Download files from the web directly to your iPhone or iPod Touch

Mobile Safari plug in allows you to download directly to your iPhone or iPod Touch The iPhone (or iPod Touch) as an internet tablet – it’s almost perfectly suited for surfing through your favorite online forums, shopping sites, and, ahem, TMZ.com. There’s just one thing missing. If only there was a way to download all that cool web-content straight to your iPhone.

Well, now there is! iPhone hacker hachu has gone ahead and developed a plug-in for your iPhone’s Safari browser. The plug-in allows you to download (rather than stream/playback), say, an MP3 file to the var/root/Downloads directory on your iPhone’s local disk. You can find instructions for installing the plug-in here. After installation, whenever you click on a link to any media (like a ZIP file), a green “Download” button will appear. There’s a bit of .plist editing required, so if that kind of “hacking” makes you break out in cold-sweats, you might want to stay away from this one.

Anyway, Erica Sadun from TUAW has modified her SendFile application to allow you to playback said MP3 files from your iPhone’s local-disk (even while offline). SendFile will now search your ~/Downloads and ~/Media/Documents directories for any media that you might want to send, share, email, and now playback. Grab the modified SendFile application here.

Make sure you check the hackint0sh forum for installation instructions.

Or, keep reading for a quick rundown on the installation procedure.

Here’s a rough idea of what you’ll need to do:

Download the Safari plug-in here.
Copy the plug-in bundle to “/System/Library/Internet Plug-Ins” and reboot the iPhone
Add this string to your Info.plist (use a standard text editor as opposed to Mac OSX’s editor) in order to download AVI files
<key>video/x-msvideo</key>
<dict>
<key>WebPluginExtensions</key>
<array>
<string>avi</string>
</array>
<key>WebPluginTypeDescription</key>
<string>avi File</string>
<key>WebPluginTypeEnabled</key>
<true/>
</dict>
Add this string to your Info.plist in order to download MP3 files
<key>audio/mpeg</key>
<dict>
<key>WebPluginExtensions</key>
<array>
<string>mpeg</string>
<string>mpg</string>
<string>mp3</string>
<string>swa</string>
</array>
<key>WebPluginTypeDescription</key>
<string>MPEG audio</string>
<key>WebPluginTypeEnabled</key>
<true/>
</dict>
<key>audio/mpeg3</key>
<dict>
<key>WebPluginExtensions</key>
<array>
<string>mp3</string>
<string>swa</string>
</array>
<key>WebPluginTypeDescription</key>
<string>MP3 audio</string>
<key>WebPluginTypeEnabled</key>
<true/>
</dict>

Here’s the string for downloading RAR files
<key>application/x-rar-compressed</key>
<dict>
<key>WebPluginExtensions</key>
<array>
<string>rar</string>
</array>
<key>WebPluginTypeDescription</key>
<string>rar File</string>
<key>WebPluginTypeEnabled</key>
<true/>
</dict>
Torrent files
<key>application/x-bittorrent</key>
<dict>
<key>WebPluginExtensions</key>
<array>
<string>torrent</string>
</array>
<key>WebPluginTypeDescription</key>
<string>torrent File</string>
<key>WebPluginTypeEnabled</key>
<true/>
</dict>

Keep in mind, these are rough instructions to give you an idea of what’s in store for you if you decide to implement this plug-in. Head on over to hackint0sh and read the thread to get a complete picture of the installation procedure.

[Via: TUAW]

About The Author

Will Park

Will hails from The City of Angels - Los Angeles, California. He spends his time playing with his numerous gadgets and looking forward to seeing what future holds for mobile technology. An avid promoter of a fully "digital" life, he promotes the widespread adoption of truly mobile, paper-less living. He dreams of the day when he can go completely digital. No more snail mail, paper receipts, bound books, notepads/spiral notebooks, credit cards, hard currency. He's a digital warrior - fighting for the converged life. He is an idealist and a realist - he has a perfect view of what the world should be but knows that the world is not perfect. Can we ever hope to see Will's dream become reality? We'll see...

JonnyBruha

Hey, one more step towards normal functionality. Getting closer…
matin

how do we have to copy the bundle to the iPod? there is no enable hard drive check box in itunes ? how do we have to enable it?
ike

how can you download the song dierctly to your ipod library? cuase i dont want to keep going to that icon every ime i download it.
ike

how can i download the song dierctly to your ipod library? cause i dont want to keep going to that icon every time i download it.
Jordan

Do I just add the strings to the end of the .plist file in notepad, or is there a special way to put them in there?
surjay

Science
Science is the human endeavor to discover truths about the world around us. Scientists seek out answers through observation and experimentation. As we discover more and more, we are able to apply what we've learned to develop new technologies and to improve everyday life. But perhaps more importantly, as we gain knowledge through science, we are able to begin satisfying our deep-felt need to know more about ourselves.
Malikmooremoore22

this is super long
Jeremy Hobson

Just sayin. Try download manager. Its an app for the ipod that lets u download any mp3 wav mp4 mov m4v zips rars and web pahes and open them and use them offline.
Rodriguez, Bender Bending

do I need to jailbreak my iPod to do this?
guest

Science is a way on gaining knowledge and understanding the natural world.
Special thanks to Mr. Steidl in Grade 10!! I will never forget that now!