The Unofficial iPhone Tricks and Tips Blog

Jelly Camera Phone Filters

2011-12-23T06:57:00.000-08:00

Jelly Phone Filters are keychain sized adapters for your smartphone's camera lens that add flare to your photographs by creating kaleidoscopes, wide angles, and starbursts effects. Each filter is outfitted with a re-usable gummy ring so you can use it over and over again.

Enabling Macro Photography on Most Smartphones

2011-12-23T06:47:00.000-08:00

Using a Photojojo Easy Macro Cell Lens Band you can take better macro photographs using most smartphones. Basically the way the band works is its a lens that is embedded into an elastic band that fits around most smartphones, and allows you to position the macro lens over the camera's lens.

Coolest iPhone Accessory: Swivl

2011-12-19T20:03:00.000-08:00

The Swivl by Satarii is one of the coolest mobile accessory I have seen in a little while. It allows your phone's camera to follow you using a 360 degree swivel base with a tilting option. The way the system works is that the base follows the marker that comes with the device.

The device also ships with a tripod mount accessory that allows you to use any standard tripod compatible pocket camera.

Pre-order price for the device is a $159 US MSRP. Its supposed to begin shipping in early 2012.

iPhone Gift Ideas: Who Said iPhones Couldn't Have Multiple Lenses?

2011-12-18T16:06:00.001-08:00

Engadget reports: "There's no doubting the quality of this iPhone Lens Dial case, which packs a telephoto, fisheye and wide-angle lens onto an aircraft-grade aluminum case." (read the rest of the article)

iPhone Gift Ideas: Tascam unveils iM2 microphone

2011-12-18T16:05:00.001-08:00

Engadget reports: "Sure, audio recording via the stock mic and iOS app is pretty serviceable for most tasks, but what about capturing that next Avett Brothers gig? You need look no further than Tascam's iM2 stereo microphone for your Apple handheld or slate. Equipped with a pair of condenser microphones -- the same kit as the outfit's DR-series recorders -- the iM2 plugs right in to the dock port of your iOS device. The duo is adjustable over 180-degrees for the perfect capture and it sports its own preamp and analog-to-digital converter to cut out unwanted coughs and increase those vicious banjo chops. Since the peripheral doesn't use the stock iPhone preamp, it is capable of capturing up to 125dB levels without distortion. And don't worry about that 4S dying mid-set, as the iM2 features a USB input that enables charging through the encore." (read the rest of the article)

The iPhone Economy

2011-12-10T21:00:00.000-08:00

It’s hard to argue Apple's success at creating the iPhone platform, or how well it designed the hardware or its mobile OS. Apple has the ability to create a "sexy" product and make it chic with its advertising, packaging, design, and its retail channel.

From the time you walk into an Apple store, to the time you finish signing the contract, the whole experience is manicured. Apple also has a amazingly loyal fan base that offers free personal product endorsements to all their friends and family.

To me the most amazing thing about the whole platform is Apple's ability to monetize just about every aspect of it. Any company would love to have the ability to control all the aspects of their products ecosystem similar to the one that Apple has.

(Read the rest of the article)

Using the iPhone with Gloves

2011-11-27T09:20:00.001-08:00

More people are using smart phone these days and now that winter is here, they will soon discover that these screens don't work with gloves on. Most modern smart phonse these days like the iPhone use a capacitive touch screen, and these device rely on human touch to work.

The way the technology for capacitive touch screens works it relies on the human body's ability to conduct electricity. So when you're wearing gloves, the screen loses it's ability to tell where your fingers are.

To overcome this problem, companies have invented products to help you use these touch screen while wearing gloves.

Special gloves (information)
Quirky Digits (information)

Jailbreakers unearth hidden panorama mode in iOS 5 camera app

2011-11-12T17:07:00.000-08:00

Engadget reports: "Somewhere deep within the bowels of iOS 5 lurks a panoramic camera function, and hacker Conrad Kramer has unlocked it. The trick, according to Kramer (AKA Conradev), is to set the "EnableFirebreak" key to "Yes" within an iOS preference file. Alternatively, you could just grab fellow hacker Grant Paul's Firebreak tweak, which just hit the Cydia storefront this morning. Once installed on your jailbroken phone, Firebreak will allow you to take full panoramic shots directly from the iOS interface, as pictured above in Paul's screenshot. No word yet on if or when Apple plans on flipping this function live, but in the meantime, you can check out the links below for more details." (read the rest of the article)

Pocket Projector for iPhone 4 Devices at Brookstone

2011-11-12T16:59:00.000-08:00

From Brookstone: "Our Pocket Projector for iPhone 4 is perfect for on-the-go travel entertainment. Its super-bright 15-lumen LED projector lamp ensures clearer, more brilliant images than other pico projectors. 640x360 native display resolution projects up to 50" images. Focus adjustment lets you control image clarity while the integrated 0.5W speaker delivers the audio. Great for keeping kids entertained with their favorite videos on the road!" (Check out the web site for more information)

Siri on the iPhone 3GS

2011-11-12T16:53:00.001-08:00

I am not sure what it took to get this to work, or even if its real. But some people, claimed to have ported Siri to the iPhone 3GS. There is not a lot of detail other then the video, and I am guessing it involves jail breaking the phone. Personally I have never been a big fan of using jail breaking.

