CantBarsed Guide - How to Get your iPhone 3G/S Up and Running...
Step 1 - If you haven't already order your iPhone 3G !
If you've ordered your iPhone online you have a day or two to prepare to change your mobile life and the following steps will help you hit the ground running.
Step 2 - Download and install iTunes
The iPhone 3G uses iTunes to commicate with your PC/Mac so if you haven't already got iTunes installed on your computer now is a good time to download iTunes for FREE for your Mac or PC. You'll also need iTunes to activate your iPhone and manage your iPhone content so there's no alternative.
Step 3 - Open an iTunes Store Account
If you've ever purchased anything from the iTunes Store you'll already have an account, if not, set one up now, it's free and you'll need an iTunes account to activate your iPhone 3G.
Step 4 - Organise your Photos
The iPhone 3G comes with 8Gb or 16Gb memory which is enough space to store lots of music and photos but add a few movies or video podcasts and you'll soon run out of space, organise them now so when your iPhone arrives you know exactly which photos you want to carry around.
PC Users: iTunes can synchronise Photoshop Elements Photo Albums, your My Pictures folder or any other specified folder. We created a new shared folder with sub folders to share photos we want to carry around.
Mac Users: iTunes can synchronise all or selected iPhoto albums or use any other specified folder.
Step 5 - Organise your Music
iTunes is the only way to manage your music content. iTunes can synchronise all your music or selected playlists so if you have more music that you'll be able to carry around take the time now to create an iPhone playlist, or several playlists, so you can click and go when your iPhone arrives.
Step 6 - Organise your Contacts
Update your contacts on your Mac/PC from your mobile phone and clear out anything you no longer need because everything that remains will end up on your iPhone 3G.
PC Users: iTunes can synchronise your Outlook or Outlook Express contacts or, if you maintain your contacts online, a Yahoo! Address Book.
Mac Users: iTunes can synchronise your contacts from Address Book or, if you maintain your contacts online, using Apple's Mobile Me service.
Step 7 - Organise your Bookmarks
iTunes can synchronise bookmarks from Internet Explorer and Apple's Safari browser - a version of which is used as the iPhone internet browser. It's well worth downloading Safari (FREE Safari download for Mac & PC) and setting up a minimal set of bookmarks so it's easier to find the sites you need when you're using your iPhone 3G without flicking through hundreds of bookmarks - we did that. We also need access to dozens of passwords on the move so we were delighted to learn 1Password, one of our favourite apps and the best password manager on the Mac (similar to RoboForm on the PC) supports the iPhone 3G. 1Password creates a special password protected bookmark in Safari where you can access all your passwords and it's a neat solution which is synchronised to your iPhone along with all your other Safari bookmarks.
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The iPod touch is the iPod that looks like an iPhone but without the price tag and this latest generation features FaceTime video calls and the awesome Retina display which gives you 960x640 resolution. There's also HD video recording and games which you can play against friends anywhere in the world.
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Your iPhone 3G has arrived - It's Play Time!
Assuming you've followed the steps above, it will only take a few minutes to activate your iPhone 3G.
Simply connect the iPhone dock to any USB port, run iTunes, plug your iPhone into the dock (they come fully charged) and follow the on-screen instructions to activate your iPhone 3G.
You should see an iPhone entry in the iTunes left hand menu and, after activation, a graphical representation of your iPhone 3G memory is displayed across the bottom of the screen which helps you manage your iPhone content.
iPhone 3G Guide - Features and Tips
iPhone - Buttons and Bells
Touch screen technology, promixity and ambient ligh sensors are used to offer a unique user experience which is powerful, easy to learn and efficient. There's just three "real" switches on an iPhone, one on the top to turn sleep mode on/off, a volume up/down rocker switch and a ringer on/off slide switch. The most important button is located front centre below the screen which brings up the main menu.
