Tips about all topics

Keep text messages short;   use e-mail for longer messages

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:06:04 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

Some phones limit received SMS messages to 160 characters. If you send a longer message to another iPhone, it may only receive the first 160 characters or the message may be split into two or more messages. Send longer messages via e-mail.

Keep text messages short. Save longer ones for e-mail.

Get a Yahoo mail account for real-time delivery

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 14:24:26 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

You can set up a free Yahoo mail account and get real-time e-mail delivery, also known as "push e-mail". This means that when you get a new message, it will show up on your iPhone as it arrives. There is nothing you have to do to set up this feature-it is done automatically. You'll know that you have new mail by glancing at the Mail icon on your Home screen to see if there is a circled number in the upper-right corner, indicating how many new messages you have waiting. You'll also hear the "You've got mail" sound.

Create passcodes with random number generator

Rich Hall — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:29:51 +0000

Issue:

Winter 2010

A scientific calculator was added to the iPhone and iPod touch with versions 2.0 and later of the OS. Among its functions is a random number generator. Press the “Rand” key at the bottom of the screen and Calc displays a random number with 15 decimal places, between 0 and 1. Developers could use this feature to create registration numbers; regular users could use it to create truly random passcodes or passwords. For example, if you wanted to create a random eight digit password, you could hit the Rand button and use the last eight digits of the random number for your password. If you need to create a password with numbers and letters, you could change at least one of the last eight digits to a letter. For example, “32034856” could become e20e4856.” 

http://www.iphonelife.com/issues/2010Winter/TipsIphone3GS

Change iPod browse buttons

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:18:11 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

You can replace any of the first four browse buttons in iPod with other options as follows:

Open iPod and tap on the More icon.
Tap on Edit in the upper left corner.
Use your finger to drag the desired icon (Audiobooks, Genres, Composers, Compilations, etc.) into the browse bar at the bottom of the screen. Position it over the button you want to replace and lift up your finger.
Tap the Done button in the upper right.

Note that the button you have replaced will now appear in the More list.

You can change the browse buttons at the
bottom of the iPod or Music screen.

Restrict use of content and apps

Rich Hall — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:27:55 +0000

Issue:

Fall 2009

With OS 3.0, you can restrict the use of certain content and apps on an iPhone or iPod touch. For example, you can disallow the downloading of explicit audio/video content purchased via iTunes; disable Safari, YouTube, the iTunes Music and App stores; block the installation of third-party apps and, on an iPhone, disable the Camera app as well. The icons for the disabled apps disappear from the Home screen. Here’s how you do it:

Go to Settings >General >Restrictions, and tap on “Enable Restrictions.”
Enter and then re-enter a 4-digit passcode. (You’ll need this when you want to disable the restrictions.)
Set the specific restrictions by tapping the individual controls on or off (“off” restricts its use).

If you want to remove the restrictions, go back to Settings >General >Restrictions. Enter the passcode, tap “Disable Restrictions,” and enter the passcode again.

issues/Fall2009/TIpsIphone3GSAndOS3.0

Control video playback from Apple iPhone stereo headset

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:42:59 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

If you’re using the headset that came with your iPhone to listen to a video, you can control playback with it.

Click on the mic button once to play or pause a video (or song).
Click on the mic button twice to go to the next chapter in the video (or the next song).

Live links make life easier

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:31:38 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

Phone numbers, e-mail and Web addresses, and street addresses that appear in the body of an e-mail or text message are linked to the appropriate application on the iPhone. This allows you to…

Tap on a phone number to place a call.
Tap on an e-mail address to compose and send an e-mail.
Tap on a Web address to open a Web page.
Tap on a street address to see it in Maps.

Listen to the audio portion of a video

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:47:16 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

This tip is particularly useful for music videos, allowing you to listen to the music without watching the video. Instead of selecting the item from the Video list, tap on the Songs or Artists icon and tap on it in those lists.

Answering, ending, and switching between calls using the headset

Steve Green — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Issue:

Spring 2009

The headphones that came with your iPhone let you answer, end, and switch between calls without having to pull the iPhone out of your pocket. A button located on the microphone capsule controls these functions: 

When a call comes in, press the button once to answer it. Press it again once to hang up. 
Send an incoming call to voice mail by holding the button down for two seconds. 
Press the button once during a call to answer another incoming call. This places the first call on hold.  
With two calls on the line, press the button once to toggle between them. 
With two calls on the line, press and hold the button down for two seconds to hang up on the call you are currently talking to and go back to the other call.

issues/Feb09/Tips&Tricks

Apple’s warranty does not cover misuse

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:21:56 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

The iPhone is covered by a one-year limited warranty that covers it against defect, but not misuse. So, for example, if you bounce it off the wall or throw it on the ground, you’re responsible for the damages. In addition, if you hack the device, open up the case, or make unauthorized repairs, you void the warranty. You can extend the iPhone limited warranty for an additional year for $69 ($59 for the iPod touch). Repair for an iPhone not covered by a warranty will cost you $200-$250 plus shipping ($150-$250 plus shipping for the iPod touch). Replacing the battery costs $69 plus shipping ($79 plus shipping for the iPod touch). You can purchase this extension and access information about the repair service at the iPhone’s support Web page (apple.com/ support/iphone).

Dial a number and save it to Contacts (iPhone)

SolomOn27 — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 04:10:14 +0000

Issue:

Sept/Oct 2010

You can dial a phone number from your Contacts, Recents, or Favorites lists, or use the built-in keypad to place the call. If you're using the keypad, you can save the number to your Contacts list by following these steps:

Enter the phone number with the keypad, but do not hit the call button.
Tap on the "Add-to-Contacts" icon (the head-and-shoulder silhouette with a plus symbol next to it) that appears under the asterisks key.
Tap on the "Create New Contact" button and fill in the person's name, address, etc., or tap on the "Add to Existing Contact" button and select an existing contact name.
When you've finished adding the number to your Contacts list, hit the "Call" button to place the call. 
You can also create a new contact, or add a number to an existing contact, after you've placed or received a call by clicking on Recents and then the blue arrow to the right of the number. This will bring up a screen with all of your options.

issues/2010Fall/TipsForIOS

Fixing the iPhone 3GS overheating problem

SolomOn27 — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:43:00 +0000

Issue:

Fall 2009

I have some news that should resolve the overheating issue that has been plaguing a percentage of iPhone 3GS owners since its release. I have not experienced this issue myself, but have a very reliable source who has and who claims to have solved it. It apparently has to do with a corrupt software image of OS 3.0 that was flashed onto the devices during production.

If you are experiencing this problem, the solution is to do a full restore of the iPhone OS 3.0 software from iTunes. This is accomplished by selecting the Restore button in the device Summary tab. DO NOT restore data and apps from the backup of your device that iTunes creates—this may restore the corrupt image. Restore the iPhone to its original condition and then manually reinstall all of your applications and data.

This is a time consuming process, but I have been assured that this will solve the overheating issue.

Steve Green (iPhoneLife.com/blog)

issues/Fall2009/TIpsIphone3GSAndOS3.0

Delete e-mails individually or as a group

SolomOn27 — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:14:34 +0000

Issue:

Sept/Oct 2010

You can delete individual e-mail messages in the Inbox view by swiping your finger across the message left to right and hitting the "Delete" button.

If the message is open in full-screen view, you can tap on the garbage can icon at the bottom of the screen, but be careful with this—tapping on the garbage can deletes the message immediately without giving you a confirming pop-up menu.

Finally, you can delete multiple messages in the Inbox view by tapping on the "Edit" button in the upper right corner of the screen, tapping on the buttons next to the messages you want to delete, and hitting the "Delete" button in the bottom left corner of the screen. If you accidentally delete a message, by going into the trash can in the main menu of your email you can put the message back into your inbox or any of your other folders.

issues/2010Fall/TipsForIOS

If your iPhone goes into sleep mode too quickly…

Rich Hall — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:22:23 +0000

Issue:

Winter 2010

To conserve power, the iPhone and iPod touch are designed to go into sleep mode automatically if it hasn’t been used for a set period of time. The default setting is 60 seconds; the screen dims 15 seconds before this and then goes blank at 60 seconds. Once the device has gone into sleep mode, you have to press the Home button and move the slider to the right to unlock the device and use it again. 

If you find yourself getting frustrated with this—having to unlock your iPhone over and over again—you might want to change the default setting. From the Home screen, go to Settings >General >Auto-Lock and set the time to 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 Minutes. To start out, bump it up to 2 minutes and see if you’re comfortable with that. Remember that the purpose of this feature is to save power; keep it as low as you can. 

