Comprehensive iPhone news - the latest iPhone, iPad and iPod touch product reviews. iPhone help, tips, tricks and forums.
The iPad shipped with some new spell checking features, like the red underline found in the Mac OS, and word replacement. We’ve found something not documented to further help users with their spell checking on the iPad. With auto-correct enabled, when you spell a word wrong, the iPad displays a popup with the correct spelling, and as with the iPhone, you simply tap the spacebar to accept. However, if you tap the delete key immediately after the corrected word, it will show a popup with your original spelling.
As Apple gets ready to release its latest version of the iPad, some people still have a hard time justifying the tablet as a business device. Most notably, the ability to print is conspicuously missing, a shortcoming that the iPad shares with its cousin, the iPhone. Seemingly, the easiest way to print from these devices is to email yourself with whatever image or item you wish to print attached. Fortunately, in an ecosystem like Apple’s App Store, developers are quick to fill the gaps in functionality the iPhone’s OS.
Check out a list of some of the front-runners in this category, below.
It’s well documented that when editing text on the iPhone you can double-tap to quickly select a word for copy and paste. But there’s an undocumented feature that also lets you quickly select an entire paragraph. Quadruple-tapping on any editable text highlights the entire paragraph, not just the single word. It might take a little practice to get it just right, but after only a couple tries it becomes much faster than double-tap-dragging to select a block of text. This feature only works when editing text, so don’t expect it to work while in Safari or other apps.
Even though there are plenty of great navigation apps in the App Store, Google Maps on the iPhone is still one of the best ways to get basic navigation info. I especially like it because it gives me a good idea of how long it’ll take to get to a destination. However, in some cases it’ll be necessary to get travel times with current traffic conditions factored in. To do this, simply enable the “Show Traffic” option before requesting directions, and traffic will be factored in. If it’s working, you should see your estimated travel time followed by the words “with traffic.”
Bonus tip; if you’ve already requested directions but forgot to enable traffic, simply enable it, tap “Edit,” then “Route,” and Maps should recalculate based on traffic. Enjoy!
As great as Mobile Safari is, there are times when a web site is formatted poorly, and it is just too difficult to read comfortably on the iPhone. Enter Readability, a free and easy to use bookmarket that will reformat any web site, making it much more enjoyable on your small screen. There are three simple options: Style, which include options like newspaper or eBook; Size, from extra small to extra large; Margin, extra narrow to extra large. After you specify your preferred reading format, add the bookmarklet to your bookmarks. The next time you’re browsing a page you simply tap on your bookmarklet and the site is instantly reformatted to your preferred style.
While the usage of caps lock is generally reserved for comment trolls and confused old folks, it can be very useful when used responsibly. The iPhone does have a caps lock mode built in, but it’s disabled by default. To enable it, go to Settings > General > Keyboard and turn on “Enable Caps Lock.” Now whenever you need to type in all caps, simply double-tap the shift key to engage caps lock.
Additionally, you can also use this method to enable CHOCK LOCK MODE OK.
By now most of you have probably accumulated a ton of apps, but you don’t want every one of them to sync to your iPhone. You have it set up the way you want it now, but if you restore or sync a new device, iTunes will try to sync every app you have.
So the easiest solution is likely to deselect all of the apps you have an manually select the ones you want synced. To do this, go to the applications sync tab in iTunes and command-click (control-click on Windows) the checkbox next to an app. This will tell iTunes to uncheck every app, not just the individual app you clicked on. From there you can check the apps you want. It works in reverse too, but for this example we’re assuming you don’t want to select them all. Enjoy!
You know that iTunes app on your home screen? Some people completely ignore it while others sometimes use it to download music and podcasts. What you might have forgotten though is that you can actually rent and download movies, TV shows, and music videos over the air, right from your iPhone.
Yes, this is definitely a “no duh” for some of you, but I’m betting that quite a few of you totally forgot about this feature. And while I tend to agree with David Lynch about watching movies on your iPhone, it’ll certainly do in a pinch.
Anyone who’s had an iPhone or iPod touch for a while knows that sometimes apps just stop working. In some cases a single app will stop working while the rest seem just fine. The first step is reboot your phone, but sometimes that doesn’t work. In that case, the solution is generally to delete the app from your iPhone and the re-download it.
However, in some rare instances, all of your third-party iPhone apps can stop working, even after a reboot. I’m not 100% sure why this happens, but it seems to be an issue with the FairPlay DRM database becoming corrupted. I’ve found that the best solution is to download another app from the App Store.
