HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Sideloading describes the process of transferring files between two local devices, in particular between a
personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or te ...
and a mobile device such as a
mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whi ...
,
smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whi ...
,
PDA PDA may refer to: Science and technology * Patron-driven acquisition, a mechanism for libraries to purchase books *Personal digital assistant, a mobile device * Photodiode array, a type of detector * Polydiacetylenes, a family of conducting po ...
,
tablet Tablet may refer to: Medicine * Tablet (pharmacy), a mixture of pharmacological substances pressed into a small cake or bar, colloquially called a "pill" Computing * Tablet computer, a mobile computer that is primarily operated by touching the ...
,
portable media player A portable media player (PMP) (also including the related digital audio player (DAP)) is a portable consumer electronics device capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, and video files. The data is typically stored o ...
or
e-reader An e-reader, also called an e-book reader or e-book device, is a mobile electronic device that is designed primarily for the purpose of reading digital e-books and periodicals. Any device that can display text on a screen may act as an e-read ...
. Sideloading typically refers to media file transfer to a
mobile device A mobile device (or handheld computer) is a computer small enough to hold and operate in the hand. Mobile devices typically have a flat LCD or OLED screen, a touchscreen interface, and digital or physical buttons. They may also have a physica ...
via USB,
Bluetooth Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...
,
WiFi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wa ...
or by writing to a
memory card A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices. They allow adding memory to such devices using a card in a so ...
for insertion into the mobile device, but also applies to the transfer of apps from web sources that are not vendor-approved. When referring to Android apps, "sideloading" typically means installing an application package in APK format onto an Android device. Such packages are usually downloaded from websites other than the official app store
Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating sy ...
. For Android users sideloading of apps is only possible if the user has allowed "Unknown Sources" in their Security Settings. When referring to iOS apps, "sideloading" means installing an app in IPA format onto an Apple device, usually through the use of a computer program such as
Cydia Cydia is a graphical user interface of APT (Advanced Package Tool) for iOS. It enables a user to find and install software not authorized by Apple on jailbroken iPhones, iPads and iPod Touch devices. It also refers to digital distribution ...
Impactor,
Xcode Xcode is Apple's integrated development environment (IDE) for macOS, used to develop software for macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS. It was initially released in late 2003; the latest stable release is version 14.2, released on December 13, ...
, on the actual device using a
jailbreak A prison escape (referred as a bust out, breakout, jailbreak, or prison break) is the act of an inmate leaving prison through unofficial or illegal ways. Normally, when this occurs, an effort is made on the part of authorities to recapture t ...
method or using a signing service instead of through Apple's
App Store An App Store (or app marketplace) is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the c ...
. On modern versions of iOS, the sources of the apps must be trusted by both Apple and the user in "profiles and device management" in settings; except when using jailbreak methods of sideloading apps. Sideloading is not allowed by Apple except for internal testing and development of apps using the official SDKs.


Historical

The term "sideload" was coined in the late 1990s by online storage service i-drive as an alternative means of transferring and storing computer files virtually instead of physically. In 2000, ''i-drive'' applied for a trademark on the term. Rather than initiating a traditional file "download" from a website or FTP site to their computer, a user could perform a "sideload" and have the file transferred directly into their personal storage area on the service. Usage of this feature began to decline as newer hard drives became cheaper and the space on them grew each year into the gigabytes and the trademark application was abandoned. The advent of portable MP3 players in the late 1990s brought sideloading to the masses, even if the term was not widely adopted. Users would download content to their PCs and sideload it to their players. Today, sideloading is widespread and virtually every mobile device is capable of sideloading in one or more ways.


Advantages

Sideloading has several advantages when compared with other ways of delivering content to mobile devices: *There are no wireless data charges. Sideloading delivery does not involve a wireless carrier. *Content can be optimized for each mobile device. As there are no mobile network restrictions, content can be tailored for each device. This is more important for video playback, where the lowest common denominator is often a limiting factor on wireless networks. *There are no geographic limitations on the delivery of content for sideloading as are implicit in the limited coverage of wireless networks. *There are no restrictions on what content can be sideloaded. Users may sideload video, e-books, or software which is restricted or banned in their country, including material expressing unpopular or illegal opinions and pornography. *The content is not streamed, and can be permanently stored in the mobile device. It can be listened to or watched at the user’s convenience. *Sideloading is an excellent mechanism for proximity marketing. *Content that is removed from an online store, e.g., for belatedly discovered licensing violations, can still be loaded to a mobile device.


