transferring files, and your device should notify you that a sync is in progress.

Note: This probably sounds obvious, but please don’t unmount or disconnect your device whilst sync is in process. You will probably corrupt your device’s database file and cause all manner of headaches.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/banshee_posttransfer.jpg" alt="transfer music to ipod" width="580" height="382" />

That’s pretty much it, and it works just the same with video only you’ll need to make sure your device supports the video format you are trying to sync (supported filetypes include: .MP4, .M4V & .MOV).

Conclusion

It’s a shame that gtkpod hasn’t updated for the latest Apple firmware, but it’s hopefully only a matter of time. With a powerful program like Banshee at the helm, controlling your media is a pretty straightforward task. You don’t quite get the same functionality as you’d get from iTunes (firmware updates are the big one there, I think) but it works. At least for some. Banshee also works on Windows and OS X, for those of you who are desperate to leave iTunes behind.

Have you got an iPhone but also run Linux? Are there better tools out there than Banshee? Maybe you’re an iTunes refugee? Have your say in the comments below! />
/>Need Assistance? Ask questions to MakeUseOf staff and thousands of other readers on href="http://www.makeuseof.dev/answers/" target="_blank" >MakeUseOf Answers!

/>

 

Read comments: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/transfer-music-media-ipod-ios-device-linux/#disqus_thread">Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here …

 

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/transfer-music-media-ipod-ios-device-linux/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/transfer-music-media-ipod-ios-device-linux/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/transfer-music-media-ipod-ios-device-linux/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/transfer-music-media-ipod-ios-device-linux/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/transfer-music-media-ipod-ios-device-linux/&title=How To Transfer Music & Other Media To Your iPod Or iOS Device [Linux]&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/transfer-music-media-ipod-ios-device-linux/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

 

More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ios/" title="iOS" rel="tag">iOS, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iphone/" title="iphone" rel="tag">iphone, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iphone-tips/" title="iphone tips" rel="tag">iphone tips, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ipod/" title="iPod" rel="tag">iPod, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/media/" title="media" rel="tag">media, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/music/" title="music" rel="tag">music, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/music-manager/" title="music manager" rel="tag">music manager, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/synchronize/" title="synchronize" rel="tag">synchronize />

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View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/intro11.jpg" alt="transfer music to ipod" />If you’re using an iPod or iOS device, Linux might seem like a daft choice of operating system. Apple doesn’t officially support it, and whilst that’s a real shame (especially considering the UNIX similarities between OS X and Linux) it’s not, in some cases, insurmountable.

Unless you’re using the 4th generation device (or iPad) you shouldn’t have any issues transferring media, provided you’ve got the right software on your side. Unfortunately iPod Touch 4, iPad and iPhone 4 users running iOS 4.1+ won’t be able to use this method until the vital libgpod library used by class="vt-p" href="http://www.gtkpod.org/">gtkpod is updated to support these devices. Until then, they will mount (using the first method below) as read-only. As soon as libgpod gets an update we’ll pencil in the details here. For the rest of you it’s easy, and you’ll be loading music onto your Apple device in no time.

Getting Penguins To Talk To Fruits

Note: If you’re using a non-iOS device, e.g. iPod or iPod nano, you do not need this – skip to the next section below. If you are using an old iPod Touch (1G, 2G, 3G) or iPhone (1G, 2G, 3G) then you do need this.

In order to get Linux and your iPhone or iPod Touch (old ones, remember) on speaking terms you’re going to need to download libimobiledevice. Once you have installed this package, your Apple device and Linux operating system will play along nicely.

Visit class="vt-p" href="http://www.libimobiledevice.org/">libimobiledevice.org to either download a package suitable for your particular distribution, or class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/compile-install-tar-gz-tar-bz2-files-ubuntu-linux/">compile from source if you’re that way inclined. Ubuntu users who would like a quick install can open a Terminal window and paste:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pmcenery/ppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install libimobiledevice1

Note the 1 at the end of the command! There are other packages available for OpenSUSE, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/fedora-12-a-visually-pleasing-highly-configurable-linux-distro-you-might-want-to-try/">Fedora, Mandriva and Debian, all located at the above URL. Once you’ve set that up, you’re good to go – time to plug in that iPhone!

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/mounted.png" alt="transfer music to ipod" width="297" height="167" />

On most distributions the device will mount itself automatically. If it doesn’t you’ve either not installed the above package or will need to mount the device according to your distribution’s guidelines.

