As we know, Apple and Google fight against each other in the very competitive Internet market, but this doesn’t prevent users from using both sides’ products and services. For example, Apple’s iTunes program can be used on Google Nexus series phone to manage the media contents on these Android-based smartphones through a third party sync app named Airbind.
In fact, before the Airbind being appeared, there already has been a similar application called DoubleTwist that has more rich features than the Airbind. With the help of the DoubleTwist, users can transfer and play the contents in iTunes library onto their Android devices, even the movies & television shows in Apple TV and other AirPlay devices can be streamed onto their Android devices for watching. In contrast to the DoubleTwist, the advantage of the Airbind is it is a totally free application, because the DoubleTwist charges $5 for its wireless sync function, AirSync.
Below are the specific steps of using the Airbind to synchronize music, videos and photos from iTunes to Google Nexus phone across Wi-Fi:
Step 1:
Download the Airbind app. The Airbind is a two-part application. One part is a desktop client for Windows or Mac OS X that is used to monitor and locate iTunes library for transferring. You can obtain it from the Airbind website. The other part runs on the Android device. You can open your Nexus phone, then go to Google Play to install it to your Nexus phone.
Step 2:
After downloading, the desktop client will run silently in the background. There is an option which let you enable and disable the client to locate your iTunes library, unfortunately, you are not allowed to specify which songs, videos or photos you wish to sync to your Nexus phone.
Step 3:
Run the Airbind app on your Nexus phone, then you will see a presentation guide on that you have the option to back up your videos, music and photos, and the option to specify the items you wish to sync.
Step 4:
Tap the Finish button, then the button in the middle of your Nexus’ screen will change from grey to blue. Just press the blue button to start synchronizing your Nexus phone with iTunes.
The sync speed depends on your wireless connection speed and the size of the media file on your computer. I ever tested the Airbind at my home running ADSL with 4mb download speed, wire LAN connection. I transferred a 500MB video clip to my Galaxy Nexus phone, it took me almost 50 minutes to complete the whole process. It is slower than sync via the USB cable.
P.s. Airbind does not have the ability to transfer your contacts and text messages from iTunes to your Google Nexus phone. You need to manually do this transfer work, or you can try another free app called Easy Phone Sync whose developers claim it can sync all types of media contents in iTunes with Android device.
P.s.s. Airbind can not be used to transfer the movies and TV-shows purchased from iTunes store to Google Nexus phone, because all these video files are encrypted by Apple “FairPlay” DRM (digital right management). If you must do this, you can go to author’s website below to gain a iTunes DRM removal software to make your iTunes video purchases DRM-Free.