Disadvantages

Sideloading also has disadvantages: *
Streaming media Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content i ...
is sometimes preferred to downloading due to limited storage. Content providers limit content available to download and sideload due to their loss of control over it. *There are huge variations in performance capability for mobile devices that can make use of sideloading, from simple mobile phones with limited video playback, to high-end
portable media player A portable media player (PMP) (also including the related digital audio player (DAP)) is a portable consumer electronics device capable of storing and playing digital media such as audio, images, and video files. The data is typically stored o ...
s. Unless the audio/video file is encoded with the target device in mind, playback may not be possible. *Some
wireless carrier A mobile network operator (MNO), also known as a wireless service provider, wireless carrier, cellular company, or mobile network carrier, is a provider of wireless communications services that owns or controls all the elements necessary to sel ...
s (most notably
Verizon Wireless Verizon is an American wireless network operator that previously operated as a separate division of Verizon Communications under the name Verizon Wireless. In a 2019 reorganization, Verizon moved the wireless products and services into the div ...
) require that handset manufacturers limit the sideload capabilities of devices on their networks as a form of
vendor lock-in In economics, vendor lock-in, also known as proprietary lock-in or customer lock-in, makes a customer dependent on a vendor for products, unable to use another vendor without substantial switching costs. The use of open standards and alternat ...
. This usually results in the loss of USB and Bluetooth as sideload options (though
memory card A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices. They allow adding memory to such devices using a card in a so ...
transfer is still available).


Methods


USB sideloading

Sideloading over a USB connection was standardized by OMTP in late 2007. Until this time, mobile phone manufacturers had tended to adopt proprietary USB transfer solutions requiring the use of bundled or third party cables and software. Unless additional software is installed on the device, the PC, or both, transfers can usually only be initiated by the PC. Once connected, the device will appear in the PC's file explorer window as either a media player or an external hard drive. Files and folders on the device may be copied to the PC, and the PC may copy files and folders to the device. Transfer performance of USB sideloading varies greatly, depending on the USB version supported, and further still by the actual engineering implementation of the USB controller. USB is available in Low-Speed (1.2 Mbit/s, 150KB/s), Full-Speed (12 Mbit/s, 1.5MB/s), and Hi-Speed levels, with High-Speed USB transferring up to 480 Mbit/s (60 MB/s). However, the majority of mobile phones as of the time of writing of this article are Full-Speed USB. Of the mobile products supporting USB 2.0 Hi-Speed, the actual sideloading performance usually ranges from 1 to 5 MB/s. However, the popular
BlackBerry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy ...
mobile phones by RIM and the
iPods The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes w ...
by
Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...
distance themselves at higher performing speeds of roughly 15.7 MB/s and 9.6 MB/s, respectively.


Bluetooth sideloading

Bluetooth’s
OBEX OBEX (abbreviation of OBject EXchange, also termed IrOBEX) is a communications protocol that facilitates the exchange of binary objects between devices. It is maintained by the Infrared Data Association but has also been adopted by the Bluetooth S ...
/ OPP profiles allow for file transfer between a PC and a mobile device. Using this option is slightly more complicated than using a USB connection as the two devices have to be paired first. Also, unlike the familiar drag and drop that is usually available via USB, Bluetooth implementation is specific to the Bluetooth transceiver and drivers being used. Files that are sideloaded to mobile devices via Bluetooth are often received as messages, in the same way that
SMS Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text ...
texts would be received. While these files can be saved to any storage medium, their initial location is the handset’s internal memory. As such the limitations of the internal memory have to be taken into account before beginning the sideload.


Memory card sideloading

Sideloading via a
memory card A memory card is an electronic data storage device used for storing digital information, typically using flash memory. These are commonly used in digital portable electronic devices. They allow adding memory to such devices using a card in a so ...
requires that the user have access to a memory card writer. Audio and video files can be written directly to the memory card and then inserted into the mobile device. This is potentially the quickest way of sideloading several files at once, as long as the user knows where to put the media files.


See also

* Sneakernet


References

{{Reflist, 30em Computer networking