You now have filetree access to your device. Prod around if you want, you’ll find your camera images in the DCIM folder if you want to quickly copy and paste them to a local folder for backup.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/iphone_root.png" alt="transfer music to ipod without itunes" width="551" height="558" />

Note: don’t delete anything from the DCIM folder (or any location, really) as this does not update your iTunes database. Your iPhone will think the files are still there and you’ll have to manually delete a bunch of fuzzy thumbnails later.

Transferring Music & Video

From experience, there’s only one program I would recommend for this task – class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/banshee-20-comprehensive-media-player-streamer-podcast-tool-linux/">Banshee, a clever little all in one solution. The app supports music, video, podcasts and audiobooks. In fact, you can use anything listed at the bottom of class="vt-p" href="http://www.gtkpod.org/wiki/Libgpod">this gtkpod webpage and this includes a few familiars like Rhythmbox, Amarok and podtool.

Here I’ll be sticking to Banshee as it is the standard music player for Ubuntu 11.04, but if you’re using an older version or different distribution you’ll need to grab the appropriate one at the class="vt-p" href="http://banshee.fm/download/">Banshee download page.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/banshee_pretransfer.jpg" alt="transfer music to ipod without itunes" width="580" height="450" />

With your iPhone (or iPod Touch) connected and mounted, start up Banshee. Click on your device in the left hand sidebar and Banshee will display a page which allows you to determine whether you want manual or automatic music sync – manual is always best.

Next you’ll need to add music to the Banshee database. Simply choose Media then Import Media then decide on whether to import your entire library or simply the selection you want on your device. There’s no support for .FLAC, .OGG, .APE or similar so make sure you’ve class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/convert-flac-mp3-music-portable/">transcoded any class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/convert-flac-mp3-music-portable/">of these to something like .MP3, .AAC, .ALAC, .AIFF or .WAV.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/transferring.png" alt="transfer music to ipod without itunes" width="335" height="306" />

With your music imported, choose your default Music playlist. Next simply select the artists, albums or single tracks you would like on the device (Ctrl+Click for multiple choices). The next step is simple – drag your chosen artists, albums and so on to your device listed under Devices in the side menu (e.g. iPhone). Banshee will immediately begin transferring files, and your device should notify you that a sync is in progress.

Note: This probably sounds obvious, but please don’t unmount or disconnect your device whilst sync is in process. You will probably corrupt your device’s database file and cause all manner of headaches.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/banshee_posttransfer.jpg" alt="transfer music to ipod" width="580" height="382" />

That’s pretty much it, and it works just the same with video only you’ll need to make sure your device supports the video format you are trying to sync (supported filetypes include: .MP4, .M4V & .MOV).

Conclusion

It’s a shame that gtkpod hasn’t updated for the latest Apple firmware, but it’s hopefully only a matter of time. With a powerful program like Banshee at the helm, controlling your media is a pretty straightforward task. You don’t quite get the same functionality as you’d get from iTunes (firmware updates are the big one there, I think) but it works. At least for some. Banshee also works on Windows and OS X, for those of you who are desperate to leave iTunes behind.

Have you got an iPhone but also run Linux? Are there better tools out there than Banshee? Maybe you’re an iTunes refugee? Have your say in the comments below! />
/>Need Assistance? Ask questions to MakeUseOf staff and thousands of other readers on href="http://www.makeuseof.dev/answers/" target="_blank" >MakeUseOf Answers!

/>

 

Read comments: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/transfer-music-media-ipod-ios-device-linux/#disqus_thread">Loved it? Hated it? Join discussion here …

 

href="http://api.tweetmeme.com/share?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/transfer-music-media-ipod-ios-device-linux/"> src="http://api.tweetmeme.com/imagebutton.gif?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/transfer-music-media-ipod-ios-device-linux/"> href="http://digg.com/tools/diggthis/login?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/transfer-music-media-ipod-ios-device-linux/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/diggme.png"> href="http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/transfer-music-media-ipod-ios-device-linux/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/fb.jpg"> href="http://www.google.com/reader/link?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/transfer-music-media-ipod-ios-device-linux/&title=How To Transfer Music & Other Media To Your iPod Or iOS Device [Linux]&srcTitle=MakeUseOf.com"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/gbuzz-feed.png"> href="http://www.stumbleupon.com/submit?url=http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/transfer-music-media-ipod-ios-device-linux/"> src="http://www.makeuseof.com/images/rss-buttons/stumble.png">

 

More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ios/" title="iOS" rel="tag">iOS, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iphone/" title="iphone" rel="tag">iphone, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iphone-tips/" title="iphone tips" rel="tag">iphone tips, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ipod/" title="iPod" rel="tag">iPod, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/media/" title="media" rel="tag">media, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/music/" title="music" rel="tag">music, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/music-manager/" title="music manager" rel="tag">music manager, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/synchronize/" title="synchronize" rel="tag">synchronize />

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View full post on MakeUseOf

class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/intro11.jpg" alt="transfer music to ipod" />If you’re using an iPod or iOS device, Linux might seem like a daft choice of operating system. Apple doesn’t officially support it, and whilst that’s a real shame (especially considering the UNIX similarities between OS X and Linux) it’s not, in some cases, insurmountable.

