As far as cellular phones go, the iPhone has set the standards by which all other phones are compared. Over 70 million phones sold and over 250,000 downloadable programs on the iPhone App Store are available and still growing. The question now becomes exactly what is the iPhone and why is it so popular?
The iPhone is a much more than a cell phone. It is also an iPod, a video player, a camera, a Web browser, an email system, a personal manager, and much, much more. Remember I said there are all of those apps at the App Store? That means that it can be a game arcade, a GPS, a musical keyboard, a restaurant finder, a remote control, and that doesn't even break the surface.
Now since Apple has unveiled its new iPhone 4, there are many more features that now need to be explored and iPhone: The Missing Manual is already to unearth the newest secrets including its visual calling, the dual cameras with flash, and the world's highest resolution screen.
While the iPhone comes with some documentation, iPhone: The Missing Manual is what should have come with your iPhone. The goal of this book is to give you a guided tour of every feature passing along a lot of tips, tricks, and surprises. The book is 448 pages, 15 chapters and two appendixes, and divided into five parts. I will break down by part.
Part 1: "The iPhone as a Phone" begins by looking at everything that is related to the iPhone as a phone. This includes turning on the iPhone, the SIM card, the icons, fingering techniques, and charging your phone. It also includes dialing, answering, voice control, voice mail, conference calling, text messaging, MMS, contacts, as well as learning about the new FaceTime – iPhone 4's video calling feature.
Part 2: "Pix, Flix, & Apps" next looks at the iPhone's ability to play music and video and take pictures. Here you will examine building lists of songs and playing music, playing video, as well as working with the wireless iTunes Store. Next you will learn about the camera, how to set up photo wallpaper, taking head shots for contacts and taking both still and video images.
From there it is on to the various maps and apps that are available in the iPhone. You will examine the calendar, YouTube, stocks, weather, and voice memos. Finally, you will next look at ringtones, talking buttons, and Speak Auto-Text.
Part 3: "The iPhone Online" examines one of the other powerful features of the iPhone, its ability to get you on to the internet via either Wi-Fi or though AT&T's cellular network. You don't have to have an account with AT&T to use an iPhone, just a wireless access hot spot. In this section you will learn exactly how to connect without cellular access and other neat network tricks.
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