IRIS 9000 voice control module for iPhone & Siri

2011-11-07T04:15:00.000-08:00

Are you a fan of the movie 2001 Space Odyssey, and always wanted your own HAL 9000, then check out the following product from ThinkGeek. With the IRIS 9000 voice control module its supposed to allow you to control Siri on Phone 4S from across the room.

(Picture from ThinkGeek)

iOS 5: Photo Application Improvements

2011-11-02T20:47:00.000-07:00

Apple's Photo application has always been very simple program, and didn't support any tools to enhance the image. In iOS 5 Apple added a few enhancements to the Photo Application, by adding tools to manipulate your photographs.

Below is a list of the new features:

Crop and rotate controls
Red eye removal
One tap image enhance
Organize photos into albums

iOS 5: iCloud Support

2011-11-01T21:08:00.000-07:00

iOS 5 includes many new features, one of the major ones is the new iCloud support. iCloud allows you move your data into Apple's data centers, and access it from any of your iDevices (e.g. iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, etc.).

Some of the new features of iCloud includes the following functionality:

5GB of free storage.
iTunes in the cloud, with the optional iTunes Match feature.
Photo Stream allows you to automatically syncs your pictures between your iDevices.
Store all your data (e.g. music, photos, documents, bookmarks, reminders, notes, and books) in the cloud.
Sync your contacts, calendar, and email between your iDevices
Find My iPhone

iOS 4: Accessing the Audio Controls

2011-10-31T01:00:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you want to stop, play or change the song you are listening too, without having to switch applications. You can access the iPod audio controls by double-pressing the home button, then swipe left (sliding the lower panel to the right).

Apple's Applications for your iPhone

2011-10-28T21:43:00.000-07:00

Below is a list of all the currently available iPhone apps from Apple. Some of the programs are free, and other cost money. Unfortunately of the ones that cost money there are no free demos available to try them out before you buy them.

iBooks: Buy, download and read books, magazines, and newspapers from your iPhone. (Cost: Free)
Pages: Apple's mobile word processor for your iPhone. (Cost: $9.99)
Numbers: Apple's mobile spreadsheet for your iPhone. (Cost: $9.99)
Keynote: Apple's mobile presentation for your iPhone. (Cost: $9.99)
iMovie: Apple's mobile movie editor for your iPhone. (Cost: $4.99)
Remote: Use your iPhone as a remote control for iTunes or Apple TV. (Cost: Free)
Apple Store: View information or buy Apple products from your iPhone. (Cost: Free)
Find My iPhone: Help find your missing iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac. (Cost: Free)

Google Applications for the iPhone

2011-10-27T22:19:00.000-07:00

Below is a list of all the available Google applications for the iPhone:

Google Search: Search Google by text, voice, and picture.
Google+: The social network client, that allows you to read or update your Google+ feed.
Google Earth: View satellite footage of anywhere on the Earth
Google Translate: Translate between multiple languages (currently supports 50 languages)
Google Voice: Make voice calls, listen to your voice mail, and send SMS messages.
Google Books: Offers over 3 million e-books for free and for sale.
Google Places: Discover nearby restaurants, cafes, bars and more.
Google Latitude: Friends and family can share their locations with others on a map.
Google Shopper: Find information about different products.
Google Authentication: 2-step verification for your Google Account
Google TV Remote: Turn your iPhone into a fully functional Google TV remote.

A Duet With Siri (iPhone 4s Song)

2011-10-25T21:31:00.000-07:00

This video is like a traffic accident that you can't look away from even though you want to. The video does a good job of showing the scope of available answers from Siri that can be provided to your questions. I am also pretty sure there will be tons of imitators of this video soon.

How does the iPhone 4S camera stack-up against other cameras?

2011-10-24T21:05:00.000-07:00

Campl.us reports: "The iPhone 4S is dramatically clearer and sharper than previous iPhone versions. Using separate focus and exposure in Camera on the iPhone 4 & 4S significantly helped create a more balanced exposure. While it's not nearing the same quality as a professional level dSLR, it is comparable to a top of the line compact camera and even outshines it in some ways." (read the rest of the article)

See a photo comparison of pictures taken from an iPhone original, 3G, 3GS, 4, 4S, and a few other cameras.