Unless you’re using the 4th generation device (or iPad) you shouldn’t have any issues transferring media, provided you’ve got the right software on your side. Unfortunately iPod Touch 4, iPad and iPhone 4 users running iOS 4.1+ won’t be able to use this method until the vital libgpod library used by class="vt-p" href="http://www.gtkpod.org/">gtkpod is updated to support these devices. Until then, they will mount (using the first method below) as read-only. As soon as libgpod gets an update we’ll pencil in the details here. For the rest of you it’s easy, and you’ll be loading music onto your Apple device in no time.

Getting Penguins To Talk To Fruits

Note: If you’re using a non-iOS device, e.g. iPod or iPod nano, you do not need this – skip to the next section below. If you are using an old iPod Touch (1G, 2G, 3G) or iPhone (1G, 2G, 3G) then you do need this.

In order to get Linux and your iPhone or iPod Touch (old ones, remember) on speaking terms you’re going to need to download libimobiledevice. Once you have installed this package, your Apple device and Linux operating system will play along nicely.

Visit class="vt-p" href="http://www.libimobiledevice.org/">libimobiledevice.org to either download a package suitable for your particular distribution, or class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/compile-install-tar-gz-tar-bz2-files-ubuntu-linux/">compile from source if you’re that way inclined. Ubuntu users who would like a quick install can open a Terminal window and paste:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:pmcenery/ppa

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install libimobiledevice1

Note the 1 at the end of the command! There are other packages available for OpenSUSE, class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/fedora-12-a-visually-pleasing-highly-configurable-linux-distro-you-might-want-to-try/">Fedora, Mandriva and Debian, all located at the above URL. Once you’ve set that up, you’re good to go – time to plug in that iPhone!

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/mounted.png" alt="transfer music to ipod" width="297" height="167" />

On most distributions the device will mount itself automatically. If it doesn’t you’ve either not installed the above package or will need to mount the device according to your distribution’s guidelines.

You now have filetree access to your device. Prod around if you want, you’ll find your camera images in the DCIM folder if you want to quickly copy and paste them to a local folder for backup.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/iphone_root.png" alt="transfer music to ipod without itunes" width="551" height="558" />

Note: don’t delete anything from the DCIM folder (or any location, really) as this does not update your iTunes database. Your iPhone will think the files are still there and you’ll have to manually delete a bunch of fuzzy thumbnails later.

Transferring Music & Video

From experience, there’s only one program I would recommend for this task – class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/banshee-20-comprehensive-media-player-streamer-podcast-tool-linux/">Banshee, a clever little all in one solution. The app supports music, video, podcasts and audiobooks. In fact, you can use anything listed at the bottom of class="vt-p" href="http://www.gtkpod.org/wiki/Libgpod">this gtkpod webpage and this includes a few familiars like Rhythmbox, Amarok and podtool.

Here I’ll be sticking to Banshee as it is the standard music player for Ubuntu 11.04, but if you’re using an older version or different distribution you’ll need to grab the appropriate one at the class="vt-p" href="http://banshee.fm/download/">Banshee download page.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/banshee_pretransfer.jpg" alt="transfer music to ipod without itunes" width="580" height="450" />

With your iPhone (or iPod Touch) connected and mounted, start up Banshee. Click on your device in the left hand sidebar and Banshee will display a page which allows you to determine whether you want manual or automatic music sync – manual is always best.

Next you’ll need to add music to the Banshee database. Simply choose Media then Import Media then decide on whether to import your entire library or simply the selection you want on your device. There’s no support for .FLAC, .OGG, .APE or similar so make sure you’ve class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/convert-flac-mp3-music-portable/">transcoded any class="vt-p" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/convert-flac-mp3-music-portable/">of these to something like .MP3, .AAC, .ALAC, .AIFF or .WAV.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/transferring.png" alt="transfer music to ipod without itunes" width="335" height="306" />

With your music imported, choose your default Music playlist. Next simply select the artists, albums or single tracks you would like on the device (Ctrl+Click for multiple choices). The next step is simple – drag your chosen artists, albums and so on to your device listed under Devices in the side menu (e.g. iPhone). Banshee will immediately begin transferring files, and your device should notify you that a sync is in progress.