I recently ran into an issue where my iPhone would take an inordinate amount of time to sync but I couldn’t figure out why. The step it always seemed to hang up on was “Verifying iPhone,” but why? After doing a bit of investigating, I found out that this step is actually a part of iTunes’ backup process. So to solve the problem, I deleted all of my iPhone backups under the “Devices” tab in the iTunes preferences. After doing a full backup, my iPhone syncs nice and fast!
Enjoy!
You’ve been able to directly download podcasts on your iPhone for quite some time now, but to download anything over 10MB requires that you be connected to WiFi. However, it’s incredibly easy to get around this arbitrary limit. Instead of tapping the “download” button on a podcast, simply tap the episode. Your iPhone will begin playing it right away, completely ignoring the limit. If you’re streaming audio, you can continue listening even if you exit the iTunes app.
Enjoy!
One of the great things about the iPhone is that its headphones come with a handy little microphone with an integrated button. The button of course allows you to answer and end calls, as well as play and pause your music. You’ve also been able to double-click them to skip to the next song, but in iPhone 3.0 you can actually triple-click to rewind and go back to the previous track! It’s a little tough to do at first, but it’s a handy little addition that’s sure to help out with your daily iPhone use. Enjoy!
Ever since my first iPhone, there was always one feature I thought Safari was lacking; the ability to open links in a new page. I mean, Safari for iPhone let you have multiple pages open, but there was never a way to explicitly open a link in a new page! Every competent desktop browser can do this. Thankfully this feature was finally added in iPhone 3.0. To make it work, simply tap and hold a link to bring up a nice little dialogue which allows you to open the link in a new page. Hooray, perfect for Google searching across multiple sites!
Piggy-backing on yesterday’s tip, I have yet another Voice Control tip for you guys. Although Voice Control is fairly limited in its abilities, it can read more than just a contact’s name. Specifically it can read from the nickname field as well. This means that you can tell your iPhone to “call Dad,” instead of having to refer to your father by his proper name.
But wait, it gets even more entertaining! Voice Control will understand just about any nickname you assign to a contact. For example, instead of saying “call Jeff Gamet,” I say “call Mr. Cuddles” because he’s a cuddly guy. The possibilities are endless, and frankly the comical uses will likely outweigh the practical ones.
As many of you already know, the iPhone 3GS comes with an awesome feature called Voice Control. It lets you make calls or play music just by telling your iPhone what to do. To activate Voice Control, you press and hold the Home button. But what if you want to do something via Voice Control without looking at your iPhone?
Starting with iPhone 3.1, you can now use a Bluetooth headset to activate the feature. To do this, simply press the answer/end button on a paired Bluetooth headset while not on a call (be sure a call isn’t coming in). Voice Control will be routed through your headset so that you can start a call without looking at your phone. Awesome! You can also do the same to begin playing music.
Among the myriad of tiny improvements included in iPhone 3.1, Apple introduced a new feature to their “Find My iPhone” service. Introduced with 3.0, Find My iPhone allows users with MobileMe accounts to find and remotely wipe a lost or stolen iPhone. In 3.1, you can now remotely lock your iPhone with a four-digit passcode. Jump down for the how-to!
Here’s a nifty, new feature for those folks who are always concerned about their battery life. New for the iPhone 3GS, you can now display a percentage meter right next to the traditional battery life indicator. To enable it, head to Settings>General>Usage and flip the “Battery Percentage” switch on. Now you’ll see the percentage of available battery right next to the battery icon!
Personally I don’t leave this on because it makes me think the battery is draining faster than it used to. But hey, give it a try! If you don’t like it, just turn it back off. Enjoy!
By far one of my favorite new features in iPhone 3.0 is Spotlight. Those unfamiliar with the Mac technology, it’s essentially a super fast, smart search system. In iPhone 3.0 Spotlight has been added to iPod, Notes, Mail, and Calendar, in addition to the Phone app. This means that you can search for a song in the iPod, a mail message in Mail, or appointment in Calendar. But here’s where things get crazy awesome. Swiping to the left of the first home page (the little spotlight icon) will let you search through your entire iPhone. How awesome is that?
