Wiley IPhone 3g portable genius aug 2008 ISBN 047042348x pdf

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iPhone™ 3G
PORTABLE

GENIUS

by Paul McFedries and David Pabian


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iPhone™ 3G
PORTABLE

GENIUS

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iPhone™ 3G
PORTABLE

GENIUS

by Paul McFedries and David Pabian


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iPhone™ 3G Portable Genius
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
10475 Crosspoint Blvd.
Indianapolis, IN 46256
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2008 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
ISBN: 978-0-470-42348-6
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted
under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written
permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the
Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 750-4744.
Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing, Inc.,
10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-4355, or online at
/>Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or
warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim
all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be
created or extended by sales or promotional materials.The advice and strategies contained herein may not be
suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in
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For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our
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Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not
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Trademarks: Wiley and the Wiley Publishing logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley and
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About the Authors
Paul McFedries

is a Mac expert and full-time technical writer. Paul has been authoring
computer books since 1991 and has more than 60 books to his credit.

Paul’s books have sold more than three million copies worldwide. These books include the

Wiley titles Teach Yourself VISUALLY Macs, Teach Yourself VISUALLY Computers, Fifth Edition, and The
Unofficial Guide to Microsoft Office 2007. Paul is also the proprietor of Word Spy (www.wordspy.
com), a Web site that tracks new words and phrases as they enter the language.

David Pabian

is a freelance writer and Mac enthusiast. A self-taught Mac expert and early
adopter, he can often be found troubleshooting all things Mac for his family
and friends.


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Credits
Senior Acquisitions Editor

Composition Management

Stephanie McComb

Clint Lahnen
Shelley Lea
Kathie Rickard
Debbie Stailey

Senior Project Editor
Cricket Krengel

Technical Editor
G. Smith

Copy Editor
Kim Heusel

Project Coordinator
Kristie Rees

Graphics and Production Specialists

Richard Swadley

Elizabeth Brooks
Laura Campbell
Ronda David-Burroughs
Jennifer Henry

Andrea Hornberger
Brent Savage

Vice President & Publisher

Quality Control Technicians

Barry Pruett

Laura Albert
David Faust
Caitie Kelly
Rob Springer
Amanda Steiner

Editorial Manager
Robyn B. Siesky

Vice President & Group Executive Publisher

Business Manager
Amy Knies

Senior Marketing Manager
Sandy Smith

Special Help
Jarod Brock

Proofreading

Shannon Ramsey

Indexing
Johnna VanHoose


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For Karen and Gypsy.
~Paul
For my mom who has done anything and everything for me and for my dad who
has taken an interest in everything I do. Thank you for everything.
~ David

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Acknowledgments
If you

think using the iPhone 3G is a blast, you should try about it! We had so much fun poking and prodding the iPhone 3G to see just what it’s capable of, that we’re worried our

publisher won’t pay us next time! Adding to the fun were the great people at Wiley that we got to
work with. They included Acquisition Editor Stephanie McComb, who was kind enough (or was it
brave enough?) to ask us to write the book; Project Editor Cricket Krengel, whose unflappable calm
under intense pressure is beyond admirable; and Copy Editor Kim Heusel, whose hawk-like attention to the all-important details made this a much better book. Many heartfelt thanks to all of you
for outstanding work on this project.
~ Paul McFedries

First,

I want to thank my entire family. I truly have the greatest family and I owe them more
than just my gratitude. To my parents, Janelle and Mike, thanks for all of the support

over the years and teaching me just about everything worth knowing. I appreciate it more than
you will ever know. Thanks to my brother and sister, Dan and Sarah, for getting on my case when I
deserve it, and for always being willing to hang out. Tucker and Dewey, thanks for spending some
of the late nights with me even if you were only able to offer up blank stares as inspiration. Mandy,
thanks for all the food and conversation. It would have been much less pleasant without you, to say
the least.Thanks Taylor and Cameron, for making me laugh and keeping me company.
Shilpa, thanks for reminding me that there is a world out there. I’m not sure I would have left the
house if not for you.Thanks for keeping me company while writing this.To Scott, keep fighting the
good fight. Thanks Erik, for teaching me to think outside the box. Daniel, thanks for always being
willing to sit on the porch just a little bit longer.
Finally, thanks to everyone who worked on this book. The difference between what left my hands
and what ended up on the shelf is amazing.
I’m extremely grateful to Paul McFedries for all his fast and exceptional work, and to Jarod Brock for
weathering the storm, all night under an awning just to make sure we got a phone.
~ David Pabian


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Acknowledgments
Introduction

Page xii

xi
xix

16

Customizing the Keyboard

17

Resetting the iPhone 3G

19

chapter 2

chapter 1
How Do I Configure My iPhone 3G? 2
Customizing the Home Screen to Suit
Your Style

Customizing the Home Button

4

Moving unused icons off the main
Home screen

5

Adding a Safari Web Clip to the
Home screen

5

Resetting the default Home screen
layout

7

How Can I Get More Out of My
iPhone 3G’s Phone Feature?