Note: This probably sounds obvious, but please don’t unmount or disconnect your device whilst sync is in process. You will probably corrupt your device’s database file and cause all manner of headaches.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/banshee_posttransfer.jpg" alt="transfer music to ipod" width="580" height="382" />

That’s pretty much it, and it works just the same with video only you’ll need to make sure your device supports the video format you are trying to sync (supported filetypes include: .MP4, .M4V & .MOV).

Conclusion

It’s a shame that gtkpod hasn’t updated for the latest Apple firmware, but it’s hopefully only a matter of time. With a powerful program like Banshee at the helm, controlling your media is a pretty straightforward task. You don’t quite get the same functionality as you’d get from iTunes (firmware updates are the big one there, I think) but it works. At least for some. Banshee also works on Windows and OS X, for those of you who are desperate to leave iTunes behind.

Have you got an iPhone but also run Linux? Are there better tools out there than Banshee? Maybe you’re an iTunes refugee? Have your say in the comments below! />
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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/0-qvivo-intro.jpg" alt="access media library" />How much content do you have lying around on your computer? By content, I mean music, photos, television episodes, downloaded movies, and so on. My computer is a multimedia machine as I am always on the lookout for the latest song or new show that is out.

One thing that’s always been tough for me though, was keeping my collection organized and easily accessing my media library. Sure, I have iTunes, but I use it mainly because it’s the best app for keeping my iPod in sync. But isn’t there an app out there that will let me do more with my content? There is, and it’s called href="http://qvivo.com">QVIVO. If you’re looking to not only organize your media library, but make it extremely accessible to all your devices, I think you’ll really like what QVIVO has to offer.

What Is QVIVO?

href="http://qvivo.com">QVIVO is an application that works to make your entire media library digitally organized and easily accessible from any device. It’s designed to be the hub for your entire movie, TV, music, photo, and online video collection, and it organizes your media into libraries, plays many different file types, and even includes social elements like Facebook sharing.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Screen-shot-2011-04-19-at-8.36.07-AM.jpg" alt="access media library" width="578" height="397" />

QVIVO builds your library with cover art, trailers, actors, artists, and more from the files on your computer, and it is capable of playing them all back for you, regardless of format or resolution.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Screen-shot-2011-04-19-at-8.36.58-AM.jpg" alt="access media library remotely" width="578" height="335" />

You can also keep your friends up to date on what you love with QVIVO by posting reviews, rating your collection, uploading photo albums to Facebook, and chatting with your friends. That’s right, QVIVO features live Facebook messaging, which means you can chat with your friends about your favorite show while you’re watching it.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Screen-shot-2011-04-19-at-8.30.12-AM.jpg" alt="access media library remotely" width="261" height="513" />

Another cool feature of QVIVO is that it works just about everywhere. Apps are on the horizon for the iPad, Android tablets, TVs, and more, so you’ll be able to access your media library and stream from anywhere in your home with any number of compatible devices.

How Do I Get QVIVO?

In order to download and start using QVIVO, you just head over to their href="http://qvivo.com/beta/download/">signup page and fill in some basic information, including your desired username, email address, and password. Then, you will have the option of linking your Facebook account with QVIVO, but you are able to skip this step for now if you like.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Screen-shot-2011-04-19-at-8.16.04-AM.png" alt="access media library" width="432" height="201" />

On the next page you’ll see download links for both Windows (XP, Vista, and 7) and Mac (Intel 64-bit Snow Leopard), with Linux coming soon. QVIVO is still in beta, but very soon it will also be available for your iPhone, iPad, and Android devices as well.

Once you sign up for QVIVO, you’ll receive an email with a confirmation link. When you click that you’ll be taken to My Account for the first time, where you can adjust your settings, connect with Facebook, etc.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I really like the look of QVIVO. From what I’ve seen, they’ve done some nice work. I especially like the layout and overall look of the app, as well as how it sorts your content. The social features make it interesting for me, and I’m looking forward to checking out the iPad app. What do you think of QVIVO? />
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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/logo1.png" alt="ios note app"/>Moleskine is probably one of the most popular and most famous brand of notebooks available in the market today, and was the notebook of choice of great artists and writers including Oscar Wilde, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway and Vincent Van Gogh. While some argue that nothing compares to the feel of the leather-bound notebook in your hands, and being able to jot down your thoughts, ideas and sketches by hand, Moleskine have launched a free iOS based note-taking app for both iPhone and iPad users.