If you’re finished using your iPhone, don’t wait for it to power down automatically. Press the Sleep/Wake button on the top to power down immediately. If you want to power down your device completely, hold down the Sleep/Wake button until the red slider appears on the screen. Then drag the slider.

http://www.iphonelife.com/issues/2010Winter/TipsIphone3GS

Improve battery life on the iPhone and iPod touch

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:56:36 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

According to tests by Apple, an iPhone with a fully charged battery will provide up to 8 hours of talk time, 250 hours of standby time, 6 hours of Internet use, 7 hours of video playback, and 24 hours of audio playback. An iPod touch with a fully charged battery can play music for up to 22 hours and video for 5 hours. There are certain things you can do to improve the battery life:

Both devices

Heat degrades battery performance: Don’t leave your iPhone or iPod sitting out in the sun or in a hot car. Related to this, you can overheat the device if you keep it in a case when you charge it. If you notice this happening, take it out of the case when charging.

Charge your device at least once a month. If you let your device sit unused for a long time, it diminishes the battery’s ability to hold a charge.

Set the hold switch on your iPod or press the Sleep/Wake button on your iPhone immediately when you’re finished using the device. This turns off the display and prevents it from wasting power by being turned on accidentally.  Turn off Wi-Fi when you’re not using it.

iPod:

Settings
General
Network
Wi-Fi

iPhone:

Settings
Wi-Fi.

Turn off the Equalizer setting on either device if you don’t use it. Go to Settings >iPod >EQ. Adding EQ to playback uses more of the processor and requires more battery power. If you have added EQ-enabled tracks to iTunes, they will override the off setting. In that case, set EQ to “flat.”

Update to latest software: Apple software engineers may find new ways to improve battery performance. As they do, they will include it in software updates. Make sure your iPhone or iPod has the latest software update.

Listening to music is relatively easy on the battery; watching videos and browsing the Web requires much more power.

Don’t leave your iPhone or iPod connected to a computer that you have turned off. It won’t charge the device and can actually drain the battery.

iPhone only

Turn off Bluetooth on the iPhone when you’re not using it. Go to Settings >General >Bluetooth.

Lower screen brightness on the iPhone to extend battery life. Go to Settings >Brightness and drag the slider to the left. On the same screen you can also turn the Auto-Brightness setting on to have your iPhone automatically adjust to the current lighting conditions.

iPod touch only

Use backlighting on the iPod only when necessary. When possible, avoid the “always on” setting.

Minimize use of Fast Forward on your iPod for playing music. When you fast forward frequently, it causes the iPod to access the hard drive frequently, and this uses more power. Another way to minimize fast forwarding is to create playlists with the songs you really want to hear.

Making conference calls

Rich Hall — Wed, 05 May 2010 20:35:19 +0000

Issue:

Summer 2010

Note that your wireless carrier must support this feature. If it does, you can make conference calls with up to five different persons. Here's how you do it:

Place the first call. When that person picks up, tell them you will be placing them on hold to connect the other parties. 
Tap on the "Add Call" button and make the second call. This automatically places the first call on hold. Tell the second person you're putting them on hold. 
Repeat the second step until you've connected to all the people in the conference call. 
Finally, tap the "Merge Calls" button so that everyone can hear each other. 
You can drop a person from the conference call by tapping on the "End Call" icon next to the desired phone number and then hitting the larger "End Call" button. 
You can talk privately with one individual in the conference call by tapping on "Conference" and then on "Private" next to the desired phone number. Tap on "Merge Calls" to reconnect with the conference call. 
Finally, you can add an incoming call to an ongoing conference call by tapping "Hold Call," then on "Answer," and finally on "Merge Calls."

Forget your passcode? Restore your iPhone

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:49:25 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

The best way to avoid this is to write down your passcode and keep it somewhere safe. If you don’t do this and forget your passcode, you’ll have to connect your iPhone to your computer and use iTunes to restore the iPhone software. This will wipe out Contacts or Calendar info you have on the device, along with any music or videos on the device. You can then sync it with your PC or Mac to get the info and files back on.

Use the Recents  screen to save time

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:48:23 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

Don’t forget to take advantage of the Recents screen when you want to look at a location or get directions that you have already searched for—this screen includes both. In Maps, tap the Bookmarks icon (on the right side of the location bar on the top of the screen) and then tap Recents on the bottom of the screen.

Combine address (phone) books  from different sources

admin — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:33:46 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

You can also use your device to combine different address books in iTunes, such as Outlook on a PC and Address Book on a Mac. Doing this will load all of your contacts onto all of your machines—your iPhone, PC, and Mac. Here’s how you do it:

Sync the device with the first computer’s contacts.
Then sync it with the second computer by choosing a different account in the iTunes Info tab (such as Outlook) and clicking Apply.
iTunes will then ask if you want to “Merge Info” or “Replace Info”—choose “Merge Info.” All of your iPhone’s existing contacts will remain, and the second computer’s contacts will also be added.

Repeat the process with other computers.

Import contacts from another mobile phone’s SIM card

Rich Hall — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:47:56 +0000

Issue:

Winter 2010

When you buy a new iPhone, you probably want to transfer the phonebook listings from your old phone to the new one. Fortunately, phones that use a GSM-based network like AT&T, T-Mobile, and most of the rest of the world, use SIM cards to store phone numbers and contact info. To import contact info stored on another SIM card, follow these instructions: 

Remove the iPhone’s card and slip the other SIM card into the iPhone (instructions in user guide). 
From the Home screen, select Settings >Mail, Contacts, Calendar. 
Tap on the button labeled “Import SIM Contacts.”

If you have Contacts enabled for both MobileMe and Microsoft Exchange, you are prompted to choose which account you want to add the SIM contacts.

http://www.iphonelife.com/issues/2010Winter/TipsIphone3GS

Swipe your finger across  text conversations to delete them

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:09:43 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

If you want to quickly delete a conversation in Text, simply swipe your finger across it, and the Delete button will appear. Tap anywhere outside the Delete button if you change your mind.

Increase battery lifespan

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:02:07 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

The “lifespan” of the battery refers to the number of times in can be recharged before it must be replaced. The batteries on the iPhone and iPod touch slowly lose the ability to hold a charge after numerous recharge cycles. For example, after 400 full discharge/recharge cycles these batteries are able to store 80% of their original capacity. This percentage decreases with further recharge cycles. There are things you can do to improve the lifespan of the battery:

Heat degrades battery performance and can damage the battery. Don’t leave your iPod or iPhone in the sun or in a vehicle on a hot day.
Minimize power use to improve battery life as described previously. The longer you go between charges, the fewer charges you’ll have over time, and the longer your battery will last.

Hide your Caller ID on other’s phones

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:40:45 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

If you don’t want your number to appear on people’s phones when you are calling them, you can turn off your Caller ID:

Go to Settings >Phone >Show My Caller ID
Tap the On/Off switch.

Activate multiple keyboards

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:33:48 +0000

Issue:

Summer 2009

You can have more than one keyboard layout active on your device at any time. So, for example, an international executive who did business in the U.K. and Russia could keep an English and Russian (Cyrillic) keyboard active and switch between them when composing notes and e-mail messages.

To activate different keyboards:

Go to Settings >General >Keyboards >International Keyboards and turn on the keyboards you want.

To switch between keyboards in any app that accepts text input:

Tap on the world globe icon to the left of the space bar to toggle through the keyboards you have activated.

issues/Summer09/Tips&Tricks

Update or Restore your device through iTunes

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:44:44 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

You should always use the latest version of iPhone software on your device. You do this through iTunes and have two options: to update the device or to restore it.

Update:

The software is updated but your settings and any songs you have on the device are not affected.

Restore:

All data is erased from the device, including songs, videos, contacts, photos, and calendar information; all original settings are restored.

To update or restore your device, follow these step:

Make sure your PC or Mac has an Internet connection and you have the latest version of iTunes installed on it (apple.com/itunes/download).
Connect the iPhone/iPod touch to a PC or Mac.
In iTunes, select iPhone or iPod in the Source list and click on the Summary tab.
Click on “Check for Update” and iTunes will tell you if there’s a newer version of the iPhone or iPod software available.
Click on “Update” to install the latest version of the software. Click on “Restore” to restore the iPhone or iPod to its original settings and erase all data.
Follow the onscreen instructions to complete the restore process.