Everything else happens on-screen through context specific menus. Text input uses a virtual keyboard with predictive word capabilities which guesses the next letter you're likely to need and enlarges that key along with automatic spell checking/correction and a nifty dictionary which teaches itself new words. Together these features make entering text easier than ever before on a portable device. Add to this the "flicking finger" action (used to move and scroll, performed as if you were flicking a card across a table, where the action gradually slows to a stop as if affected by real-world friction) and the "pinch" action (two fingers are moved further apart or together to zoom the screen contents) and you've got a really natural user experience - and making a call is as simple as tapping on a name.
iPhone - Managing your contacts
You can enter your contacts directly into the iPhone 3G but it's much easier to synchronise your existing contacts in Outlook / Outlook Express on a PC or Address Book and Entourage on a Mac or the Yahoo! Address Book if you maintain your contacts online.
iPhone - Diary and Appointments
The iPhone calendar makes it easy to keep track of your appointments. If you plan to make your iPhone 3G the centre of your digital life you can enter your appointments directly or, if you prefer, you can manage all your appointments, synchronising via iTunes, with Outlook / Outlook Express on a PC or iCal or Entourage on the Mac.
iPhone - Email and Webmail
The built-in iPhone email application can display HTML format emails which means photos, PDFs, Word DOCs and Excel Spreadsheets along with text can all be sent and viewed directly on your iPhone. Mail can be collected according to a schedule or whenever you open the Email application. There's support for Yahoo! mail, Google g-mail, AOL, .mac mailboxes and you can set up pretty much any POP3 or IMAP mail account - iTunes can automatically synchronise the settings for your email accounts from Outlook on a PC or Mail on a Mac.
iPhone 3G - It's the ultimate iPod!
In iPod mode the iPhone 3G uses Cover Flow when tilted sideways to browse your album covers, photo albums, TV shows, podcasts, personal movies etc at the swipe of a finger across the screen and the 3.5" widescreen display is plenty bif enough to watch your favourite TV shows, personal videos and YouTube movies on the move.
iPhone 3G - Digital Camera
Although the iPhone 2Mpx camera is underpowered and doesn't capture video like many camera phones in our experience mobile phone cameras with higher resolutions are often too slow to take decent quality pictures at the highest resolutions. The iPhone 3G's 3.5" display and "pinch" zoom features makes viewing pictures a much more enjoyable experience and they can be uploaded or emailed at the touch of a few buttons and synchronised with your PC/Mac using iTunes.
iPhone 3G - WiFi Access
At home you can use your wireless broadband service and on the move Apple have done a deal with The Cloud network which gets your FREE internet access at over 7,500 hotspots cafes, restaurants, airport lounges, pubs and other locations.
iPhone 3G - Internet on the Move - At Last!
The iPhone 3G can browse the internet properly on a mobile device, without making concessions or viewing cut-down pages and it's a very liberating experience. Safari is a fast and efficient web browser and many Mac and PC users already prefer Safari to Internet Explorer (Click here to download Safari for your Mac or PC). Apple have done a deal with Google to offer YouTube and Google Maps, including Street View content which is amazing.
iPhone 3G - Text messaging
Text messages are displayed chronologically in mailbox format, similar to Mobile Me Mail, with text from your contacts alongside your replies. Cute iChat style speech bubbles make text messaging a more natural experience. Instant messaging is available through Facebooks and other applications.
iPhone 3G and Apple - What's the Future?
We've been Apple fans for decades already and we're loving the iPhone, Apple TV and our Mac computers. We're sure there's a place for Apple products in every home!
Read our vision of an Apple inspired future here...
Do You Really Need an iPhone 3G or Would an iPod Touch Suit you Better?
If you want the WiFi and iPod features of the iPhone and but don't need another mobile phone or contract take a close look at the iPod touch which could be the iPod for you.
iPhone/iPod Accessories - iPod Speakers - iPod Docks - iPod Cases - iPod Cables
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