Ever purchase an app on your iPhone and find out later that it’s magically shown up in iTunes? This is because your iPhone automatically transfers new app purchases during a sync. But what happens if the apps in iTunes are lost? Turns out you can invoke the magic app sync anytime you want. Simply right-click your iPhone in the iTunes Devices section and choose “Transfer Purchases.” Any application on your iPhone that isn’t in iTunes will immediately be moved.
Of course you can re-download any app in iTunes for free, but then you already knew that. ;]
Lots of the incredibly welcome changes in iPhone 3.0 seem to be little changes and this one is sure to please you frequent texters. From any SMS/MMS message, an “Edit” button has been added to let you select individual messages for deletion or forwarding in another message. This one really comes in handy for those who like to hold onto those SMS conversations, except for that one embarrassing, drunken text you sent to that one girl. You know who you are.
Use wisely!
Moving icons to different pages on the Home screen seems to have always been an arduous task. We posted a tip about this very thing a while back, but the iPhone 3.0 update has made things even easier! Before the update, moving icons to a new page meant it would take up space on each page as you moved it across. Now, moving an icon and holding it at the edge of the screen will continue scrolling to the next page until you move it away. Give it a try! It’s much better!
The most anticipated feature of the iPhone 3G S is arguably the ability to record video. It looks great, and you can post it to YouTube right from your phone! But how do you import the full-quality video? Mac users will probably say “iPhoto,” but you may not want to open up such a big app for a quick import. The quickest way we know of is to use the Image Capture app which sees both photos and videos recorded on your iPhone. Just open it up, find the video, drag it into Finder, and there you g
Everyone knows that iPhone’s keyboard comes with a full set of QWERTY keys, numbers, and punctuation, but you may not have realized that there’s even more. Hidden underneath many of the keys are special character variations. To bring up a special character, simply tap and hold for a moment and select from the pop-up menu. For example, if you’d like to type café, simply type caf, hold E, and choose É from the menu.
There are tons of other special characters hidden behind both alphabetical keys and punctuation keys. Check ‘em out!
The swipe to delete gesture is one of the most often used on the iPhone, but sometimes swiping to delete many emails can take time. With iPhone 2.0 Apple expanded Mail’s “Edit” button to allow selection of multiple emails for deletion. You can also use this multiple selection mode to move emails to a specific folder. Just hit the “Edit” button! It’s a basic feature, but it’s one that everyone can use.
In the 2.2 update, Apple added Emoji support for customers living in Japan. Emoji is the Japanese equivalent of emoticons, only there are a ton more. More details here.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you feel about emoji) Apple has chosen to only allow Emoji in Japan although it is included in every copy of 2.2 and later. Clever hackers have since discovered ways of enabling them via jailbreak, but a clean no-hack method has recently been discovered; with the help of an app.
One of the lesser-known goodies included in iPhone 2.0 is the ability to use Wi-Fi while in Airplane Mode. To do this, simply enable Airplane Mode and then switch on Wi-Fi. The orange airplane icon will stay in the status bar and Wi-Fi will be enabled.
Apple says that the feature is good for those on Wi-Fi enabled planes, but it may come in handy if you’re in an area with no cell reception (such as basement or college building).
In the latest iPhone software update (v2.2), Apple added a new shortcut to the Home button. Pressing the Home button from any Home screen will now bring you right back to your first home screen. This shortcut is great for those of you who just can’t stop downloading apps.
For this one to work, you must already be at the Home screen.
This tip comes in the wake of last week’s announcement that now allows developers to give away promotional copies of their apps. According to Apple, you must redeem the code with iTunes on your computer which will then download the app for syncing to your iPhone. However, this may not be convenient if you’re on the road without a computer handy. To redeem an app promo code, open the iTunes app on your iPhone, tap “Downloads” and then “Redeem”.
Last week’s 2.2 software update included quite a few goodies for most iPhone owners, but one in particular is only available to those in Japan. Unbeknownst to most of us in the States, Apple’s added emojicons (or Japanese emoticons), although they’re only available to customers in Japan. Thankfully Steven Troughton-Smith has figured out that a simple property list edit is all that’s required. For the full instructions, read on.
You’ll need a jailbroken iPhone and enough knowledge to grab the correct file, edit it properly, and put it back without pulling your hair out.
The 2.2 update brought Google Street View and a myriad of other features and fixes to the iPhone and iPod touch. However, Apple didn’t feel that iPod touch owners were worthy enough for Street View. Thankfully, a clever workaround has been discovered that’ll get your first gen iPod touch rockin’ the Street View. It does involve messing with property lists and permissions, but it has been confirmed to work.
