Request for advice: iPhone, sync with iTunes or iCloud?

[kestrell]

The manual mentions iTunes is better if I want to sync music, which I don't, but I may wish to sync books, either ebooks or audiobooks, in the future, so I assume iTunes is better for this also?

Comments

What's your goal?

[jesse_the_k]

Do you want a backup? Do you want to manage your e- or audio-books on a computer instead of the phone? Are you planning on synchronizing your reading position and notes between reading apps on several devices?

I loathe iTunes: I can never remember how to use (and I've been trying for a decade. I finally abandoned hope and use iMazing. Its interface isn't fabulous, but compared to iTunes it's clarity. iTunes wants to manage stuff its way, putting things in hidden folders.

iMazing offers the same window interface into every possible storage. I know zilch about its accessibility. It does offer all its features through a command-line-interface, so worst case you could use that. There's a free download to try it out--Windows & Mac.

I've used iMazing for two years and it's never let me down. Its extra features include saving text messages and voicemail recordings; letting me keep every version of an app, so when an update breaks things I can easily revert; exporting Safari history & bookmarks.

I use it principally to backup my iPhone and iPad. When the device is connected to my Mac, I can access Kobo books as if they were files, and thus DRM them with Calibre.

iCloud is mostly about sharing, and principally Apple's way or no way. The free account is just 5GB, but if you're not saving photos or videos, that's probably enough for backups.

Re: What's your goal?

[kestrell]

My goal is to be able to read ebooks on my iPhone and, if I can find accessible ways of doing so, create digital voice notes, listen to BBC radio,listen to the occasional podcast, and maybe try out some of the accessible iPhone audio games. Being able to back up voice mail and text messages sounds useful. I'll try the program you recommend. So far, I don't think I have even been able to get iTunes to discover my iPhone. The online manual claims that iTunes should be showing me an iPhone button to click on, but I haven't found it yet, and would be just as glad to have an option where I don't have to use iTunes.

Btw, the Hadley School for the Blind has a pile of videos, also available in downloadable mp3 and transcription formats, of how to use iPhone and iPad, in both low-vision and blind options.

I've also been getting more familiar
with my new Kindle.

My brain feels very full.

Re: What's your goal?

[jesse_the_k]

Oooh! I'll check out the Hadley resources.

One of the advantages of Amazon's monomania is that your Kindle device and any Kindle app (iPhone,PC, Android) all sync to Amazon's own cloud. Actually, I think each ebook vendor's proprietary reader syncs to their own clouds. Right now, it seems that Kindle and KyBook 3 offer the most ways to interact with text. I always want to highlight text and attach a note to it, then export the quote & commentary as markdown to a text editor--I can do that in KyBook and Instapaper, but not Kindle. KyBook 3 requires me to de-DRM books before I can view them; don't know how it would handle a Bookshare file.

Just in case, you know about the AppleVis fora, right?

Re: What's your goal?

[kestrell]

I haven't looked at it, but this iPhone accessibility page for visually impaired users links to the most useful sites, including that one
https://www.apple.com/accessibility/iphone/vision/

Re: What's your goal?

[kestrell]

I do use bookmarks but, although I know there are ways for some of the assistive tech ebook readers to create notes/annotations, I've never really tried using that function. My method is to create a DRM-free plaintext file, and then add my notes actually in the text, using the string . Then I retitle that file TitleOfBook annotated.txt, and when I want to locate my notes, just search for the <kes . It doesn't have the immediate functionality of the more integrated notes, but it works across different readers and editors, and it lets me easily "see" the note in context and edit it.

Re: What's your goal?

[jesse_the_k]

I use two tools to do this--Gladys and Drafts. Both support dictation, extensive share sheets, and Shortcuts.

Frankly my brain is too watery to create Shortcuts, and there are script-happy communities that create them. Theoretically, Shortcuts would mean you could select something then say "Siri, clip that to my non-fiction file" and the text would be appended there.

Re: What's your goal?

[kestrell]

Argh! I just began writing a Dreamwidth entry about my first 24 hours with my new iPhone, and I accidentally closed the window and lost everything.

Is there a way to get that back? perhaps a draft version through Dreamwidth?

Did I mention that, by the time I could order my iPhone, all that was left was "rose gold," and yes, that means pink.

A new cover is on the way from Amazon as we speak.

I'm beginning to think I may actually use some of these, to me, elaborate apps. I mean, I really don't do a lot of social media, but more methods for composing and posting metatext about my favorite books--I'm beginning to hear the siren call of the dark side.

Re: What's your goal?

[jesse_the_k]

I *think* (but haven't tried it, and don't have the ergs right now to do so) that DW does save a draft after you preview a post.

Anything longer than two sentences I write in an external editor and then paste into the DW form.

I have seen rose gold, and it's really not pink pink. The phone is a much subtler color, with less chroma.

Re: What's your goal?

[jesse_the_k]

Oh, and have you tried a Pop Socket? Round diddleywhack which (non-destructively) self-attaches to back of phone/case and provides a pop-out post. I thread the post between two fingers and it holds the phone without me having to grip at all, which is nice on the arthritic fingers.

Re: What's your goal?

[kestrell]

I also typically write my DW posts into a file before posting but, of course, one of the few times I don't do it, is when I lose the post.