<s>
Sideloading	B-Protocol
describes	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
transferring	B-Protocol
files	I-Protocol
between	O
two	O
local	O
devices	O
,	O
in	O
particular	O
between	O
a	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
and	O
a	O
mobile	B-Application
device	I-Application
such	O
as	O
a	O
mobile	O
phone	O
,	O
smartphone	B-Application
,	O
PDA	B-Application
,	O
tablet	B-Device
,	O
portable	O
media	O
player	O
or	O
e-reader	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sideloading	B-Protocol
typically	O
refers	O
to	O
media	O
file	B-Protocol
transfer	I-Protocol
to	O
a	O
mobile	B-Application
device	I-Application
via	O
USB	B-Protocol
,	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
,	O
WiFi	O
or	O
by	O
writing	O
to	O
a	O
memory	B-Device
card	I-Device
for	O
insertion	O
into	O
the	O
mobile	B-Application
device	I-Application
,	O
but	O
also	O
applies	O
to	O
the	O
transfer	O
of	O
apps	B-Application
from	O
web	O
sources	O
that	O
are	O
not	O
vendor-approved	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
referring	O
to	O
Android	B-Application
apps	B-Application
,	O
"	O
sideloading	B-Protocol
"	O
typically	O
means	O
installing	O
an	O
application	O
package	O
in	O
APK	B-Application
format	I-Application
onto	O
an	O
Android	B-Application
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
packages	O
are	O
usually	O
downloaded	O
from	O
websites	O
other	O
than	O
the	O
official	O
app	B-Application
store	I-Application
Google	B-Application
Play	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
Android	B-Application
users	O
sideloading	B-Protocol
of	O
apps	B-Application
is	O
only	O
possible	O
if	O
the	O
user	O
has	O
allowed	O
"	O
Unknown	O
Sources	O
"	O
in	O
their	O
Security	O
Settings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
referring	O
to	O
iOS	B-Application
apps	I-Application
,	O
"	O
sideloading	B-Protocol
"	O
means	O
installing	O
an	O
app	O
in	O
IPA	B-General_Concept
format	I-General_Concept
onto	O
an	O
Apple	O
device	O
,	O
usually	O
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
computer	O
program	O
such	O
as	O
Cydia	B-Device
Impactor	O
,	O
Xcode	B-Operating_System
,	O
on	O
the	O
actual	O
device	O
using	O
a	O
jailbreak	B-Application
method	O
or	O
using	O
a	O
signing	O
service	O
instead	O
of	O
through	O
Apple	B-Application
's	I-Application
App	I-Application
Store	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
modern	O
versions	O
of	O
iOS	B-Application
,	O
the	O
sources	O
of	O
the	O
apps	B-Application
must	O
be	O
trusted	O
by	O
both	O
Apple	O
and	O
the	O
user	O
in	O
"	O
profiles	O
and	O
device	O
management	O
"	O
in	O
settings	O
;	O
except	O
when	O
using	O
jailbreak	B-Application
methods	O
of	O
sideloading	B-Protocol
apps	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sideloading	B-Protocol
is	B-Application
not	I-Application
allowed	I-Application
by	O
Apple	O
except	O
for	O
internal	O
testing	O
and	O
development	O
of	O
apps	B-Application
using	O
the	O
official	O
SDKs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
"	O
sideload	B-Protocol
"	O
was	O
coined	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1990s	O
by	O
online	O
storage	O
service	O
i-drive	B-Application
as	O
an	O
alternative	O
means	O
of	O
transferring	O
and	O
storing	O
computer	O
files	O
virtually	O
instead	O
of	O
physically	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2000	O
,	O
i-drive	B-Application
applied	O
for	O
a	O
trademark	O
on	O
the	O
term	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rather	O
than	O
initiating	O
a	O
traditional	O
file	O
"	O
download	O
"	O
from	O
a	O
website	O
or	O
FTP	O
site	O
to	O
their	O
computer	O
,	O
a	O
user	O
could	O
perform	O
a	O