Available for download for free from the href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/moleskine/id429657255?mt=8">iTunes App Store, the app allows you to take notes, sketch drawings, add photos and labels, and share your notes on href="http://makeuseof.com/tags/facebook">Facebook and href="http://makeuseof.com/tags/twitter">Twitter and more. The app is customizable to suit your personal taste, changing the paper type, font size and more.

When you first launch the app, a short guide on how to use the app is displayed, and you’ll find that sample notes have already been created, showing you the full potential of the app.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/help.png" alt="ios note app" width="435" height="580" />

The first choice you’ll want to make when you create a new note, after giving the note a name, is the type of paper you’re going to use. There are three choices – plain, squared and ruled.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/paper.png" alt="take notes on ipad" width="340" height="320" />

You can also categorize your notes, creating your own custom categories. Each category is accompanied by a color and icon of your choice. These symbols are visible in the list of notes on your home page, an easy way to differentiate between your various notes.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/list.png" alt="take notes on ipad" width="435" height="580" />

When it comes to taking notes, while you cannot change the font itself, you can choose between four font sizes from extra small to large.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/textsize.png" alt="take notes on ipad" width="580" height="408" /> /> You also have a selection of 15 font colors, including all the basic colors you might want to use.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/textcolour.png" alt="" width="580" height="401" />

When it comes to sketching, you can also choose the thickness of your brush stroke, from extra small to large. And like with the text, you have the same selection of 15 colors.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/brush.png" alt="" width="580" height="348" /> /> In addition to text and sketches, you can add images to your note from your photo albums.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/photos.png" alt="" width="580" height="443" />

And you can also add from a variety icons, or labels, that come with the app.

href="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/labels.png"> class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-73596" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/labels.png" alt="take notes on iphone" width="580" height="415" />

Once you’ve completed your notes or sketches, there are two things you can do with them. You can share them with other users via email, Facebook or Twitter.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/share.png" alt="take notes on iphone" width="340" height="320" />

The sharing capabilities of the app are, however, somewhat limited. When sharing via email, the text of the note is automatically pasted into the body of the email and without images, while sketches can’t be emailed at all.  Sharing via Twitter, the first 140 characters of the note will be be automatically pasted for sharing on the site. If you need an app to save drafts of your tweets, the Moleskine app could potentially serve the purpose. Sharing via Facebook was unsuccessful after several attempts, despite successfully connecting the app to a Facebook account.

Aside from the sharing options, you can also geotag your notes, making the app a very useful journal tool for someone who travels a lot.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/geotag.jpg" alt="take notes on iphone" width="435" height="580" />

There is no limit to the number of free href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-apps-ipad-writing-projects/">note-taking and href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/3-free-doodling-software-apps-ipad-mac/">sketching apps available in the iTunes App Store, so why use the Moleskine app? The interface is sleek and simple, and leaves the focus on what really matters – your writing or drawings. If you’re a die-hard Moleskine fan, the app will definitely appeal to you, and the geotagging feature adds an interesting dimension to the note-taking app.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 0pt none;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/note.jpg" alt="ios note app" width="435" height="580" />

If we had a wishlist for the iOS note app, it would be for the sharing features to be improved, as well as including a syncing feature for backing up your notes with an online account, or to your computer.

Which free app do you use to take notes on your iPhone or iPad? Let us know in the comments. />
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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/logo1.jpg" alt="iphone save video" /> href="http://squrl.com">Squrl is one of the latest video web and mobile apps that takes watching and sharing videos to a new level. Compatible with both the href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/squrl-for-ios/id398256703?mt=8">iPhone and iPad [iTunes link], Squrl is part social network and part bookmark service, like  href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/instapaper-bookmark-posts-read/">Instapaper or href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/read-multiplatform-app-save-information-read/">Read it Later, but for videos. There are several ways Squrl can be used – on a computer alone to save videos for later viewing, or better yet, saving them from your computer for later viewing from the comfort of your couch using your iPad or iPhone. The site provides a handy bookmarklet which makes it easy to save videos without having to open the Squrl website.

Both the website and mobile app benefit from all the same features, saving and sharing your favourite videos, and the iOS and web interface are practically identical, so you won’t be missing out on anything as far as the Squrl experience is concerned. All features listed in this review of the iOS app also apply to the website itself.