Birthdays, anniversaries,  and other repeating appointments

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:59:53 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

Set birthdays, anniversaries, and other recurring meetings as repeating events. From the Add Event screen, tap on Repeat and select from Every Day, Week, 2 Weeks, Month, and Every Year. You might set the Alert time a day or two before birthdays and anniversaries to give yourself time to get a present.

Set birthdays, anniversaries, and other repeating events.

App Updates and Upgrades

Rich Hall — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Issue:

Summer 2009

Periodically, developers will “update” their software to fix minor problems and add features. If you’ve already purchased an application, updates for it are free. Developers will also release software “upgrades,” which are considered new applications that may have to be purchased by existing users.

Whenever you access the App Store, it checks to see if updates are available for the apps you have installed and displays the number of updates available in a red circle superimposed over the corner of the App Store icon. If an update is available, the update screen will appear in App Store.

Tap on “Updates” at the bottom of the screen to see a list of the available updates.
Tap on the individual application to get more info about the update.
Tap on the “Update” button to update that app. If more than one update is available, you can tap on “Update all applications.”

issues/Summer09/Tips&Tricks

E-mail attachments that will or won't open

SolomOn27 — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:10:10 +0000

Issue:

Sept/Oct 2010

If you receive an e-mail with an attachment, you can tap on the attachment to view it. If it won't open, the file is corrupted or it is a type that is not supported by the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

The following formats are supported: Microsoft Word (.doc), Microsoft Word XML (.docx), Web page (.htm, .html), Keynote (.key), Numbers (.numbers), Pages (.pages), Adobe Acrobat preview (.pdf), Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt), Microsoft PowerPoint XML (.pptx), Plain text (.txt), Contact information (.vcf), Microsoft Excel (.xls), Microsoft Excel XML (.xlsx).

Note also that the file attachment must have the correct file extension or you won't be able to view it. So, for example, if someone sends you a Word document without the .doc extension, you won't be able to view it.

issues/2010Fall/TipsForIOS

Tap and hold on links to bring up info

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:40:49 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

If you press down and hold your finger on a link in Safari, a bubble will appear that displays the title of the linked page as well as the full Web address underneath.

Sharing Web Links from Safari

Rich Hall — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 21:53:59 +0000

Issue:

Spring 2009

If you are browsing the Web using Safari and find an interesting Web page you’d like to share with a friend or associate, you can e-mail it to the quickly by following these steps:

With the desired Web page displayed in Safari, tap on the plus symbol at the bottom of the screen.
Tap the “Mail Link to this Page” in the pop-up that appears (Fig. 10).
This causes a new e-mail message to pop up, with the desired link embedded in it. Simply fill out the e-mail address of your friend/associate and hit “Send.”

Fig. 10: In a Web page, tap the plus symbol at the bottom of the page to
display a pop-up that lets you e-mail the Web page link to a friend.

issues/Feb09/Tips&Tricks

Set timer to stop playing music

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:19:57 +0000

Issue:

Summer 2009

It’s easy to fall asleep while listening to music or watching a video late at night. If you find yourself doing this a lot, you can set a sleep timer that will stop playing music or video, and close any other open app after a specific period of time. Here’s how you do it:

Open the Clock app from the Home screen.
Select Timer at the bottom of the screen.
Flick the “hours” and “mins” wheels to set the time until shut down.
Tap the button labeled “When Timer Ends,” select the “Sleep iPod” option, and tap on the “Set” button.
Hit the “Start” button when you want to start the timer.

issues/Summer09/Tips&Tricks

Find Wi-Fi hotspots quickly

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:27:24 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

If you want to find the nearest Wi-Fi hotspot in your area, visit jiwire.com and type your address or city to locate the closest one. You can also use your Maps application and do a search like “wifi chicago” or “wifi 90004.” Red pushpins should then show you were to go.

Type an Apostrophe from the Basic Keyboard Layout

SolomOn27 — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:27:00 +0000

Issue:

Sept/Oct 2010

The iPad's onscreen keyboard approaches the dimensions of a full-size keyboard (in landscape orientation, at least), but the layout of the keys is not completely standard. One of the most maddening things about the default keyboard is that it lacks an apostrophe key. I'm used to the apostrophe's position on a standard keyboard—all the way to the right just before the Enter key. I keep reaching for it with my right "pinkie" finger and end up hitting the Return key instead. I can enter an apostrophe from the "symbols" keyboard, which is accessed by tapping on the ".?123" key. Fortunately, there's a quicker way to do it.

From the default keyboard, press and hold the comma key. When the blue alternate key pops up above the comma key, simply release the key and an apostrophe is entered. You don't have to move your finger to the blue key to select it.

issues/2010Fall/TipsForIOS

iPhone and iPod touch’s keyboard  has predictive mapping

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:50:37 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

The iPhone and iPod touch’s keyboard has a built-in dictionary that predicts what words you are about to type. Using these predictions, the keyboard readjusts the size of the “tap zones” of letters, making the ones that you are most likely to type bigger and making the letters that are less likely to be typed smaller. The keys themselves don’t get bigger—just the tap zones.

Quick Mute

SolomOn27 — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:22:32 +0000

Issue:

Sept/Oct 2010

The mute button on the iPhone is located on the left edge of the device above the volume up/down rocker switch. On the iPad, the button above the volume switch performs a different function—locking screen rotation. You can mute the iPad by adjusting the volume all the way down in the Settings >General >Sounds screen. But there's an easier and quicker way to this. Simply hold down the volume rocker for a couple seconds. The iPad's volume will jump to zero. (Sharon Zardetto, author of Take Control: The Mac OS X Lexicon gets credit for pointing out this tip.)

issues/2010Fall/TipsForIOS

Entering alternate versions of a letter

Steve Green — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 05:00:26 +0000

Issue:

Spring 2009

You can easily enter alternate versions of a letter by holding down the appropriate key and selecting the alternate from the pop up. For example, hold down on “o” and eight variations of the letter are displayed (Fig. 5). Slide your finger over the desired variation and lift up to enter the letter. 

Fig. 5: Hold down a letter to display and enter alternate versions of it.

issues/Feb09/Tips&Tricks

Zoom in or out of Web pages

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:20:17 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

Perhaps the coolest feature of Safari is its zooming ability. When you open a normal Web page, it will display the entire page on your iPhone screen, just as it appears on a desktop computer. The problem with this is that often times the text will appear much too small to read due to the small iPhone screen. You have two zooming options:

Touch your index finger and thumb to the screen and spread your fingers apart—the page will zoom in. Pinch your fingers together to zoom back out.
If you see a particular section of the Web site that you want to zoom in on (such as a box of text or links), double tap anywhere in that area. Safari will zoom in on that section of the page and center it on your screen. Double tap on the screen again to zoom back out to the full page view.

Hidden track controls, fast-forwarding, and other options

SolomOn27 — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:31:48 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

There are a number of ways you can control the playback of your music from the Now Playing screen on your iPhone or iPod touch. To display the Now Playing screen, tap the Now Playing button in the upper right corner of the screen, and then tap once anywhere on the album art. This will open a screen giving you three options:

The Loop button to the left of the progress bar (immediately above the album cover art) allows you to play the particular album you are currently playing over and over again (it will turn blue when you tap it). Tap the Loop button a second time to endlessly loop the currently playing song (a “1” icon will appear). Tapping Loop a third time will turn it off.
A progress bar takes up most of the menu and tells you the amount of time that has elapsed on the song (to the left), the amount of time remaining on the song (to the right), and the slot number that the song occupies in the current playlist or album (below). You can drag the slider button on the bar forwards or backwards to skip to a certain part of the song.
The Shuffle button to the right of the progress bar will play the songs on the currently playing album or playlist in random order, and will turn blue when you tap it. Tap it again to turn it off.

To fast-forward or rewind a track, hold down the Next and Previous buttons at the bottom of the screen. Note that if you keep holding down these buttons, the speed will continue to accelerate.

The iPod (or Music) settings screen allows
you to customize the type of sound you
want and set other options.

Unpair one headset before pairing another

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:31:42 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

You can only pair your iPhone with one Bluetooth accessory at a time. If you’ve paired your iPhone with one accessory and want to pair it with something else, you have to unpair it first. Here's how:

From the Home screen, go to Settings >General >Bluetooth
Make sure Bluetooth is turned on.
Select the paired accessory from the list
Tap on Unpair.