10 Things You Need to Know About iCloud

2011-10-19T18:22:00.000-07:00

Channel Insider reports: "After a long wait, Apple’s iCloud is finally available to users of the company’s products and services. And as the latest entrants to the service have undoubtedly found, the platform works exceedingly well both as a syncing tool and a storage option. What’s more, it appears that Apple is ready and willing to improve the platform to make it even more appealing in the future. But for those who haven’t tried out iCloud just yet or simply want to know more about it, the following slides should be quite helpful." (read the rest of the article)

Before Siri there was the Knowledge Navigator

2011-10-17T21:19:00.000-07:00

Before Apple released Siri (in 2011) in iOS 5 for the iPhone 4S, John Scully had a vision for the future called the "Knowledge Navigator" (in 1987). The video below is a promotional film for that technology, the part of the that has the vision of the Knowledge Navigator starts about 1 minute in, and runs for about 5 minutes.

As the concept of the Knowledge Navigator predated the Siri technology. Apple's failed Newton platform was one of the technologies that was inspired from the concepts introduced in the Knowledge Navigator. The Newton also predated the iPhone by about two decades.

I have to admit I bought a Newton when they came out, but I never really did much with it other then care it around. It was a toy for the most part.

While I doubt there is any direct influence in Siri (which is technology that was acquired by Apple on April 28, 2010) from concepts introduced by the Knowledge Navigator. It's interesting to see the comparison from the John Scully's original vision of the technology, to an actual product like the iPhone 4S.

iOS 4: Making a Web Clips

2011-10-15T22:44:00.000-07:00

Want to add a web site to your Home screen? Open the Safari application and go to a web page or site that you want, press the Go To icon at the bottom of the Safari window, and then press the Add to Home Screen button.

You will be prompted to give your new bookmark a name. To find the link to the web site that was created go to the last space that is available on your Home screen.

iOS 5: Text Macros

2011-10-15T21:21:00.000-07:00

A new feature of the iOS 5 input editor (which is utilized by Messages, Email and other applications) is called Shortcuts. The way the feature works is when you enter an acronym like OMW (or whatever you specify), it will be replaced with the words "On My Way".

To create a new Shortcut, from the Settings > General > Keyboard, and then press the Add New Shortcuts... button.

My iOS 5 Upgrade Headaches

2011-10-15T20:32:00.000-07:00

I have to admit I still use iPhone 3GS, and I am happy that there is an iOS 5 upgrade option available for this hardware. To be honest I have been holding off upgrading my phone because I was waiting for the iPhone 5.

The iPhone 4 and 4S are nice phones, but it was not what I really wanted. When the iPhone 4 came out was a several steps above the 3 series, but I was still in contract. Then by the time my contract ended, there started to be rumors of a next generation iPhone.

After waiting several months, and reading a lot of speculation I was severely disappointed when the phone I was expecting wasn't announced. Although, I was looking forward to checking out new iOS 5.

According to Apple's documentation, the there are over 200 new features. Some of the new features and enhancements include:

Notification Center: swipe your finger down from the top of any screen to view notifications in one place. You can also view new notifications from a locked screen.
iMessage: An iOS 5 only IM client that supports the secure (e.g. encrypted) sending and receiving text, photo, and video messages over cellular or Wi-Fi networks.
Newsstand: Supports the purchasing of online magazine and newspaper subscriptions.
Reminders: A new to-do application that syncs with iCloud, iCal and Outlook. It also supports location-based reminders on the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4.
Built-in Twitter support: Tweet directly from the Camera, Photos, Maps, Safari and YouTube applications. Add your location to your tweets. You can also view twitter usernames and profile pictures in the Contacts application.
Camera feature and other improvements, such as grid lines for lining up the picture, swiping to view camera roll from preview screen, and more
and lots more.

I personally had the worst experience I had with an iPhone trying to get the new OS installed. After I downloaded the upgrade to the phone, I was forced to go through the Setup Assistant, agree to 3 EULA, consisting of 13900+ words (according to MS Word).

I also felt like I was forced to sign up for an iCloud account and other features and services I was not sure I really wanted. The first time I used Setup Assistant didn't work for me. I was talking to a friend who had similar difficulties. I hope Apple doesn't make us go through this again in future.

iOS 5: Improved Formatting

2011-10-15T20:24:00.000-07:00

When composing an email, you can select a word or phrase and apply bold, italic, or underline formatting from the pop-up menu.

iOS 4: Pin Dropping on a Map

2011-10-11T11:01:00.000-07:00

In the Maps application you can drop a pin on any location to find an address, or get directions to that place. To drop a pin on the map touch and hold anywhere on the map and a pin will dropped there.