22

Working with Outgoing Calls

24

Making calls quickly

24

Configuring your iPhone 3G to not
show Your caller ID

25

Handling Incoming Calls

26

Silencing an incoming call

26
26

Protecting iPhone 3G with a Passcode

7

Sending an incoming call directly
to voicemail

Configuring When iPhone 3G Goes
to Sleep

9

Turning off the iPhone 3G call
waiting feature

27

Forwarding iPhone 3G calls to
another number

27

14

Juggling Multiple Calls and Conference
Calls

28

Using an existing photo as the
wallpaper

14

Using Other iPhone 3G Features While
On a Call

32

Taking a wallpaper photo with the
iPhone 3G camera

Managing Your Favorites List

33

15

Turning Sounds On and Off

10

Adjusting the Brightness of the Screen

12

Setting the iPhone 3G Wallpaper

14

Using a predefined wallpaper


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Working with Contacts from the Phone
Application

Managing your bookmarks

64

34

Converting a phone number into a
contact

Retracing your steps with the handy
History list

65

34

Assigning a ringtone to a contact

36

Maintaining your privacy by deleting
the History list

66

Opening and Managing Multiple Browser
Pages

67

Working with Voicemail

36

Entering an extension or navigating
a voicemail system

37

Changing the Default Search Engine

68

Working with your voicemail

38

Viewing an RSS Feed

69

Switching Your iPhone 3G to Airplane
Mode

42

Connecting Your iPhone 3G with a
Bluetooth Headset

Dialing a Phone Number from a Web Page 70

43

Making your iPhone 3G discoverable

44

Pairing your iPhone 3G with a

Bluetooth headset

45

Unpairing your iPhone 3G from a
Bluetooth headset
Turning Off Data Roaming

47
48

chapter 3
How Can I Make the Most of Web
Surfing with My iPhone 3G?

Setting the Web Browser Security Options 71

50

Understanding Internet Access Networks

52

Connecting to a Wi-Fi Network

53

chapter 4
How Do I Maximize E-mail on
My iPhone 3G?

74

Managing Your iPhone 3G E-mail
Accounts

76

Adding an account by hand

76

Specifying the default account

79

Switching to another account

79

Temporarily disabling an account

80

Deleting an account

81

Managing Multiple Devices by Leaving
Messages on the Server

81

Fixing Outgoing E-mail Problems by
Using a Different Server Port

83

Making your first connection

53

Connecting to known networks

55

Stopping the incessant Wi-Fi
network prompts

Configuring Authentication for Outgoing
Mail

84

55

Connecting to a hidden Wi-Fi
network

Configuring iPhone 3G to Automatically

Check for New Messages

85

56

Turning off the Wi-Fi antenna to save
power

Displaying More Messages in Your Inbox
Message List

86

57

Processing E-mail Faster by Identifying
Messages Sent to You

87

Touchscreen Tips for Web Sites

58

Filling in Online Forms

60

Using Bookmarks for Faster Surfing

62

Placing a Phone Call from an E-mail
Message

88

Adding bookmarks by hand

62

E-mailing a Link to a Web Page

89

Getting Firefox bookmarks into your
iPhone 3G

Setting a Minimum Message Font Size

90

63


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Creating a Custom iPhone 3G Signature
Configuring Your Exchange Active Sync
Settings

Page xiv

91
92

Preventing your iPhone 3G from
sending photos to your computer

126

Syncing media with two or more
computers

129

chapter 5
How Can I Take Control of
Syncing My iPhone 3G?

chapter 6
94

Connecting Your iPhone 3G to Your
Computer

96

Syncing Your iPhone 3G Automatically

96

Bypassing the automatic sync

97

Troubleshooting automatic syncing

98

How Can I Get More Out of My
iPhone 3G’s Media Features?