Avoid tagging photos with location data

Rich Hall — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:45:15 +0000

Issue:

Winter 2010

When the iPhone’s Location Services is turned on (iPhone OS 2.0 or later), Camera photos are tagged with location data. This data is used with some applications and photo-sharing Web sites to track and post where you took your pictures. If you don’t want to include location data with your photos, turn off Location Services by going to Settings >General >Location Services. Once it’s been turned off, you may be prompted to turn it back on when you open the Camera app. If that happens, decline!

http://www.iphonelife.com/issues/2010Winter/TipsIphone3GS

Setting a SIM card passcode

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:29:59 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

You have the option of locking your SIM card so that it can’t be used by other phones. To do this, go to Settings >Phone >SIM PIN, tap the On button, enter a passcode, and tap Done. Note that if you set a passcode, you must enter it every time you power on your iPhone.

Get map to Contacts address quickly

SolomOn27 — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 04:19:55 +0000

Issue:

Sept/Oct 2010

If you need a map showing you the location of a person in your Contacts manager, go to the desired contact and tap on his or her address—Maps opens and shows you the location.

Locate your friends in Maps by selecting their address from their contact info

issues/2010Fall/TipsForIOS

Enter Web address extensions quickly

Steve Green — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 21:18:26 +0000

Issue:

Spring 2009

If you are entering a Web address into Safari (e.g. iPhoneLife.com), you don’t have to enter the “http://www.” prefix or the “.com” suffix. Safari assumes those and will take you to the site without them (e.g., all you have to enter is iPhoneLife).

If the Web address has a different suffix (.edu, .org, .net, .gov, etc.) you will need to enter it. The quickest way to do that is to hold down on the .com button at the bottom of the screen (Fig. 7). A pop-up will appear, displaying .net, .edu, and .org. Slid your finger over the suffix you want and lift up to enter it into the address bar.

Fig. 7: Hold down on the “.com” key and alternate Web address suffixes will appear.

issues/Feb09/Tips&Tricks

Control music playback from headphones

Rich Hall — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:46:29 +0000

Issue:

Spring 2009

The headphones that came with your iPhone also let you control music playback from the button on the microphone.

Press button once to pause a song and press it again to resume playing the song. (If you do this when a call is coming in, the music pauses and the call is answered. When you press it to hang up, the music resumes playing.)
Press button twice to advance to the next song.
Press button three times to jump back to the previous song.
Press button four times to jump back to the previous song and pause it.

issues/Feb09/Tips&Tricks

Work with your IMAP e-mail offline

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 14:22:04 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

IMAP e-mail accounts (such as Gmail and Hotmail) keep all of your e-mail on online servers, which means that you can't delete messages or read them unless you are online. Fortunately, you can set up your iPhone/iPod touch to copy your IMAP messages onto the device so that you can work with them offline. Here's how you do it:

Go to Settings >Mail >your account name under Accounts >Advanced >Drafts Mailbox.
Then under On My Phone, tap Drafts.
Now go back and repeat step 2 for your Sent Mailbox and Deleted Mailbox folders

Add and size contact photo

Rich Hall — Wed, 05 May 2010 20:44:20 +0000

Issue:

Summer 2010

You can add a photo to a contact by opening Contacts, tap on the desired contact, press the "Edit" button in the upper right corner, and tap on the square labeled "add photo" to the left of the contact's name. Next, tap on the "Choose Existing Photo" button and you are taken to the Photos app where you can select the desired photo.

If you have an iPhone, you can take a photo of the person and select that for the contact photo. You can also import photos of the individual from your Mac or PC using the iTunes sync feature. Finally, you can attach photos to e-mails and send them to your iPhone or iPod touch.

When editing a contact's Info page, you can add a photo of the contact to the listing. 

Once you've selected the photo you can size the photo to zoom in on the face. Tap on the photo, which at this point should be labeled "edit." Then, tap on the "Edit Photo" button in the pop-up menu. This takes you to the "Move and Scale" screen where you can adjust the picture. 

You can use pinching gestures or double tap on the screen to change the size of the image. You can also use your finger to drag the image to center it. When you're satisfied with what you see, tap on the "Choose" button and the photo is saved to the contact. Look over the contact info one more time to make sure everything is accurate and press the "Done" button in the upper right.

http://www.iphonelife.com/issues/2010Summer/TipsForIPhone3GS

Get content on your iPhone/iPod touch from multiple computers

admin — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:31:01 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

iTunes won’t let you sync the same content with more than one computer. However, you can sync different content with different computers. For example, you could set up your computer at home to only sync your music and videos in iTunes. You can then set up your work computer to only sync your contacts and calendar in iTunes. Maybe set up your laptop to only sync photos. This way, you can fill up your device with content from different places.

In order for this to work, connect your device to your computer and open iTunes. Click on your device under Devices on the left side of the iTunes window and then click on Summary tab. Make sure to check the “Manually manage music and videos” option. This will allow you to sync your contacts, calendar appointmets, etc. with different computers without having to delete your music and video content from your device.

Send e-mail and MMS contact info to an associate

SolomOn27 — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:09:12 +0000

Issue:

Fall 2009

OS 3.0 lets you quickly and easily e-mail contact info to another person. (When AT&T makes MMS available, you’ll be able to share contact info via instant messaging as well.).

Select the desired contact and display it in full-screen vie w.
Go to the bottom of the screen and tap on the Share Contact button. This opens a new e-mail with the contact info attached as a .vcf file.
Fill in the e-mail address and hit send.

issues/Fall2009/TIpsIphone3GSAndOS3.0

Passcode-protect important information in Contacts

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:47:32 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

If you store important information on your iPhone, you’ll want to prevent anyone from accessing it in the event it is lost or stolen. To do this, you’ll need to set a passcode. Once activated, you’ll have to enter the four digit code when you turn on your iPhone. Here’s how you do it:

Tap on the Settings icon in the Home screen and select General at the bottom of the Settings screen.
Tap on Passcode Lock and enter a four-digit passcode. (You’ll have to enter it a second time to confirm.)
Tap on Require Passcode and specify how long your iPhone must be inactive before you’ll have to enter the passcode. (Immediately, 1, 5, 10, 15, 30 minutes, and 1 hour). Note that shorter times increase security.

Set a passcode on your iPhone to prevent someone else
from using it or accessing your personal information.

Name and trim voice memos (iPhone, iPod touch)

SolomOn27 — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:32:38 +0000

Issue:

Sept/Oct 2010

The iPhone OS 3.0 software adds the ability to save short voice memos on your iPhone. In addition to saving them, you can rename them and trim them down (like you can with videos taken with the 3GS).

To rename a voice memo, go to the app's list view and tap on the right arrow symbol next to the memo you want to rename. This takes you to the info screen for that memo. Tap on the right arrow in this screen and you are presented with a list of labels you can attach to the memo. The "Custom" option at the bottom of this list lets you create a more specific name for the memo. 

To edit the memo, tap on the "Trim Memo" button on the Info screen and you are taken to screen with a yellow trim bar. Slide the left and right edges of the bar to change the beginning and ending points of the memo. To preview your changes, tap the small arrow icon to the left of the trim bar. When you're sure you like the edits, hit the large yellow button labeled "Trim Voice Memo." Note that you cannot go back to the original memo after you hit this button. 

issues/2010Fall/TipsForIOS

Search for missing album cover art

Rich Hall — Wed, 05 May 2010 21:14:08 +0000

Issue:

Summer 2010

To search for missing artwork, open iTunes on your PC or Mac, select Advanced >Get Album Artwork. As long as you have an iTunes account and an active connection to the Internet, iTunes will attempt to retrieve artwork for any albums and videos in your library that is in the iTunes Store's catalog.

http://www.iphonelife.com/issues/2010Summer/TipsForIPhone3GS

Route calls to a different number

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:45:39 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

You have the option of having all the calls made to your iPhone routed to a different phone number, which could be useful if you are overseas or are in an area with no coverage for an extended period. To do this:

Make sure you are in an AT&T coverage area
Go to Settings >Phone >Call Forwarding
Turn Call Forwarding on
Enter the new number.

Your iPhone will no longer ring until you turn Call Forwarding off.