"	O
sideload	B-Protocol
"	O
and	O
have	O
the	O
file	O
transferred	O
directly	O
into	O
their	O
personal	O
storage	O
area	O
on	O
the	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
advent	O
of	O
portable	O
MP3	O
players	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1990s	O
brought	O
sideloading	B-Protocol
to	O
the	O
masses	O
,	O
even	O
if	O
the	O
term	O
was	O
not	O
widely	O
adopted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
would	O
download	O
content	O
to	O
their	O
PCs	B-Device
and	O
sideload	B-Protocol
it	O
to	O
their	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Today	O
,	O
sideloading	B-Protocol
is	O
widespread	O
and	O
virtually	O
every	O
mobile	B-Application
device	I-Application
is	O
capable	O
of	O
sideloading	B-Protocol
in	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
ways	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sideloading	B-Protocol
has	O
several	O
advantages	O
when	O
compared	O
with	O
other	O
ways	O
of	O
delivering	O
content	O
to	O
mobile	B-Application
devices	I-Application
:	O
</s>
<s>
Sideloading	B-Protocol
delivery	O
does	O
not	O
involve	O
a	O
wireless	O
carrier	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Content	O
can	O
be	O
optimized	O
for	O
each	O
mobile	B-Application
device	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
no	O
geographic	O
limitations	O
on	O
the	O
delivery	O
of	O
content	O
for	O
sideloading	B-Protocol
as	O
are	O
implicit	O
in	O
the	O
limited	O
coverage	O
of	O
wireless	O
networks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
may	O
sideload	B-Protocol
video	O
,	O
e-books	O
,	O
or	O
software	O
which	O
is	O
restricted	O
or	O
banned	O
in	O
their	O
country	O
,	O
including	O
material	O
expressing	O
unpopular	O
or	O
illegal	O
opinions	O
and	O
pornography	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
content	O
is	O
not	O
streamed	O
,	O
and	O
can	O
be	O
permanently	O
stored	O
in	O
the	O
mobile	B-Application
device	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sideloading	B-Protocol
is	O
an	O
excellent	O
mechanism	O
for	O
proximity	B-General_Concept
marketing	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Content	O
that	O
is	O
removed	O
from	O
an	O
online	O
store	O
,	O
e.g.	O
,	O
for	O
belatedly	O
discovered	O
licensing	O
violations	O
,	O
can	O
still	O
be	O
loaded	O
to	O
a	O
mobile	B-Application
device	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sideloading	B-Protocol
also	O
has	O
disadvantages	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Content	O
providers	O
limit	O
content	O
available	O
to	O
download	O
and	O
sideload	B-Protocol
due	O
to	O
their	O
loss	O
of	O
control	O
over	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
huge	O
variations	O
in	O
performance	O
capability	O
for	O
mobile	B-Application
devices	I-Application
that	O
can	O
make	O
use	O
of	O
sideloading	B-Protocol
,	O
from	O
simple	O
mobile	O
phones	O
with	O
limited	O
video	O
playback	O
,	O
to	O
high-end	O
portable	O
media	O
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
wireless	O
carriers	O
(	O
most	O
notably	O
Verizon	B-Application
Wireless	I-Application
)	O
require	O
that	O
handset	O
manufacturers	O
limit	O
the	O
sideload	B-Protocol
capabilities	O
of	O
devices	O
on	O
their	O
networks	O
as	O
a	O
form	O
of	O
vendor	O
lock-in	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
usually	O
results	O
in	O
the	O
loss	O
of	O
USB	B-Protocol
and	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
as	O
sideload	B-Protocol
options	O
(	O
though	O
memory	B-Device
card	I-Device
transfer	O
is	O
still	O
available	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sideloading	B-Protocol
over	O
a	O
USB	B-Protocol
connection	O