130

Creating a Custom Menu Bar for the
iPhone 3G’s iPod

132

Getting More Out of Your iPhone 3G’s
Audio Features

134

Syncing Your iPhone 3G Manually

100

Using audio accessories with your
iPhone 3G

Syncing Information with Your
iPhone 3G

100

Creating a favorite tunes playlist for
your iPhone 3G

135

Syncing your contacts

101

Rating a song on your iPhone 3G

136

Syncing your calendar

103

Browsing iPhone 3G music with

Cover Flow

138

Answering an incoming call while
listening to music on the headset

139

134

Syncing your e-mail account

104

Syncing your bookmarks

105

Merging data from two or more
computers

107

Handling sync conflicts

108

Creating a custom ringtone for
your iPhone 3G

139

108

Creating a playlist on your
iPhone 3G

142

110

Customizing your iPhone 3G’s
audio settings

143

Handling large iPhone 3G-tocomputer sync changes
Replacing your iPhone 3G’s data
with fresh info
Syncing Media with Your iPhone 3G

111

Syncing music and music videos

111

Syncing podcasts

115

Syncing audiobooks

117

Syncing movies

118

Syncing TV show episodes

119

Syncing computer photos to your
iPhone 3G

121

Syncing iPhone 3G photos to your
computer

123

Getting More Out of Your iPhone 3G’s
Video Features

145

Playing videos, movies, and TV

shows

145

Playing just the audio portion of a
music video

147

Playing iPhone 3G videos on
your TV

148

Customizing your iPhone 3G’s Video
settings
149


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Getting More Out of Your iPhone 3G’s
Photos

149

Assigning Web addresses to a
contact

168

Scrolling, rotating, zooming, and
panning photos

150

Assigning physical addresses to a
contact

169

Adding an existing photo to a
contact

Creating a custom label

170

151

Adding extra fields to a contact

172

Taking a contact’s photo with the
iPhone 3G camera

152

Keeping track of birthdays and
anniversaries

173

Sending a photo via e-mail

153

Add notes to a contact

174

Sending a photo to another mobile
phone

154

Creating a new contact from an
electronic business card

175

Receiving a photo on your
iPhone 3G

156

Delete a contact field

176

Sending a photo to your Flickr
account

Delete a contact

177

156

Starting a photo slide show

156

Creating a custom photo slide
show

157

Playing a slide show with
background music

157

Deleting a photo

158

Watching YouTube Videos

158

Tracking Your Appointments
Adding an appointment to your
calendar

177
177

Editing an existing appointment

179

Setting up a repeating event

180

Converting an event to an all-day
event

181

Adding an alert to an event

182

Setting a birthday or anniversary
reminder

184

Finding a YouTube video

159

Saving a video as a favorite

160

Sending a link to a video via e-mail

160

Displaying a list of your upcoming
events

184

Customizing the YouTube menu
bar

161

Handling Microsoft Exchange

meeting requests

185

chapter 7

chapter 8

Can I Use My iPhone 3G to Manage
Contacts and Appointments?
162

How Can I Use iPhone 3G to
Help Organize My Life?

Managing Your Contacts

Tracking Time with Clocks and Alarms

164

188
190

Creating a new contact

164

Seeing the time in another city

190

Editing an existing contact

165

Assigning phone numbers to a
contact

Turning the iPhone 3G into an
alarm clock

192

165

Assigning e-mail addresses to a
contact

Timing an event with the
Stopwatch

195

167

Setting a countdown timer

196

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Finding Your Way with Maps and GPS

197

Displaying your current location

197

Displaying a map of a contact’s
location

199

Using your iPhone 3G to send photos
to the MobileMe gallery
223

Saving a location as a bookmark for
easier access

200

Viewing your MobileMe Gallery in
your iPhone 3G

Specifying a location when you
don’t know the exact address

201

Getting directions to a location

202

Getting live traffic information

204

Viewing the Weather Forecast for
another City

205

Writing and E-mailing a Note

206

Getting a Stock Quote

208

chapter 9
How Do I Keep My Life In Sync
with MobileMe?

210

From .Mac to MobileMe

212

Understanding MobileMe Device
Support

213

Configuring MobileMe on Your
iPhone 3G
Setting up your MobileMe account
on your iPhone 3G

Setting up your MobileMe account
on your Mac

214

216
216

Setting up MobileMe synchronization
on your Mac

217
Configuring your MobileMe Account on
Your Windows PC
Manually adding your MobileMe
e-mail account to Outlook

222

225

chapter 10
How Do I Enhance My iPhone 3G
with App Store?
228
Accessing the App Store on Your
Computer

230

Downloading free applications

231

Purchasing applications

232

Viewing and updating your
applications

233

Moving Apps to Your iPhone 3G

233

Accessing the App Store on Your
iPhone 3G

234

Downloading free applications

236

Purchasing applications

236

Updating your applications

237

214

Setting up MobileMe synchronization
on your iPhone 3G
215
Configuring MobileMe on Your Mac

Using Your iPhone 3G to Work with
MobileMe Photos

218

chapter 11
How Do I Fix My iPhone 3G?
General Techniques for Troubleshooting
Your iPhone 3G