Jumping to the Home screen; switching between screens

Rich Hall — Wed, 05 May 2010 21:31:49 +0000

Issue:

Summer 2010

If you like to download and install third-party apps, you quickly wind up with multiple Home screens. A flick of the finger will take you from one Home screen to another. A quick way to get back to the main Home screen from other Home screen pages is to press the Home button. (This feature is available from version 2.2 onward.) In addition, you can switch between Home screens without swiping by tapping the lower left and right corners of the screen. 

http://www.iphonelife.com/issues/2010Summer/TipsForIPhone3GS

“Annoying Caller” alert!

Rich Hall — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:38:46 +0000

Issue:

Winter 2010

 Persistence is an admirable quality in some circumstances, and very annoying in others. For example, a broker keeps calling you about an investment opportunity involving sub-prime mortgage-based derivatives. “Thanks, but no thanks” may be tolerable once, but having to repeat yourself can get old quickly. 

A person posting in the iPhone section at YahooGroups.com had a creative solution for this. Create a single contact and call it “BLOCKED” or “DON’T ANSWER” or something like that. Then, when you have identified a phone number as one you don’t want to answer, enter it in this contact. You can associate a scary ring tone with the contact, or import and select a scary image as the contact’s photo. That way, every time that contact calls you, you’re instantly aware that it’s one you don’t want to answer. 

Note that you can enter up to 9 phone numbers in an individual contact, so this single contact can alert you to 9 different annoying callers. 

http://www.iphonelife.com/issues/2010Winter/TipsIphone3GS

Use Yahoo! as your search engine

Rich Hall — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Issue:

Summer 2009

Safari’s default search engine is Google. To search the Web, tap the search field (on the right side of the title bar), type in a word or phrase that describes what you’re looking for, then tap the Google button in the bottom right corner of the screen.

To set Safari to search using Yahoo!, go to the Home screen and select Settings >Safari >Search Engine, and then choose Yahoo!.

issues/Summer09/Tips&Tricks

Undo and redo typing quickly: Shake it, baby!

SolomOn27 — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:24:54 +0000

Issue:

Fall 2009

Undo and redo typing quickly: Shake it, baby!

The new OS takes advantage of the accelerometer to let you do some quick, basic editing in any app that accepts text.

Simply shake the iPhone or iPod touch to undo the text you just entered. A pop-up appears, allowing you to confirm the action by hitting the Undo Typing button, or cancel it. If you decide you didn’t really want to undo the typing, shake the device again. This time, the pop-up will let you Redo Typing.

This feature only works with text you just entered in the current data field. For example, if you create a note with the phrase “Pick up hardware for door” and close the note, that text cannot be deleted with the shake feature if you open the note again. Also, if you’ve filled in the To field in an e-mail message, and move to the Subject field, you can’t go back and use the shake feature to delete the address. Fortunately, there are other ways to delete text that cannot be shaken away.

issues/Fall2009/TIpsIphone3GSAndOS3.0

Attach multiple photos to an e-mail

SolomOn27 — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:02:47 +0000

Issue:

Fall 2009

With OS 3.0, you can now attach up to 5 photos to an e-mail message, up from one in the previous version of the OS. Follow these steps:

Launch the Photos app and open the desired photo album
Tap on the arrow icon in the lower left corner of the screen.
Tap on the desired photos to select them.
Tap on the Share button in the lower left corner and hit the Email button in the pop-up screen.
Fill out the To, Cc/Bcc, and Subject fields, add a message, and hit the Send button.

This feature makes it easier to send a series of photos to family, friends, or associates. At iPhone Life, we capture many iPhone and iPod touch screen shots for articles. We use this new 3.0 feature to e-mail them to our desktop computers, where we do most of the editorial work.

issues/Fall2009/TIpsIphone3GSAndOS3.0

Double-tap on Home button

Rich Hall — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Issue:

Spring 2009

Pressing the Home button takes you back to the Home screen from any other iPhone or iPod touch screen, and if the device is in sleep mode it takes you to the “Slide to Unlock” screen. However, the Home button does other things as well.

By default, if you double-tap on the Home button when you are in the “Slide to Unlock” screen, the iPod controls are displayed on top of the Slide to Unlock screen. This lets you control music playback without unlocking the device.

You can change the double-tap function to bring up the Home screen or your phone’s Favorites list by going to Settings >General >Home Button (Fig. 14).

Fig. 14: Go to the Home Button screen in Settings to change the way the Home button reacts to a double tap.

issues/Feb09/Tips&Tricks

Publish videos to YouTube (3GS only)

Rich Hall — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:09:12 +0000

Issue:

Fall 2009

YouTube

Publish videos to YouTube (3GS only)

A number of features have been added to the YouTube app, including the ability to sign onto your YouTube account from the iPhone or iPod touch and save favorites, make comments, access subscriptions, and more. You can also publish videos to YouTube from the new iPhone 3GS. Here’s how you do it:

While viewing a video, tap on the Send icon at the bottom of the screen and hit the Send to YouTube button.
Sign onto your YouTube account.
Enter publishing information such as Title, Description, and Tags.
Tap on Category and select a category.
Tap on Publish.

issues/Fall2009/TIpsIphone3GSAndOS3.0

Block pop-ups in Safari

Rich Hall — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Issue:

Summer 2009

If you’ve browsed the Web, you know how annoying pop-ups can be. Fortunately, modern Web browsers, including Safari, allow you to block pop-ups. From the Home screen go to Settings >Safari and turn on the button next to Block Pop-ups. This screen also allows you to turn on/off JavaScript and Plug-Ins, change your search engine, choose to accept or decline cookies, clear your browsing history, and delete any cookies that have been downloaded to your device.

issues/Summer09/Tips&Tricks

Use iTunes to delete synced  music, videos, or photos

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:50:43 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

To transfer music, video, and other content to your iPhone or iPod touch, you must sync with iTunes. Once you have disconnected from iTunes, you cannot delete the synced content directly from the device. You must reconnect to iTunes, deselect the content you want to remove in iTunes, and re-synchronize.

Forwarding or turning a "read" message into an "unread" message

Rich Hall — Wed, 05 May 2010 21:11:18 +0000

Issue:

Summer 2010

Even with a spam filter, you can end up getting a lot of e-mail. You probably respond to or delete most of it, but there may be a few that you don't want to (or can't) respond to immediately. You can deal with these in one of two ways. 

First, if you know what needs to be done with the message, you can forward it to yourself with a description of what needs to be done in the message header or the text body. On the iPhone or iPod touch, simply open the message in your Inbox, hit the "Reply/Forward" button at the bottom, and select "Forward." 

Second, if you need to look at it again but don't know what needs to be done, you can mark it as unread. On the iPod touch, open the message, tap on "Details" and select "Mark As Unread." On the iPhone, open the message and tap on the "Mark As Unread" button. 

http://www.iphonelife.com/issues/2010Summer/TipsForIPhone3GS

When/how to replace your battery

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:05:28 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

Eventually, as the battery gets older, you’ll begin to notice that your iPhone or iPod touch has to be recharged more frequently. When you’re no longer comfortable with this, it’s time to replace your battery.

The iPhone’s rechargeable battery cannot be replaced by the user and you’ll have to send it in to be replaced. For more info on how to do this, go to Apple’s Battery Replacement Web page (apple.com/batteries/replacements.html). If you purchase your iPhone through AT&T, you can have the battery replaced by their service department. Note that, unless they are defective, batteries are not covered in the warranty. Replacements cost approximately $70-80 plus shipping and handling.

Get forecasts, switch screens in Weather

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:16:47 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

If you want to get a more detailed weather forecast for the days ahead in the Weather application, tap on the Yahoo (Y!) icon in the lower left corner of the screen. A Yahoo Weather page will open in Safari showing you a three-day forecast, local news, and other content.

If you have other locations entered into Weather (tap the “i” icon in the lower right corner to add/delete a location), you can switch between them by either swiping your finger left or right or tapping the dots on the bottom of the screen. Your current position on the dots is indicated in white—tap left or right of the white dot to move between locations.

Tapping the Y! icon in Weather will open a three-day forecast in Safari.

Opening e-mail attachments

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 14:29:14 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

If you get an attachment with an e-mail, it will appear at the bottom of the message, with the file-type icon, title of the attachment, and file size. Tapping on it will open it full-screen, and you can zoom in and out and scroll around on it. Note that you can only open and view Word, Excel, PDF, and graphics files-you cannot edit them.

Set up your iPhone / iPod Touch

admin — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:23:31 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

The first time you connect your device and launch iTunes, you will be prompted to "Set Up Your iPhone" by giving it a name (e.g. "JohnsIPhone") and deciding whether you want to check the box labeled "Automatically sync contacts, calendars, email accounts, and bookmarks." If you check this box, the iPhone will automatically sync every time you connect it to your computer. If you don't check the box, you will have to initiate the sync manually.

