[ccera]

>"Imagine ... The iPhone, when connected to the computer, can be accessed like any other filesystem. You move files in and out of a folder called iPhone/Music."

This is exactly how Android works. I plug my Galaxy into my computer and it appears just like any other USB drive. I drag mp3 files, or folders of mp3 files, into my Music folder, and I'm done. Same goes for mp4 videos I might want to watch, or PDF files I might want to read, etc.

Is that not the way iOS devices work?

[jarrett]

No, sadly iOS doesn't work this way. Yes, there is a filesystem on an iOS device. But the user doesn't access it directly. Instead, the user must rely on some rather opaque abstractions called "syncing" that Apple has introduced. Syncing in this context basically amounts to copying and deleting files, but iTunes decides what to copy and delete. Sometimes it makes choices you would find counterintuitive. I've definitely seen it ruin people's days.