After downloading the free app from the iTunes store, you’ll be prompted to create a new account, or sign in using your Facebook account. You can also create your account on the Squrl website.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Signup1.jpg" alt="iphone save video" width="580" height="435" />

If you choose the former, you will then be prompted to connect your Facebook and Twitter accounts to Squrl for easy sharing of the videos you collect and watch using the app.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/TwitterFB.png" alt="iphone save video app" width="580" height="435" />

Not only can you share individual videos, but you can also share entire collections of videos, as well as selectively share with either your followers, a social network or both at the same time.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Share.png" alt="iphone save video app" width="580" height="295" />

When it comes to sharing the videos, you won’t have any control over the content of the tweet or Facebook post, with both posts using the same text. and with Facebook, videos aren’t automatically embedded in your profile, but rather they contain a link to the video on Squrl.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Twitter.png" alt="iphone save video app" width="580" height="255" />

On iOS devices, Squrl is divided into three tabs – My Videos, Discover and Community. Under Discover, you can search for videos using the various services linked in to the app. Squrl aggregates videos from various services including YouTube, Vimeo, TED, Funny or Die and Revision3, amongst others.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/discover.png" alt="iphone save video from web" width="580" height="435" />

Accessing any given video service will bring you to that site’s homepage as you would see it on the web, and in some cases, such as YouTube, the mobile site will be displayed. You can then search the video service for the videos of your choice and save them.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/search.jpg" alt="iphone save video from web" width="580" height="435" />

Under My Videos you can access your video queue, your galleries, recent activity and messages. Once you’ve searched for a video, you have two choices of what to do with the video. You can add them to your queue, the home tab when you open Squrl, to quickly watch the video later, or you can create a new gallery of videos, that will be shared with your Squrl followers.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/gallery1.png" alt="iphone save video from web" width="580" height="655" />

The queue is useful for adding videos you will delete or organise into collections later.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/queue.png" alt="" width="580" height="435" />

Squrl over-complicates things just a little bit when it comes to creating galleries, as you have to go through two steps when saving videos. First, you add the video to a Gallery.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/gallery2.png" alt="" width="580" height="667" />

Next you have to add it to yet another sub-category, or Collection. Unless you’re an incredibly organized person, the sub-folder may seem a bit superfluous. It would be nice to have the option to choose between using one or two folders.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/gallery3.png" alt="" width="580" height="660" />

Your galleries are then viewable as a grid, which can be sorted by date modified, name, most viewed or top rated videos.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/MyVideos.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="435" />

The last tab, Community, is where Squrl’s social network aspect comes in. While you can easily share videos from Squrl directly with your Twitter or Facebook friends, Squrl also has its own social network built in, where you can follow other members to keep up with the videos they save to their galleries. You can discover other users by keeping an eye on the activity page, displaying the latest videos that have been watched or ‘squrled.’

class="aligncenter" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Activity.png" alt="" width="580" height="435" />

You can also keep an eye on the featured galleries, under the Videos tab.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/communityfeatured.jpg" alt="" width="580" height="435" />

Or you can take a list of the top curators.

class="aligncenter" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/CommunityCurator.png" alt="" width="580" height="435" />

Not only can you follow users, you can also choose to follow specific collections they have created. To do this, open up the user’s gallery, and click the ‘squrl it’ button at the top of the page. This will then allow you to select which specific collections you want to follow. The gallery will then be added to your Videos page, and when it is updated by its curator, you will receive a notification. You will also receive notifications when shows you subscribe to from sites like Revision3 are updated.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/notification.jpg" alt="iphone save video" width="342" height="247" />

If there was one more feature we could add to the Squrl wish-list, it would definitely be offline viewing using the iOS app.

What app do you use to watch videos on your iOS device? What do you think of Squrl? Let us know in the comments. />
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More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ios/" title="iOS" rel="tag">iOS, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ipad/" title="ipad" rel="tag">ipad, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iphone/" title="iphone" rel="tag">iphone, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/online-videos/" title="online videos" rel="tag">online videos, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/video-sharing/" title="video sharing" rel="tag">video sharing, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/videos/" title="videos" rel="tag">videos />

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class="align-right" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/ituneslogo_1.png" border="0" alt="itunes apple mobile device" />Well, it took Apple long enough, but now you can finally stream the contents of your iTunes library on your Mac or PC to your iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, 4th generation iPod touch, or either versions of your iPad without using a href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/stream-your-entire-itunes-library-to-your-iphone-over-the-internet-mac-only/">third party application. href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/stream-your-entire-itunes-library-to-your-iphone-over-the-internet-mac-only/">SimplifyMedia was the first to bring iTunes music sharing to users, but the recent iOS 4.3 update includes Home Sharing, which enables you to stream your iTunes library via your home WiFi network.

Unfortunately though, you still can’t share your library outside of your network using the Home Sharing feature. href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/access-media-collection-browser-zumocast/">Zumocast is the application you will need to do that.