Organize your e-mail in folders

Rich Hall — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:07:11 +0000

Issue:

Winter 2010

Folders are a great way to organize your e-mail, especially if your job requires you to wear many hats. You can’t create separate mail folders on the iPhone or iPod touch. However, if your mail service is hosted on an IMAP server, you can create these folders on your PC or Mac and sync them with your iPhone or touch. 

http://www.iphonelife.com/issues/2010Winter/TipsIphone3GS

Adding names/phone numbers to Contacts list

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:08:50 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

If any name in the Recents list is not already in your Contacts list, you can add that person to the list by tapping on the icon of an arrow pointing right. Then, tap on the button labeled “Create New Contact.” If a name on the Recents list is already in Contacts, but has a new phone number, tap on the button labeled “Add to Existing Contact.” To change info in an existing contact, tap on a name in the All Contacts list and hit the Edit button.

Double tap spacebar to end sentence

SolomOn27 — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:08:16 +0000

Issue:

Sept/Oct 2010

When you're entering text into a note or e-mail message, you can end a sentence by going to the Symbol or Numeric keyboard and hitting the period. A faster way is to double tap on the spacebar. It will enter a period followed by a space.

If this feature does not work, you'll need to activate it by going to Settings >General >Keyboard and turning the "." Shortcut switch on. This screen also lets you turn on/off the following:

Auto-Correction: Suggests words based on the characters you've entered.
Auto-Capitalization: Capitalizes the first word in a sentence.
Enable Caps Lock: Lets you tap the Shift key twice to lock it into all-caps mode; tap it twice again to unlock.

issues/2010Fall/TipsForIOS

Using Voice Memos

Rich Hall — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:17:53 +0000

Issue:

Fall 2009

This new app lets you create and save short voice recordings using the iPhone’s built-in microphone, the iPhone headset with mic, or third-party headsets certified to work with the iPhone. Simply open the Voice Memos app, tap on the round red record button, and start talking. When you’re finished hit the square black button in the lower right.

Here are some additional tips:

The app displays a recording level (VU) meter at the bottom of the screen. You can adjust this level by moving the microphone closer to or further away from the audio source. Experiment with this to find the distance and voice level that works best for you.
Recordings using the built-in mic are mono; you can create stereo recordings using an optional stereo microphone.
You can improve the quality of your audio recordings by loosely blocking or cupping the microphone hole on the bottom of the iPhone. This is particularly useful when you are outside on a windy day, or when there is a lot of ambient noise.
Display and play voice memos. Tap on the bottom right button to display a list of the memos you’ve recorded. Tap on the desired memo until it is highlighted in blue; then, tap the small Play button to the left of the memo.
Press the Speaker button in the upper left corner to play a voice memo through the built-in speakers. If you can’t hear your voice memos when you play them, this feature is probably turned off. Hit the button to turn it back on. When on, the button will be blue; when off, blue-grey.
Trim voice memos. Tap on the blue arrow button to the right of the memo in the list, and then tap on Trim Memo. Tap and hold on the beginning or end of the blue audio bar until a small time indicator bubble appears. Then, drag your finger to the left or right to adjust the beginning or end of the recording. Tap on the small play button to the left of the blue bar to preview your edit. When you are satisfied, hit the yellow Trim Voice Memo button. (Note: You can’t undo a trim; make sure you’re satisfied before you hit the yellow button.)
Share voice memos. You can send a voice memo to a friend or associate via e-mail or MMS message. Tap on a memo in the Voice Memos list and then the Share button on the bottom left. Next, press the Email Voice Memo button. A New Message window will open and the voice memo will already be attached. Fill in the rest of the info and press Send.

issues/Fall2009/TIpsIphone3GSAndOS3.0

Auto-Syncing and syncing preferences

Michael Vallez — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 07:34:22 +0000

Issue:

Winter 2010

A cool feature added to iTunes 9 automatically fills any remaining space on your iPhone or iPod touch with songs.

Connect your iPhone or iPod touch to your computer and sync.
Select your device in the left sidebar.
Click on the “Music” tab. Make sure the “Selected playlists, artists and genres” radio button is clicked, and then check the box labeled “Automatically fill free space with songs.”

You can request iTunes to fill this extra space with songs from a specific playlist, highly-rated songs, and so on. Follow the previous instructions then customize your selections by checking the different items you may have in your iTunes music library. You can add genres, songs, artists, videos, etc. This function specifically lets you add more songs and videos without having to make another playlist or add one song at a time. This takes some of the busy work off your plate.

http://www.iphonelife.com/issues/2010Winter/iTunes9TIps%2526Trick

Select iPhone/iPod touch in the source list in iTunes panel

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:37:33 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

After you connect your device to your computer, iTunes should pop up on your computer automatically. If it doesn’t, you should launch it. Once opened, it should display your iPhone in the Devices list in the left-hand panel. If it doesn’t, check your connection. If that doesn’t work, restart the computer.

Double-tap the Home button to open the Phone/music playback control

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:37:26 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

Double-tapping the Home button on the iPhone (from within any application) will open the Phone application. On the iPod touch, it will open a pop-up control for music playback. When the iPhone and iPod touch are locked, double-tapping the Home button will bring up the music playback control; double-tapping it a second time will close the control.

Change sort and display order

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:39:05 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

You can change the way names are sorted and displayed in your Contacts list. Tap on the Settings icon in the Home screen and then tap Mail, Contacts, Calendars. The Sort Order and Display Order options are in the Contacts section. (You may have to scroll down to see it.)

Use Google SMS to get information

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:22:11 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

If Internet connectivity isn’t available or is too slow on your iPhone, you can send SMS text messages to Google to quickly get information like sports scores, weather, word definitions, driving directions, and more. To do this, send a text to GOOGLE (466453) and use one of the following search types:

Sports: score cubs
Movies: movies 90004
Stocks: stocks appl
Flight information: flight aa 500

There are many more search types. Do a Web search on “Google sms requests” to find more.

Searching for items from within Mail, Notes, and iPod

SolomOn27 — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:50:27 +0000

Issue:

Fall 2009

The new Spotlight search feature can be accessed directly from other apps.

From Mail: Open your Inbox or other folders and tap on the Search field at the top of the list. (You may have to scroll up to get there.) Select whether you want to search on the From, To, or Subject fields (or All). Enter your search word or phrase and hit the Search button at the bottom of the screen.
From Notes: Open Notes, scroll to the top, key in your search, and hit the Search button.
From iPod: Open Playlists, Songs, Videos, (or any of the tab options), scroll to the top, key in your search, and hit the Search button.

issues/Fall2009/TIpsIphone3GSAndOS3.0

Speed up Safari: clear its cache

Rich Hall — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 02:31:50 +0000

Issue:

Fall 2009

The cache is used to store images and html documents for Web pages you have recently visited. It speeds up the loading of Web pages if you go back to a page you've already visited. The problem is that the amount of memory allocated for the cache is limited. If it is full and you go to a new Web site, it has to delete some of the existing files before it can save new ones. If Safari is loading games slowly or hanging up frequently, you may need to Clear is file cache.

Clear out the file cache, history, and cookies folder by going to Home >Settings >Safari.

To clear the cache, go to Home >Settings >Safari and scroll down until you see the Clear Cache button. Tap it and confirm your choice when the pop-up appears. This page also lets you clear out the history folder, which tracks the Web pages you've visited, as well as empty the cookies folder.

issues/Fall2009/FreeFromYahoo

Tap on phone number in e-mail and text message

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:05:43 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

There’s actually a sixth way to make a phone call on your iPhone. If an e-mail or text message has a phone number in it, you can tap on the number to place the call.

Rotate iPhone 2.0 device to get scientific calculator

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:17:30 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

Apple added a scientific calculator to the iPhone 2.0 software. Tap on the Calculator icon to open the standard calculator. Rotate the iPhone or iPod touch to horizontal and the scientific calculator is displayed.

The iPhone 2.0 software has standard scientific functions.

Use the Caps Lock feature

admin — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:38:55 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

You can set the keyboard to include a Caps Lock feature. Go to Settings >General >Keyboard and set the “Enable Caps Lock” to the On position. This will make the shift key a Caps Lock key—double-tapping it will turn it on, which is indicated by the button turning blue. Tap it once to turn it off.