240

Troubleshooting connected
devices

241

Updating the iPhone 3G software

242

Backing up and restoring the
iPhone 3G’s data and settings

243

Taking Care of the iPhone 3G Battery
219

238

244

Tracking battery use

245

Tips for extending your battery life

245


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Solving Specific Problems

Page xvii

247

Your battery won’t charge

247

You have trouble syncing music or
videos

You have trouble accessing a Wi-Fi
network

248

Your iPhone 3G doesn’t recognize
your SIM card

iTunes doesn’t see your iPhone 3G

250

iTunes doesn’t sync your iPhone 3G

251

251
251

Glossary

252

Index

256


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We define

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technolust as an overwhelming and unstoppable desire to own some new
gadget or high-tech toy. The iPhone 3G with its built-in GPS receiver, App Store,

flush stereo jack, improved battery life, and, at long last, fast 3G network support, takes technolust
to a new level. That’s probably why you have one, and chances are you’re as thrilled with it as we
are.
However, lust is a short-term state, and inevitably those feelings fade as you settle into the daily
routine of calling, surfing, e-mailing, texting, and scheduling. That’s when you take a step back and
say,“Whoa, dude, this is one fancy phone; it’s gotta be able to do more than that!”It’s also about this
time when you begin to notice the iPhone 3G’s flaws. The Home screen icons aren’t arranged in a
way that makes sense for you; getting a Bluetooth headset to connect is a bit of a mystery; you’ve
downloaded some applications and sometimes they just freeze up on you.

Yes, the iPhone 3G is mighty simple to use out-of-the-box, but some of its most useful and powerful features are hidden away in obscure parts of the system. Sure, the iPhone 3G doesn’t get in your
way when you’re trying to be productive or creative, but sometimes it does something (or forces
you to do something) that just makes you want to scratch your head in wonderment. Sure, the
iPhone 3G’s robust design makes it a reliable device day after day, but even the best-built
machines can have problems.
When you come upon the iPhone 3G’s dark side, you might consider making an appointment with
your local Apple Store’s Genius Bar, and more often than not the on-duty genius gives you good
advice on how to overcome the iPhone 3G’s limitations, work around its annoyances, and fix its

xix


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failures.The Genius Bar is a great thing, but it isn’t exactly a convenient thing.You can’t just drop by
to get help; you have to make an appointment; you have to drag yourself down to the store, perhaps wait for your genius, get the problem looked at, and then make your way back home; and in
some cases you may need to leave your iPhone 3G for a while (No!) to get the problem checked
out and hopefully resolved.
What you really need is a version of the Genius Bar that’s easier to access, more convenient, and
doesn’t require tons of time or leaving your iPhone 3G in the hands of a stranger. What you really
need is a “portable” genius that enables you to be more productive and solve problems wherever
you and your iPhone 3G happen to be.
Welcome, therefore, to iPhone 3G Portable Genius.This book is like a mini Genius Bar all wrapped up
in an easy-to-use, easy-to-access, and eminently portable format. In this book, you learn how to get

more out of your iPhone 3G by learning how to access all the really powerful and timesaving features that aren’t obvious at a casual glance. In this book, you learn how to avoid your iPhone 3G’s
more annoying character traits and, in those cases where such behavior can’t be avoided, you learn
how to work around it. In this book, you learn how to prevent iPhone 3G problems from occurring,
and just in case your preventative measures are for naught, you learn how to fix many common
problems yourself.
This book is for iPhone 3G users who know the basics but want to take their iPhone 3G education
to a higher level. It’s a book for people who want to be more productive, more efficient, more creative, and more self-sufficient (at least as far as the iPhone 3G goes). It’s a book for people who use
their iPhone 3G every day, but would like to incorporate it into more of their day-to-day activities.
It’s a book we had a blast writing, so we think it’s a book you’ll enjoy reading.


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The iPhone 3G is justly famous for its stylish, curvaceous design and for its
slick, effortless touchscreen. However, although good looks and ease of use
are important for any smartphone, it’s what you do with that phone that’s
important. The iPhone 3G helps by offering lots of features, but chances are
those features aren’t set up to suit the way you work. Maybe your most-used
Home screen icons aren’t at the top of the screen where they should be, or
perhaps your iPhone 3G goes to sleep too soon.This chapter shows you how
to configure your iPhone 3G to solve these and many other annoyances so
the phone works the way you do.

Customizing the Home Screen to Suit Your Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Protecting iPhone 3G with a Passcode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Configuring When iPhone 3G Goes to Sleep . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Turning Sounds On and Off. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Adjusting the Brightness of the Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Setting the iPhone 3G Wallpaper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Customizing the Home Button. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Customizing the Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Resetting the iPhone 3G . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19