Setting Up Home Sharing

In order to use Home Sharing, you will need to download and install the latest version of iTunes 10.2 on your Mac or PC, and the latest version of iOS 4.3 on your iOS device (by the way, this latest iOS update can’t be installed on the iPhone 3G).

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/homesharing.png" border="0" alt="itunes apple mobile device" width="544" height="471" />

Next, in iTunes, open Preferences  > Sharing and enable “Home Sharing over Local Network“. If you have a huge iTunes library you might want to limit the content that is shared so it can be accessed quicker on your remote device. You can also require a password to secure your connection. If you have iTunes running on another Mac or Windows PC you can also share your library to those machines.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/homesharing_4.png" border="0" alt="sync apple mobile" width="580" height="375" />

On your iOS 4.3 device, open the Settings app and select iPod in the Settings column. From there you will need to provide your Apple ID and password to activate Home Sharing on the device.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/homesharing_11.png" border="0" alt="itunes apple mobile" width="579" height="403" />

Now, with your iTunes running on your networked computer, launch the iPod app on your device and select Library. At the top of the left column, select your iTunes library. If you’re streaming to your iPad or iPod touch, I believe, you will need to open the Videos app to view the movies, TV shows, music videos and video podcasts streaming from your computer.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/homesharing_1.png" border="0" alt="itunes apple mobile" width="496" height="96" />

In your streaming iTunes library, you can switch and navigate between Songs, Artists, Albums, Genres and Composer. See the menu bar at the bottom of the streaming library.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/ratetracks.png" border="0" alt="itunes apple mobile" width="546" height="140" />

Fortunately, you can also rate the streaming music you’re playing your iOS device and it will be updated in the library of your base computer.

class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/wakeethernet.png" border="0" alt="itunes apple mobile device" width="490" height="337" />

If you’re concerned about not being able to access your networked iTunes library when your computer is asleep, open System Preferences > Energy Saver and check the Wake for Ethernet network access box, so your iTunes library will be available even when your computer is asleep.

What’s Missing

Home Sharing is a long overdue feature for iTunes and iOS devices. However, it is still lacking in the bells and whistles that would make it more useful.

For instance, while Home Sharing streams all your iTunes playlists, podcasts, audiobooks, iTunes U programs, it does not allow you to wirelessly download individual tracks to your iOS device. So say you want to listen to a few podcast episodes on your commute to work without the benefit of a WiFi connection. Well, you will have to either do a wired sync to iTunes in order to get those selected downloads, or you will need to open the iTunes app on your device, search for the podcast episodes you want to hear and manually download them. What a pain. If you’re streaming content from your computer, you should be able to select and download it to your device.

Despite these drawbacks, let us know how Home Sharing is working for you.

Also, if you’re an owner of an iPad or are interested in getting one, check out MUO’s free href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/ipad-magical-revolutionary-guide-pdf-guide/">iPad: A Magical and Revolutionary Guide by James. It’s packed with tips and tricks for using the device. Plus, if you want know how to use the Remote Control iTunes on your Mac from your iOS device, check out this href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/makeuseof-your-iphone-remote/">article. />
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More articles about: href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ios/" title="iOS" rel="tag">iOS, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ipad/" title="ipad" rel="tag">ipad, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/iphone/" title="iphone" rel="tag">iphone, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/ipod-touch/" title="ipod touch" rel="tag">ipod touch, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/itunes/" title="iTunes" rel="tag">iTunes, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/streaming/" title="streaming" rel="tag">streaming, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tags/streaming-music/" title="streaming music" rel="tag">streaming music />

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class="align-left" style="border: 0px none; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 5px; float: right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/shutterstock_2193032.jpg" border="0" alt="vpn services" width="270" height="203" />We recently published an article explaining what href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/virtual-private-network-work-technology-explained">a Virtual Private Network (VPN) is, along with a list of href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-completely-free-vpn-services-protect-privacy">free VPN services that allow you to anonymise the Internet browsing experience on your computers. If you want to do the same on your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touches, there are a couple of free options that are worth looking into.

The reason for using a free VPN service on your phone is exactly the same as using them on your computer. For example, you may want to access websites or apps that have been blocked by your ISP or are not available in your country, or you may want to encrypt all inbound and outbound data. It has to be said that, as with any free service, there are certain concessions you may have to accept such as limited bandwidth, while also bearing in mind the risk involved in using a free service when accessing sensitive information.

id="more-65102">

VPN Express

href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/vpn-express/id375584677?mt=8#">VPN Express [iTunes link] is a free iPhone/iPad app that gives you 100MB of free, encrypted browsing on your iOS device.