Organize “mobile” Web sites into special folder

Rich Hall — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Issue:

Summer 2009

As the number of iPhone and other smartphone users increases, more and more Web sites are offering “mobile” versions of their Web pages. Because these pages have a simpler design and fewer graphics, they require less bandwidth to download. It’s true that Safari can display almost any Web page, but it will download these mobile pages more quickly and you’ll have to do less zooming and scrolling to access the information. Save Web sites optimized for the iPhone in a special “MobileSites” bookmark folder.

Web sites can “sense” what type of device is connecting to them and may automatically redirect iPhone’s Safari browser to the mobile version of the site. If it doesn’t, there may be a link to the mobile site on the home page of the regular site. When you discover a mobile site you like, save it in a special bookmark folder in Safari. That way, it’s easier to access sites designed for your device. To create a special folder, open Safari, tap on the Bookmark icon at the bottom of the page, hit the Edit button at the bottom of the Bookmark page, and then hit the New Folder button. Name the folder “MobileSites” or something like that.

issues/Summer09/Tips&Tricks

Find apps, e-mails, songs fast with Spotlight Search

SolomOn27 — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 06:50:55 +0000

Issue:

Fall 2009

Spotlight Search is one the best new features in OS 3.0. Given that you can now have up to 11 pages of apps, swiping constantly to find them can be a bit irritating. Spotlight Search is the fastest way to find an app, contact, e-mail, song, video, or other piece of data. Simply open the Spotlight Search window, begin entering your search query, and a list of possible results is displayed and refined as you type. When you see what you’re looking for, tap on it to open it.

To go to Spotlight, go to the Home screen and swipe left. You can also press the Home button from the Home screen to open the search screen. Finally, you can configure the system (Settings >General >Home) to go directly to Spotlight by hitting the Home button twice. (You can also configure the iPhone to open the Camera screen when you hit Home twice.)

This app is excellent to use; I even found e-mails from the trash during a recent search. It really mitigates what was becoming a double-edged sword of the iPhone’s apps: there are so many good ones that it can fill up your Home pages pretty quickly.

issues/Fall2009/TIpsIphone3GSAndOS3.0

Quicker way to enter a period at the end of a sentence

Rich Hall — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 20:30:28 +0000

Issue:

Spring 2009

If you want to enter a period into a note or in any application that accepts text, the standard way to do it is to tap on the “123” icon in the lower left corner of the keyboard. This brings up the numbers, symbols, and punctuation mark keyboard. Fortunately, there’s a quicker way to do it—simply hit the space bar twice quickly. It will enter a period and a blank space following it.

issues/Feb09/Tips&Tricks

Learning a language

Rich Hall — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:03:19 +0000

Issue:

Winter 2010

One of the keys to learning a language is to immerse your self in it. Ideally, you’d like to live where the language is spoken, but that’s not always possible. More practical ways to immerse yourself in the language include watching foreign language movies and TV shows, listening to foreign language music and radio, and reading books published in the language you are learning. Your iPhone or iPod touch can help you with this. 

The “Latino” link in iTunes will take you to a wide variety of Spanish-language content. 

Let’s say you’re learning Spanish. Go to iTunes and click on the “Latino” link. You’ll find a wide variety of Latino music listed, as well as podcasts, audiobooks, videos, TV, apps, and more. Use the “Search iTunes Store” feature to find content for other languages. 

You can change the default language on iPhone to display the language you’re studying. 

While you’re at it, change the default language on your  iPhone or iPod touch to the one you’re learning. All the labels, menus, etc. will appear in that language. Go to Settings >General >International >Language and select the language you’re learning. 

http://www.iphonelife.com/issues/2010Winter/TipsIphone3GS

How to delete all of the iPhone’s content

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:35:56 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

To erase all the content on your iPhone or iPod touch, including e-mail, Contacts, media content, and Settings, go to:

Settings
General
Reset
Erase All Content and Setttings

After you confirm the erase with two taps, your device will delete everything (which takes a few moments) and then reset itself.

Create an “On-The-Go” playlist

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:23:42 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

When you first add music to your iPhone or iPod touch in iTunes, it will automatically add a playlist called On-The-Go. You can add music to this playlist at any time, even when you are not connected to iTunes. Here’s how:

Open iPod, tap on Playlists, and tap on On-The-Go at the top of the screen. This displays a list of all the songs on your device.
Scroll down the list and tap on the songs you want to add to the playlist.
When you’re finished, hit Done.

If you want to edit the playlist, tap Edit on the top right side of the screen—you now have the option of deleting songs (by tapping the red button to the left and then Delete) or rearranging them by tapping and dragging on the “grip” to the right of each song. When you sync with iTunes, this list is saved in iTunes as “On-The-Go 1.”

Holding down the caps key

Rich Hall — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:51:00 +0000

Issue:

Spring 2009

Need to enter two or three capital letters in a row? If you’re using a standard computer keyboard or an old manual or electric typewriter you can do this by engaging the Caps Lock, typing the letters, and disengaging the Caps Lock. Of course, if you’re just typing two or three letters, it’s easier to hold down the Shift key and type. Most mobile touchscreen devices with “soft” (on screen) keyboards don’t let you do this. However, the keyboard on the iPhone and iPod touch does. Hold down the Shift key with the thumb of the hand that is holding the device, and hit the desired letters with a finger on the other hand. 

Warning: The iPhone/iPod’s keyboard automatically capitalizes the first letter of the first word in a sentence. If you hold down the Shift key for this letter, it and subsequent letters will be entered in lower case until you release the Shift key.

issues/Feb09/Tips&Tricks

Adjust exposure and take close up photos (iPhone 3Gs, iPhone 4)

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 04:15:24 +0000

Issue:

Sept/Oct 2010

When you have the Camera app open and the desired image displayed on the screen, you can change the focus area of the image before you take the picture. Simply tap on the portion of the image on which you want the camera to focus. The camera automatically adjusts the focus and exposure for that area. You can use this to your advantage if you don't like the lighting (darkness or brightness) of the image. Simply tap on different areas until it looks the best. Then tap on the camera icon to take the picture.

You can also use this feature when you are taking close-up photos (i.e. photos of people or objects less than a foot from the camera). Align the photo and tap on the image until the foreground image looks best against the background. Then take the photo.

issues/2010Fall/TipsForIOS

Sync Notes with desktop computer

Rich Hall — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:03:35 +0000

Issue:

Fall 2009

With OS 3.0 you can now sync your Notes with your Mac or PC desktop/laptop computer. You set this up in iTunes by connecting your iPhone or iPod touch to your computer, opening the device screen, clicking on the Info tab, and browsing down to the Notes section. Click on the box labeled “Sync notes with” and select the application you want to sync with from the drop down list. (Usually, there will only be one option.)

issues/Fall2009/TIpsIphone3GSAndOS3.0

Enter a pause in a phone number

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:51:55 +0000

Issue:

Summer 2009

Some business phone systems require that you pause between numbers. For example, there may need to be a pause between the main number and the extension to give the phone system time to “pick up.” To insert a pause while entering or editing a phone number in Contacts, place the cursor where you want to insert the pause, tap on the lower left button (+ * #), and hit the pause button that appears next to it. Repeat the process to insert another pause. The pauses appear as commas in the displayed number.

Turn off SMS preview (iPhone)

SolomOn27 — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:12:18 +0000

Issue:

Sept/Oct 2010

When you receive an incoming SMS message on your iPhone, a preview of the message is displayed on your screen. For security reasons, you may not want even a small portion of the message displayed. To disable SMS Preview, go to the Settings app and select Messages, and turn the "Show Preview" switch off. You'll still receive a notice, but it will be a generic "New Text Message."

issues/2010Fall/TipsForIOS

Configuring your music settings

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:37:48 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

You have a number of options in configuring the sound of your music, which can greatly enhance your listening enjoyment. Go to Settings >Music and tap on one of these three options:

Sound Check: This feature works as a kind of volume compensator to smooth out the differences between tracks, since tracks from different albums are often recorded at different volume levels. Tap the On/Off button to use it.
EQ: This list of sound frequency presets (or equalization settings) is similar to those provided by many of today’s music players. It has a total of 22 different presets, from Rock, Hip Hop, and Classical to Bass Booster and Spoken Word. Each setting boosts or reigns back different frequencies to highlight and emphasize sounds appropriate to each genre or sound effect. Note that you can use only one setting at a time.
Volume Limit: This option allows you to set a volume limit so that you can protect your own (or your child’s) hearing. Tap Volume Limit and then tap and drag the slider bar to the point where you want the highest level of sound to be. Then tap Lock Volume Limit and enter in a 4-digit passcode, and type it again to confirm it. Note that you do not have to type a passcode in for the Volume Limit to work, only to lock it.