was	O
standardized	O
by	O
OMTP	O
in	O
late	O
2007	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Until	O
this	O
time	O
,	O
mobile	O
phone	O
manufacturers	O
had	O
tended	O
to	O
adopt	O
proprietary	O
USB	B-Protocol
transfer	O
solutions	O
requiring	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
bundled	O
or	O
third	O
party	O
cables	O
and	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Transfer	O
performance	O
of	O
USB	B-Protocol
sideloading	I-Protocol
varies	O
greatly	O
,	O
depending	O
on	O
the	O
USB	B-Protocol
version	O
supported	O
,	O
and	O
further	O
still	O
by	O
the	O
actual	O
engineering	O
implementation	O
of	O
the	O
USB	B-Protocol
controller	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
USB	B-Protocol
is	O
available	O
in	O
Low-Speed	O
(	O
1.2	O
Mbit/s	O
,	O
150KB/s	O
)	O
,	O
Full-Speed	O
(	O
12	O
Mbit/s	O
,	O
1.5MB/s	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
Hi-Speed	O
levels	O
,	O
with	O
High-Speed	O
USB	B-Protocol
transferring	O
up	O
to	O
480	O
Mbit/s	O
(	O
60	O
MB/s	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
majority	O
of	O
mobile	O
phones	O
as	O
of	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
writing	O
of	O
this	O
article	O
are	O
Full-Speed	O
USB	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Of	O
the	O
mobile	O
products	O
supporting	O
USB	B-Protocol
2.0	O
Hi-Speed	O
,	O
the	O
actual	O
sideloading	B-Protocol
performance	O
usually	O
ranges	O
from	O
1	O
to	O
5	O
MB/s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
popular	O
BlackBerry	B-Operating_System
mobile	O
phones	O
by	O
RIM	O
and	O
the	B-Device
iPods	I-Device
by	O
Apple	O
distance	O
themselves	O
at	O
higher	O
performing	O
speeds	O
of	O
roughly	O
15.7	O
MB/s	O
and	O
9.6	O
MB/s	O
,	O
respectively	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
’s	O
OBEX/OPP	O
profiles	O
allow	O
for	O
file	B-Protocol
transfer	I-Protocol
between	O
a	O
PC	O
and	O
a	O
mobile	B-Application
device	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
this	O
option	O
is	O
slightly	O
more	O
complicated	O
than	O
using	O
a	O
USB	B-Protocol
connection	O
as	O
the	O
two	O
devices	O
have	O
to	O
be	O
paired	O
first	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Also	O
,	O
unlike	O
the	O
familiar	O
drag	O
and	O
drop	O
that	O
is	O
usually	O
available	O
via	O
USB	B-Protocol
,	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
implementation	O
is	O
specific	O
to	O
the	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
transceiver	O
and	O
drivers	O
being	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Files	O
that	O
are	O
sideloaded	O
to	O
mobile	B-Application
devices	I-Application
via	O
Bluetooth	B-Protocol
are	O
often	O
received	O
as	O
messages	O
,	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
way	O
that	O
SMS	B-Device
texts	O
would	O
be	O
received	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
such	O
the	O
limitations	O
of	O
the	O
internal	O
memory	O
have	O
to	O
be	O
taken	O
into	O
account	O
before	O
beginning	O
the	O
sideload	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sideloading	B-Protocol
via	O
a	O
memory	B-Device
card	I-Device
requires	O
that	O
the	O
user	O
have	O
access	O
to	O
a	O
memory	B-Device
card	I-Device
writer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Audio	O
and	O
video	O
files	O
can	O
be	O
written	O
directly	O
to	O
the	O
memory	B-Device
card	I-Device
and	O
then	O
inserted	O
into	O
the	O
mobile	B-Application
device	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
potentially	O
the	O
quickest	O
way	O
of	O
sideloading	B-Protocol
several	O
files	O
at	O
once	O
,	O
as	O
long	O
as	O
the	O
user	O
knows	O
where	O
to	O
put	O
the	O
media	O
files	O
.	O
</s>