If you feel up to the challenge, follow along below:
Apple made sure to tout the fact that Safari has a nifty on its keyboard .com button for easy URL typing, but it seems like they forgot about Mail. As it turns out, Mail does have a .com button, but it’s hidden. To get to the magical .com button, simply hold period for 2 seconds and a popup containing .com will appear. Also available are .org, .edu, and .net.
Now go email your mom… and include a link to something!
The iPhone’s virtual keyboard has quite a few tricks up its sleeve, but one thing it can’t do is type a grave accent mark without a letter (a ` or backtick to all you programmers out there). So while 99% of you probably don’t care, it can be a problem for those who need to enter the backtick for a Wi-Fi password.
Thankfully, there is a way to get around non-typable passwords using the iPhone Configuration Utility.
Those of us who use a Mac with their iPhone probably grab photos using iPhoto. It’s an obvious choice since your Mac already comes with it. However, if you have a lot of photos, you may not necessarily want to fire up iPhoto to import one or two pictures from your iPhone.
Instead of iPhoto, try using Image Capture. It’s light-weight, straight forward, and it’s included on your Mac. Best of all, you can simply drag a photo out of Image Capture right onto your desktop. You can even delete photos on your iPhone. Now that’s handy!
Apple added iPhone ringtones to iTunes late last year, but only if you purchased them. After struggling against users for some time, Apple finally started allowing non-DRM’d ringtones in iTunes. This decision spawned quite a few solutions for creating ringtones from songs that you already have. One of the lesser known methods is using iTunes itself.
The method is a bit tedious the first time through, but CNET’s Bryan Thomas has come to the rescue with this nice step-by-step video.
If you’re like me, caps lock is rarely used on the iPhone but sometimes you just need the next couple of letters to be capitalized. A good example is if you’re typing out something like “OK” or “IM”, or any number of other upper-case abbreviations. Thankfully, iPhone’s multi-touch is smart enough to allow you use the shift key just like you can on a computer. Simply hold down the shift key while you type on the iPhone’s keyboard and every letter will be capitalized.
That’s sure to save you a few taps every now and then!
If a call comes in and you want to mute your ringer, pressing the Sleep/Wake button or one of the volume buttons will immediately silence your phone. If you’d like to send a call directly to voicemail, you can press the Sleep/Wake button twice to decline it. You can also do this if you’re wearing an iPhone headset by quickly pressing the microphone button twice.
Now you can selectively ignore people you don’t want to talk to. Handy!
Some users over at the Apple Discussions have run into an unusual problem where iTunes on a Mac running Leopard will fail to recognize an iPhone when it’s plugged in. We’re not sure exactly what the cause is, but a fix has been identified. If you’re experiencing this issue, try either updating or re-installing your version of iTunes by downloading a new copy from Apple.com. [via iSmashPhone]
One of the most irritating problems that iPhone owners face is having to manage many apps across multiple home screens. Thankfully apps return to their previous spot after being updated, but new apps can still be a pain, especially when you want to stick a new one 3-4 home screens deep. This tip comes from Leo Laporte, and I didn’t realize how insanely useful this method was until I actually gave it a try.
With the iPhone Software Update 1.1.1, Apple added a nifty shortcut for adding a period at the end of a sentence and it made a lot of people happy. The shortcut, which is still available today, involves tapping the space bar twice which automatically places a period and a space for quick text entry.
To make things even quicker, we’ve just learned that tapping the space bar with two thumbs will produce the same effect as tapping the space bar twice. And while this isn’t groundbreaking, we have a feeling that it’ll come in handy for quite a few of you.
Thanks Felipe!
Ever come across an image while browsing the web on your iPhone that you’d just love to use as a wallpaper? Or maybe you just want to save an image to import it to your computer later. Since iPhone Software Update 2.0, you can now save images from Safari or Mail.
Here’s how it’s done: surf to a webpage or email which contains an image that you want to save. Tap and hold on the particular image for 2-3 second and a dialogue will slide up asking if you’d like to save the image. Tap “Save Image” to confirm, and its immediately saved to your camera roll.
Long backups were addressed in the 2.1 update. This tip is likely no longer relevant for most people. Ever since version 1.0, the iPhone has automatically backed itself up every time an iTunes sync was started. The feature makes sense on a phone and has definitely saved my bacon quite a few times. However, with the iPhone 2.0 update, the backup feature has gotten arguably out of hand. Most users report obnoxiously long backup times which make it extremely frustrating to refresh your iPhone’s information.