The Music settings screen also allows you to set the speed
at which you want audiobooks to be played. Tap Audiobook
Speed and choose from Slower, Normal, or Faster.

Make “Return For Reward” image your opening screen

Rich Hall — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 06:00:00 +0000

Issue:

Spring 2009

Some iPhone and iPod touch users have used Photoshop or other graphics programs to create a custom Wallpaper image that will help them get their device back if they lose it. The image includes the words “Call <phone number> for Reward.”

issues/Feb09/Tips&Tricks

Limit e-mail to make it more manageable

Rich Hall — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:13:14 +0000

Issue:

Winter 2010

If you get a lot of incoming e-mail, personal or business related, it can clog up your inbox. Make things more manageable by limiting the number of messages displayed on the iPhone and/or the number of lines previewed for each message. 

To set the number of messages displayed in the inbox, go to Settings >Mail, Contacts, Calendars >Show. Then select 25, 50, 75, 100, or 200. 
To set the number of lines displayed, go to Settings >Mail, Contacts, Calendars >Preview. Then choose from none to 5 lines. 

You’ll have to experiment with these settings to see what works best for you.

http://www.iphonelife.com/issues/2010Winter/TipsIphone3GS

Zoom in and out on a map

Rich Hall — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:17:28 +0000

Issue:

Winter 2010

In the Google Maps app, you can zoom in on a map by double tapping anywhere on the map with one finger. To zoom out, double tap anywhere on the map with two fingers. 

http://www.iphonelife.com/issues/2010Winter/TipsIphone3GS

Watch YouTube clips over Wi-Fi

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:57:42 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

You can search on and play YouTube videos on your iPhone or iPod touch, but trying to watch YouTube videos over AT&T’s EDGE network can be agonizingly slow, and may not be doable at all. If possible, limit your YouTube watching to only those times when a Wi-Fi connection is available, which will make it a much more enjoyable experience. The faster connection of the new iPhone 3G should improve things.

Rearranging your icons

Rich Hall — Wed, 05 May 2010 21:36:05 +0000

Issue:

Summer 2010

As you add apps to your iPhone or iPod touch, they appear as icons on the Home screen. When the Home screen is full, a second screen is added which can accept icons for another 16 apps. You can have a total of 11 screens holding 176 apps (including the apps built into the iPhone). 

By default, app icons are added to these Home screens in the order they are installed. The pre-installed apps (Messages, Calendar, Photos, etc.) appear on the first screen; apps you download from iTunes fill up that Home screen first then appear on subsequent screens. If you've installed a lot of apps, it can be difficult to find them. 

Fortunately, you can rearrange app icons so that the order makes more sense to you. For example, you can arrange them in alphabetical order or place all the games on one screen and utilities on another. You could also place your most-used apps on the first Home screen and your least used apps on the last. The easiest way to do this is from iTunes:

Connect your iPhone/iPod touch to your Mac or PC and open iTunes. 
After syncing is complete, click on your device, which is listed under DEVICES in the left-hand column. 
Open the Applications tab and make sure Sync Applications is checked. 
Click on the icon you want to move and hold down on the mouse button. 
Drag the icon to the desired position in the desired Home screen. 
When you're finished moving the icons around, click on the "Apply" button and iTunes will sync the changes with the iPhone/iPod touch.

Send free text messages by e-mail

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:13:09 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

You can save money and send free text messages via e-mail on your iPhone or iPod touch. This is possible through SMS e-mail gateways, which are supported by most wireless carriers. The messages will arrive on a person’s phone just as a normal text message would. The address format for SMS e-mails is the phone number at (@) a particular carrier (e.g., 2125551212mobile [dot] att [dot] net). To find a particular carrier’s gateway(s), do a Web search for “ <carrier> SMS e-mail.” Here is a listing of some of the major carrier’s SMS e-mail gateways.

AT&T: numbertxt [dot] att [dot] net or numbermobile [dot] att [dot] net.
Sprint: numbermessaging [dot] sprintpcs [dot] com or numbersprintpaging [dot] com.
T-Mobile: numbertmomail [dot] net or number@ voicestream.net.
Verizon: numbervtext [dot] com.

How many third-party apps do you have installed?

Rich Hall — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 08:02:19 +0000

Issue:

Fall 2009

It’s easy to lose track of how many third-party apps you’ve installed on your iPhone. With OS 3.0, you can find out quickly. Go to Settings >General >About and look at the list. It will tell you the network you are connected to and the number of songs, videos, and photos you have on your device. The fifth item in the list tells you how many third-party apps you have installed.

issues/Fall2009/TIpsIphone3GSAndOS3.0

Go through dates quickly

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:07:12 +0000

Issue:

October 2008 (Premier Issue)

If you want to get to a particular date quickly in Calendar, simply tap and hold on the forward and backward buttons next to the day or month in the Day or Month views—the dates will fly by in no time. To get back to the current date, tap the Today button.

Hold down on the forward and backward
buttons to get to a date quickly.

Tips about all topics

Keep text messages short; use e-mail for longer messages

Get a Yahoo mail account for real-time delivery

Create passcodes with random number generator

Change iPod browse buttons

Restrict use of content and apps

Control video playback from Apple iPhone stereo headset

Live links make life easier

Listen to the audio portion of a video

Answering, ending, and switching between calls using the headset

Apple’s warranty does not cover misuse

Dial a number and save it to Contacts (iPhone)

Fixing the iPhone 3GS overheating problem

Delete e-mails individually or as a group

If your iPhone goes into sleep mode too quickly…

Improve battery life on the iPhone and iPod touch

Both devices

iPhone only

iPod touch only

Making conference calls

Forget your passcode? Restore your iPhone

Use the Recents screen to save time

Combine address (phone) books from different sources

Import contacts from another mobile phone’s SIM card

Swipe your finger across text conversations to delete them

Increase battery lifespan

Hide your Caller ID on other’s phones

Activate multiple keyboards

Update or Restore your device through iTunes

Birthdays, anniversaries, and other repeating appointments

App Updates and Upgrades

E-mail attachments that will or won't open

Tap and hold on links to bring up info

Sharing Web Links from Safari

Set timer to stop playing music

Find Wi-Fi hotspots quickly

Type an Apostrophe from the Basic Keyboard Layout

iPhone and iPod touch’s keyboard has predictive mapping

Quick Mute

Entering alternate versions of a letter

Zoom in or out of Web pages

Hidden track controls, fast-forwarding, and other options

Unpair one headset before pairing another

Avoid tagging photos with location data

Setting a SIM card passcode

Get map to Contacts address quickly

Enter Web address extensions quickly

Control music playback from headphones

Work with your IMAP e-mail offline

Add and size contact photo

Get content on your iPhone/iPod touch from multiple computers

Send e-mail and MMS contact info to an associate

Passcode-protect important information in Contacts

Name and trim voice memos (iPhone, iPod touch)

Search for missing album cover art

Route calls to a different number

Jumping to the Home screen; switching between screens

“Annoying Caller” alert!

Use Yahoo! as your search engine

Undo and redo typing quickly: Shake it, baby!

Undo and redo typing quickly: Shake it, baby!

Attach multiple photos to an e-mail

Double-tap on Home button

Publish videos to YouTube (3GS only)

YouTube

Publish videos to YouTube (3GS only)

Block pop-ups in Safari

Use iTunes to delete synced music, videos, or photos

Forwarding or turning a "read" message into an "unread" message

When/how to replace your battery

Get forecasts, switch screens in Weather

Opening e-mail attachments

Set up your iPhone / iPod Touch

Organize your e-mail in folders

Adding names/phone numbers to Contacts list

Double tap spacebar to end sentence

Using Voice Memos

Auto-Syncing and syncing preferences

Select iPhone/iPod touch in the source list in iTunes panel

Double-tap the Home button to open the Phone/music playback control

Keep text messages short;   use e-mail for longer messages

Use the Recents  screen to save time

Combine address (phone) books  from different sources

Swipe your finger across  text conversations to delete them

Birthdays, anniversaries,  and other repeating appointments

iPhone and iPod touch’s keyboard  has predictive mapping

Use iTunes to delete synced  music, videos, or photos