After installing the app on your device, the first thing you will need to do is register for a free account within the app, which requires only your email address and a password. If a VPN Express member referred you, you can also enter their email address, resulting in each of you earning additional free bandwidth.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/registration.png" border="0" alt="vpn services iphone" width="580" height="435" />

After confirming your email address you can then manually configure your iOS device’s VPN setting. To do so, go to Settings > General > Network > VPN > Add New VPN Configuration.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/Add.png" border="0" alt="vpn services reviewed" width="580" height="347" />

From there you can enter the settings by selecting the L2TP or PPTP tab and filling in the fields as follows:

Description: VPNVIP /> Server: us.vpnvip.com OR vpn.vpnvip.com /> Account: Enter the email address you used when registering with VPN Express /> RSA SecurID: Off /> Password: Enter your password /> Encryption Level: Auto /> Secret: vpnvip /> Send all Traffic: On /> Proxy: Off

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/VPNConfig.png" border="0" alt="vpn services reviewed" width="535" height="563" />

Once you’re settings are all in place, a new VPN selection will appear in the settings menu, where you can easily toggle the VPN service on and off.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/button.png" border="0" alt="vpn services reviewed mobile" width="297" height="392" />

When turned on, a small VPN icon will appear in the status bar.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/VPN.png" border="0" alt="free vpn services" width="294" height="60" />

The advantage of using an app like VPN Express on your iOS device is that the app displays all of your usage statistics, as well as displaying your remaining bandwidth on the account tab, so that you can keep track of it while you’re on the go.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/usage.png" border="0" alt="free vpn services" width="580" height="435" />

If 100MB isn’t enough, VPN Express offers extremely competitive subscriptions and quotas, starting at $0.99 for 30 days and a quota of 2GB data transfer, or $.0.99 for a 1GB data plan.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/packages.png" border="0" alt="free vpn services" width="580" height="435" />

Hotspot Shield

It is also possible to use Hotspot Shield, one of the 7 free services href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/7-completely-free-vpn-services-protect-privacy">recommended on MakeUseOf before, on your iOS device.

Unlike VPN Express, you don’t have to install anything on your iPhone or iPad. First, in order to generate an account ID and password, go to the HotSpot Shield href="http://hotspotshield.com/clientless/iphone/get_started.php">website and click on Get Account ID.

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/accountID.png" border="0" alt="accountID.png" width="371" height="463" />

Make sure that your WiFi connection is turned off, and once again, navigate to Settings > General > Network > VPN > Add New VPN Configuration.

Select the IPSec tab and fill in the fields as follows:

Description: Hotspot Shield /> Server: 68.68.107.101 /> Account: Enter the account ID generated in the previous step /> Password: Enter the password generated in the previous step /> Use Certificate: Off /> Group Name: hss /> Password: hss /> Proxy: Off

style="text-align: center;"> class="aligncenter" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/HSConfig.png" border="0" alt="vpn services" width="526" height="580" />

Turn your WiFi connection back on, and as with VPN Express, turn on the VPN and when the icon appears in the status bar, you can browse the Internet safely and securely.

If you have more than one VPN configuration on your iOS device, the VPN button in the settings menu will navigate to the VPN settings page allowing you to choose which configuration you wish to use.

If you want to be absolutely sure that everything is working as it should be, href="http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/whatismyipaddress-find-out-your-ip-address/">look up your IP address in Safari and make sure that your location has been changed.

Which VPN service do you use on your iOS device? Let us know in the comments.

Image credit: rel="nofollow" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-2193032/stock-photo-secure-internet-browser.html">Shutterstock />
/>Do you like MakeUseOf articles? Don’t forget to target="_blank" href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/share-share-share-spread-word/">share our articles with others! It’s really important to us.

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style="border: 0px none;margin-left:20px;float:right;" src="http://main.makeuseoflimited.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/poll2.png" />Last week, we asked readers “ href="http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/site-stock-photos-makeuseof-poll/">Which Is The Best Site For Stock Photos?” and found some interesting results, including the fact that most of our readers like to get stock photos for free.

With 143 votes tallied, we’ve got the following breakdown: 27% MakeUseOf readers prefer to get stock photos from Flickr; 26% use iStockPhoto.com; 21% like stock photos from Stock.xchng; 6% use Shutterstock.com; 4% like Fotolia.com; 4% use Photobucket.com; while GettyImages.com was used by 3%. The remaining services polled were used by fewer than 2.5% of people each.

Full results and this week’s poll after the jump.

id="more-61580"> /> As you can see, Flickr narrowly beat the paid stock photo options.