So if you’re tired of automatic backups that take forever, here’s how to disable them.
Many users (myself included) have been experiencing a lot of problems lately with apps on their iPhone crashing or simply not even launching. Two solutions to the problem have been discovered, but the first is definitely less than ideal. One reader of iPhone Atlas claims that the problem can be fixed by reducing the number of apps on the iPhone.
Mr. Zdziarski’s discovery of a remote blacklist that gives Apple the ability to zap apps from your phone remotely was pretty concerning for us jailbreakers and NetShare owners, and even though Steve said it’s only for zapping the malicious/dangerous ones to keep us secure, it’s still a little frightening (though understandable I suppose) that it was kept a secret. For those who don’t like the idea of Apple periodically checking out their iPhone, Mr. Zdziarski has posted a way to disable the feature.
Not sure what to do with all that extra change? Here’s a good tip: use it to buy iPhone apps. You’ve probably seen one of those Coinstar machines at your local grocery store or the like. But now you can use all that change you’ve been collecting and turn it into apps for your iPhone or iPod touch. Coinstar has recently begun offering the option of getting certificates instead of cash, minus the coin counting charge. One of the certificates you can get is for purchasing things in iTunes, including iPhone apps. You get some new apps and you avoid their 9% coin counting charge. [via TUAW]
If you listen to music on your iPhone while surfing the web or using other applications, you may occasionally need to access the iPod or its controls. Sure, you can hit the home button and jump into the iPod, but iPhone has a much more elegant way of accessing iPod controls. Ever since the iPhone update in September (v1.1.1), double clicking the “Home” button on your iPhone brings up a set of controls for volume, skipping tracks, and pausing your music without leaving the current application. There’s even an “iPod” button that takes you right to the iPod application. But the fun doesn’t stop there, so read on for more “Home” button tricks.
Since iPhone 1.0, tapping the “Status Bar” in Safari would scroll you instantly to the top of a web page. With the iPhone 2.0 update (available for the original iPhone and pre-installed on the iPhone 3G), Apple’s added the same functionality system-wide. Tapping the status bar (the topmost bar where the clock resides) in nearly every application will now scroll you immediately to the top of a list or page. This is especially handy for scrolling through contacts, songs, or anything else with a particularly long list of information.
Wish you had a dock for that iPhone 3G but not willing to dish out the $29 for a piece of white plastic? Flickr user mdrengl decided he didn’t want to either. Instead, he modified his old iPhone dock to work with the 3G. If you don’t mind carving into your dock with a knife, then check out the instructions after the break.
Here’s a tip for you Apple TV owners. Navigating the Apple TV is usually pretty easy, but trying to enter text to do something like search YouTube from your TV using that tiny little Apple remote is a major pain. Fortunately they built a feature into their Remote app for the iPhone that solves this problem.
Now that AT&T has removed the complimentary 200 SMS messages from the iPhone 3G data plan, I’m betting that some are looking for a cheaper alternative to sending texts. Luckily, AIM for iPhone supports sending text messages via the AIM service, which is totally free. To use this method, sign in with your AIM account on an iPhone. When you’re all logged in, tap the “new message” icon. Where you would normally specify a username, enter a mobile number instead. Be sure to add ‘+1′ and the area code before, though.
Several people have been reporting having a difficult time with some of their newly downloaded and installed apps from the App Store after restoring from a backup. Apps were only showing their start screen when they were launched, and then would immediately quit. If you’re having the same problem, read on for the solution.
In previous incarnations of iPhone software, it was possible to take screenshots using a built-in method, however, screenshots were only enabled after tweaking a preference file which required jailbreaking. Once the tweak was in place, holding the Home button while toggling the Ring/Silent switch would make the iPhone’s screen flash and a screenshot would be taken.
With the iPhone 2.0 software, screenshots are now enabled by default. To take a screenshot, you now hold the Home button while pressing the Sleep/Wake button. Your screen will flash and a grab of the current screen will be placed in your iPhone’s Photo app, which can then easily be imported using iPhoto or Windows Explorer.
Looking to get out of a contract with T-Mobile in the U.S. so you can switch to an iPhone on AT&T? For those who aren’t near the end of their T-Mobile contracts, the only way to get an iPhone any time soon will be to get out of your contract. Most of the time this will mean paying a few hundred bucks in cancellation fees, but as of July 1st there could be a way to get out of your contract fast without paying another dime.
