You Can Sync G1 with iTunes (Mac Only), Method Inside

Z

Zafer

New member
Hey all,

I posted this in another thread, but the subject was something else so I think it got buried.

I am including here two Apple Automator workflows.

The first, called 'Copy Playlist to SD', prompts you for an iTunes playlist, gathers all Audio/Video files in that playlist, and copies them to a folder you specify (you will want to make a folder called 'Music' at the root of your SD card and choose it here). Once you run this, you will have all MP3 files from this playlist on your SD card in your specified folder.

The second workflow, called 'Create Playlist' gathers the file names of all files in a specified folder, and writes it as text into a new text file. PAY ATTENTION HERE. When starting the workflow, name the txt file in the 3rd action .m3u, where 'MyPlaylist' can be anything you want. The important part is the .m3u, do not end it with txt as is the default. Have the action save this .m3u file in a folder on your SD card called /music/playlist (this is suggested by the T-Mobile user guide).

These two actions paired together will essentially create the same iTunes playlist on your G1's SD card, in a way the G1 can understand.

One big thing: these workflows require Apple Automator, best used on Leopard 10.5.x

I hope this helps, and ping me in this thread with any questions.
 
The developer of Sailing Sync seems t believe that his tool - which works with Windows Mobile, Sony Ericsson and Nokia phones, should be able to work with the G1, as it advertises itself in USB Mass Storage mode. His software is, I believe, cross platform

I asked him about this in the support forum on his site - expressions of interest there would likely be fruitful.

http://www.salling.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6469&sid=82edc5180c5d11cc1088948c28692843


This isn't in any way to detract from this solution, which looks to go a long way, in a very Apple beauty way, toward resolving the issue for people like me who are on OSX. But for Windows users, and for some more advanced playlist and 'smart-sync' management, Sailing Media Sync may be worth a look as well.
 
Any tips on mounting G1 to a Mac (10.4.11)? When I connect the G1 to a Mac, the device does not mount as USB Mass Storage device. "Use for USB storage" is checked in SD card Settings on G1. Nothing is displayed on the Desktop and it is not listed in Disk Utility. My device does mount in Windows XP.
 
I have now downloaded, installed, used, and paid for the Salling Media Sync mentioned above. It works great on the Mac and I understand that they have a Windows version to. Give it a spin:

1. Plug your T-Mobile G1 into your computer using the supplied USB cable.

2. It should appear as a mass media storage device on your desktop. Mine was named "NO NAME." If it doesn't appear, go into the Settings app in Android on your phone, choose "SD card & phone storage," and then make sure there's a green checkmark next to "Use for USB storage."

3. Download the free trial of Salling Media Sync: http://www.salling.com/MediaSync/mac/

3. Install it.

4. It launches and immediately finds and parses your iTunes playlists, including podcasts. There were a couple of quirks in which podcast feeds were listed twice under slightly different names, but that was a minor problem.

5. In a settings screen that is very similar to the one in iTunes itself, choose which and how many podcasts to update.

6. Click sync. The syncing speed is pretty good, but not as good as an iPod, probably due to the slower speed of the microSD card.

7. When done, unmount the phone's drive "NO NAME" from your desktop.

8. Go back into Android's Settings app and deselect "Use for USB storage."

9. Go to the Music app and play your tunes or podcasts.

A few notes:

-- As mentioned elsewhere, you cannot play media from your internal microSD card while it is mounted on your computer's desktop. This is likely a limit of the underlying technology, not of the phone. iPods behave exactly the same way.

However, there is one thing that is likely a limitation of the phone: even after you unmount the phone's microSD storage from your desktop, you still HAVE to go back into the settings and deselect "Use for USB storage." Only then can you play music and movies.

--Album art is transferred with the files.

--Unfortunately, music and podcasts are intermingled in your lists. There seems to be no way to view only the podcasts. Even making a playlist containing podcasts and trying to sync them as music doesn't work. I'm not sure where the fault lies here--I've had similar difficulties with iPod Shuffles. The problem is compounded by the lack of a "genre" view in the music player app.

As I primarily listen to podcasts, and not music, I will likely only have music on it, for now, but it is something that needs a solution. A "genre" view alone would do it.

--I have not yet tried it for video podcasts.
 
Did you have to do anything else to get it to mount besides connecting the G1 and Mac with the USB cable? I do have "Use for USB storage" checked and when I connect my G1, it charges but it does not mount as "NO NAME".

G4 PowerMac Mac OS X Version 10.4.11
G3 iBook OS X Version 10.4.11
 
For the second automator flow, can you provide more details instructions. I made it "playlist1.m3u", but then how do I tell it to take my playlist1 and put it into the text file. And then I have playlist2, etc.... Thanks
 
I was having a problem with my G1 not mounting on my MAC either and I'm on 10.4.11 on an intel Mac Mini. Couldn't figure it out for the life of my then when I used the USB cable that came with the phone it mounted just fine. Before that I was just using some old cable I had already plugged into my Mac. I don't know how that would make a difference but I didn't do anything in between the attempts.

Good luck.
 
If you want to sync with Windows, you can use this app - http://www.binaryfortress.com/itunes-sync/

EDIT: Another option for the Mac - http://ilari.scheinin.fidisk.fi/itunemywalkman/
 
You put it on your computer.

When I do this, it seems to make duplicate playlist names on the G1... Also, I cannot pick a certain song within a playlist...
 
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