If you’re like me, you’ve likely grown hoarse from complaining about the iPhone 3G’s increased plan cost. Thankfully, there is a way to mitigate the problem. Unlike the original iPhone, which Apple received service revenue kickbacks from, the iPhone 3G is a traditionally subsidized phone. This means that it now comes with some of the same benefits that other AT&T phones do, including the one that saves you 15% each month.
According to AT&T, college and university students, as well as employees of certain companies, are eligible for a 15% discount on their entire monthly plan. Read on for more info
Current AT&T customers who don’t have a first generation iPhone, or who aren’t eligible for an upgrade, will have to pay an extra $200 to purchase an iPhone 3G. For those unfortunate souls, this means waiting until upgrade time rolls around, or impatiently throwing down an extra $200 for an unsubsidized iPhone.
Thankfully, there’s a fantastic loophole that any current AT&T customer can use to get around this mess. All you need is a little help from a friend who already has an iPhone. Read on for the nitty gritty.
Gizmodo has stumbled upon an interesting point. Right now, AT&T will be offering a contract-free iPhone 3G for $599 (8GB) or $699 (16GB), but it might actually be cheaper to buy the iPhone with the contract and pay the early termination fee. They did the math, and they figure that it would even still be cheaper to buy a 16GB this way than a contract-free 8GB.
After Apple introduces new products, Apple.com is traditionally updated within about 5 milliseconds of El Jobso’s trademark “boom!”. Of course, it was no different when the iPhone 3G was announced. However, Apple seems to have forgotten about the 6 million iPhone customers who are already out there. Where a slew of useful information once lived, an ad for the new iPhone has taken its place. I can understand pimping their new iPhone, but they’ve left current customers out in the cold with no way of watching those fantastic guided tours or finger tips.
Although Apple pulled the pages, we managed to track down the videos still living on their web server. We’ve got a full list of the famous guided tours below.
One of the more annoying problems with having an iPhone is the buzzing noise that comes out of computer speakers when it gets too close to them. This can be especially problematic given that the most logical place to charge the device for most people is in the same location as the computer so it can be synced quickly, etc. Fortunately someone has found a solution by creating a shield made from some double-sided tape and an empty Red Bull can.
I recently got an email from a friend of mine with a tale of iPhone woe. My buddy Ken (not the podcaster) has a car charger which was made for use with iPods and so he assumed an iPhone would work just as well. As it turns out, not every iPod charger will play nicely with an iPhone. Frankly, I’ve been known to tell people that iPod chargers will work the same. After hearing Ken’s story, my tip to you all is to be sure that your car chargers are made to work with the iPhone. Ken’s story follows the break.
While it’s widely accepted that there will probably be a new iPhone launched this month, if not at least announced, the possibility exists that there won’t be, so the decision to take the risk of selling your iPhone ahead of any announcement is something you’ll have to decide for yourself. However, when the time comes, Gizmodo’s Christopher Mascari has a few things to remember about selling your 1st generation iPhone. If you play your cards right, you might even get more than what you paid for it.
Erica Sadun has stumbled across what looks like a great deal with PAYG phone plans. Currently, GoPhone accounts charge quite a bit for data access, so it’s almost impossible to get away with using an iPhone without racking up a big bill. Thankfully, AT&T has recently added an unlimited data package for $20.00 which lasts for 30 days.
Here’s a handy tip that’s sure to slim down your wallet and possibly streamline your life just a bit more. This one is simple; by scanning all of the club/grocery cards with barcodes that you have as images, you can hold a virtual wallet on your iPhone in the form of a photo album. Once you’ve scanned everything in, front and back, save it to an iPhoto album (on a Mac) and sync that album to your iPhone. Every time you update the album with a new card, it’ll be synced to the phone. When you’re at the store, whip out your phone and bring the appropriate card full screen. If all goes well, the barcode reader should pick it up with no trouble at all.
So let’s see, which one of you ignored our warnings and decided to upgrade their phones to the 2.0 beta? If you did, you’ve likely ended up at a pink activation screen with no way to activate. This is because your phone hasn’t been authorized for the beta. If you’re stuck, you can downgrade your iPhone back to 1.1.4 and use it once again.
Apple’s inclusion of a [.com] button on the iPhone’s virtual keyboard has proved to be a big time saver when typing out URLs, but what about international sites that don’t use the “.com” extension? You probably know about the trick where you hold down a button to bring up a menu with alternatives for the key. Mac OS X Hints explains how to enable doing that with regional domains on the [.com] key.
Apple has posted a support article which links to Skyhook Wireless’ wireless access point submission page. The form allows users to submit the location of nearby wireless routers, so long as the router’s MAC address is known. Because Skyhook uses wireless access points to determine a user’s location, the more access point information they have, the more accurate the location feature becomes.
One of the nice things about using a Mac is that things tend to be more conventient, like when you plug in a digital camera and iPhoto starts up automatically. However, in the case of the iPhone, having iTunes and iPhoto start automatically every time you connect your iPhone can be more annoying than helpful. 37Signals has step-by-step instructions on how to set up an AppleScript that will stop that from happening.
This tip is only intended for those who jailbroke their iPhone. This does not apply to unhacked iPhones. If you’ve been an iPhone owner for any significant amount of time you have likely had friends or family ask to grope your shiny new toy. While most of us don’t necessarily mind letting others play with the iPod, YouTube, or Safari, allowing them access to Mail and your Text Messages is another story. Luckily almost any item on the home screen can be hidden with a simple double tap. Read on for the how-to.
When I talk to people about getting an iPhone, the number one reason for waiting is usually due to having a contract with another carrier. Sure, the iPhone is shiny, but who really wants to pay $175 to get out of a contract? Reader David sent in a tip to aide individuals facing this dilemma. If you’re locked into a contract you can easily get rid of it by using a cellular plan trading site.
This tip is only intended for those who jailbroke their iPhone. This does not apply to unhacked iPhones. Wouldn’t it be convenient if your iPhone’s filesystem could be mounted directly to your desktop? SSHFS, a MacFUSE extension, uses SSH to mount your iPhone wirelessly to your Mac. Once mounted, the iPhone’s entire filesystem is available just like any other drive on your Mac. Here’s how to do it (Mac only).
This tip is only intended for those who jailbroke their iPhone. This does not apply to unhacked iPhones. So you’ve just finished hacking your iPhone and installed every application you could find, but what the heck happened to your battery life? In the process of installing various things, you’ve likely installed OpenSSH, the tool which allows remote login to your iPhone from a computer. The problem is, SSH requires that a listener called SSHD constantly runs, waiting for a remote login attempt. This in turn drains your battery. The solution is to disable SSHD when you don’t need it. Read on for the how-to.
Don’t you just hate trying to manage cell phone minutes? Sure, you can call in or check your usage online, but what if you need a quick reminder of your remaining minutes? Thankfully, Apple has graciously provided a really easy way to do this right from the Settings app. From the Home Screen, tap Settings>Phone>”AT&T Services” and “View My Minutes”. In a moment, you’ll get a free text message telling you about your remaining minutes.
The iPhone makes voicemail super easy. From recording an outgoing message to listening to new voicemails, it just works. The only thing is, recording an outgoing message never turns out just right because it’s being recorded through iPhone’s tiny microphone. The way around it – upload a custom outgoing message to your iPhone.
This tip is outdated. Please see this new tip for updated instructions. We all know that the new iTunes adds the ability to create custom ringtones and buy them from the iTunes store. What you probably don’t know is that you can easily add your own ringtones as well. By now I’m sure that, with great tools such as iFuntastic and iToner available, a large majority of us already have ringtones ready to go. For all you folks too scared to hack your iPhone, this is a great semi-Apple supported way of adding ringtones for free.
For a phone, the iPhone has a considerably enormous amount of storage space. Although 8GB is a lot for a phone, it’s not a lot when you think of the iPhone as an iPod. An 80GB iPod is the only thing that holds all of my media, but I don’t always want to bring it with me. So what happens if I want to hear a podcast or listen to music that I haven’t synced to the phone? For this, I use one of my favorite iPhone apps, iPhone Remote (aka Telekinesis).
One of the most common complaints about the iPhone is how quiet the ringer is. Most, including myself, have blamed this on iPhone’s tiny speakers. As it turns out, the culprit is the audio itself and not the speaker it plays on. Granted, tiny speakers aren’t good for playing loud, low-frequency audio, but that’s not the point. It’s always a good idea to use loud, high-frequency audio as a ringtone. Where do you find such an amazing piece of audio? Amazingly enough, most of don’t even realize that we have it living on our Macs this very moment.
YouTube on the iPhone was a great idea, but how many times can you watch “OK Go, on Treadmills” or “Skateboarding Dog” before you’re sick of it? Personally, I think Google Video is where it’s at. It has a much better interface and it’s a hotbed for documentaries. The only problem is that Google Video is based on Flash. Fortunately, there’s a really easy work-around built right in to Google Video.
Is your iPhone acting up? Yes it’s true, iPhones have problems too. But what can you do when it’s REALLY messed up? If iTunes doesn’t see your iPhone’s cry for help, you may need to invoke recovery mode. Although it’s an extremely helpful mode, how to get there isn’t very apparent. Read on for the how-to!
As arcane as “recovery mode” sounds, it’s actually very simple:
By now we’ve all seen the video of Justine Ezarik flipping through page after page of an iPhone bill so large that it came in a box. Unfortunately this isn’t an isolated incident. If you have an iPhone, everything downloaded over EDGE and every SMS message will be logged and printed on your bill. Pretty inconvenient, eh? Not only will you need to dispose of the bill (please shred), it’s also a terrible waste of paper. Save yourself the headache of receiving a box-bill, and switch to online billing. How? Read on.
Apple made it very clear that not having a plastic keyboard would change the way users interacted with the iPhone. The most important aspect of this was the keyboard’s ability to change based on the particular application. The best example of this is in Safari. Because spaces aren’t used when entering a URL, you’re given a dot, slash, and dot com button instead. Having these are great, but Safari on iPhone is a lot like its big brother. If you want to visit Apple.com, just type “Apple” and hit return. The www. and the .com are thrown in for you. My tip for you: skip the .com button, it’s not necessary.
One of everyone’s favorite things to do is customize their iPhones, and one fun and stylish way to do that is to replace the outer enclosures. There are a few colored ones, but the silver and black piece from CNN.cn is both durable and classy, and provides a good fit. Matt McK’s tutorial shows how to replace the original silver casing with this classy black one in a way that will minimize the chance of damaging parts.
Those iPhone ads sure are catchy, aren’t they? In the YouTube era, I’m willing to bet that more than a handful of folks would love to parody those ads. The only problem is that the music used is pretty key. If you don’t have the music, it won’t feel the same. I did some investigation and found that the song played in the ad is actually “Perfect Timing” by Orba Squara. I cracked open Rogue Amoeba’s Fission and cut the song down to what it is in the ads. So while this tip isn’t really a tip, at least it’s something fun.
Download the iPhone Ad music here and enjoy!
With the advent of being able to easily hack ringtones onto your iPhone, there’s just one thing missing: an easy way to convert your songs into ringtones. As it turns out, Apple has done the dirty work for you with the 30 second previews which accompany every track on iTunes. Erica Sadun of TUAW has figured out a super easy way to nab those previews for use on your iPhone. Step by step instructions after the jump!
Thanks to its finger-based input, navigation on the iPhone is super easy. In fact, just about the only thing that isn’t easy is scrolling long web pages. Ah, but wait, here comes the tip! Say you’re browsing Digg, and when you get to the bottom of the page, you suddenly have the urge to look up something in Wikipedia. Sure, you can flick your way up to the top, but there’s a better way. When the address bar slides off screen, all you do to reach the top again is tap the status bar. Doing this will cause the browser to quickly scroll up, revealing the address bar. Enjoy!
Update: This tip now works in most apps.
I’m sure you’ve noticed that iPhone doesn’t actually have functional scroll bars. Why would it? All the scrolling is done by flicking your finger. But did you know that when you scroll around in Safari, (and most other scrollable apps) little translucent black scroll bars show up to indicate your scroll direction and relative position in the document? I know what you’re thinking, “thanks captain obvious, tell us something we don’t know”. Alright, the real tip isn’t that scroll bars simply exist, but that they can tell you instantly how long a document is and where you are within it. Read on to see what I mean.
In Walt Mossberg’s review of the iPhone, he made sure to address the nay-sayers of iPhone’s keyboard stating that it was “a non issue”. After using my iPhone for a good week and a half, I have to agree with him. Once you start to trust the keyboard and it’s intelligent error correction, you can fly on it. That having been said, there are one or two quirks that could drive someone crazy when using iPhone’s keyboard. Today, I’m talking about punctuation marks.
Latest iPhone Forum Post
