All Entries in the "Tips n Tricks" Category

A2DP – Bluetooth for the iPod touch explained

Not everything about 3.0 makes immediate sense. However, the great additions of spotlight, landscape mode and cut/copy/paste do. The addition of Bluetooth to the iPod touch in 3.0 is one of those interesting Apple decisions that makes sense, but not immediate sense. I became interested in the topic of A2DP support in OS 3.0 because of this thread at Apple’s Discussion forum. As the ‘baby iPhone’, the touch is really beginning to get its legs. Since 2007, it has been an excellent mid-fielder, but lately, I am inclined to put it forward a bit more. Bluetooth is a protocol that allows for wireless data transfer through specialised radio waves and now, with OS 3.0, even the touch gets that functionality. However, if you have tried to connect your OSX, *NIX or Windows computer to the iPod, you have probably been met with a ‘searching’ message that either never stops or error-exits to the springboard.

Unfortunately, owners of the iPhone 2G and first-generation touch are out of luck: this Bluetooth update affects only the 3G iPhone, 3GS iPhone and iPod touch 2G.

Make Backups of Your iPod Touch/iPhone – Lesson Learned from 2008

There were signs that my iPod’s software was going south about 2 days ago. It would no longer let me sync the apps I downloaded in 2008 like the excellent TouchGrind. Then I could not update anything and even after reboots, it would exit out of some apps. Sadly, I am not as smart as my parents had gambled I would become. The Gattaca-style gene selection programme I was put through when still in the womb failed.

100 Requisite Appstore Apps for the Web Designer and Developer

For web professionals of all varieties, your iPhone may indeed be one of the most important tool you have to staying connected both with your clients and with your work. I could give anecdotal evidence of this by mentioning a certain young Mr. Read who has helped out TMA greatly. In fact, I could mention that he slings his iPod Touch on his hip like the cowboys of old did their guns. But, I won’t. I will just delicately touch on the fact that connection and prioritising are two extremely important aspects for both the up and coming developer and the more established web warrior.

Two of the most commonly used are OmniFocus and Bentou.
The Omni Group, Omnifocus, 19.99$, 1.6MB

FileMaker Inc., Bentou, 4.99$, 3.0MB

Return to Mysterious Island – Walkthrough in the Wild!

If you are like me and cannot tell your head from your tail especially when it comes to adventure games, you need a bit of help. Tetraedge, developer of RTMI have put together a wonderful walkthrough for us iPhone players with excellent pictures and a very helpful map. It is a long PDF, so put away your Baud 28.8kbps modems and strap on your 56.6kbps ultraspeed, because this may be a bumpy ride.

Tetraedge (Chillingo), Return to Mysterious Island, 4.99$, 263MB

Enable Emoji Icons for Free

Ever since the release of firmware 2.1 for the iPhone, users had to resort to a slew of different hacks and methods (done through jailbreak apps or the importing 27 contacts trick) in order to enable the very popular Emoji icons found on Japanese iPhones. Now a simple search of ‘emoji’ at the App Store will reveal three apps that will do the dirty work for you and enable these funky icons. While two are currently $0.99 apps (Touch Dial Emoji and Typing Genius – Free Emoji), Spell Number -  Emoji For Free can be downloaded for free. After installing Spell Number, go here to see simple instructions on how to activate your Emojis. This is probably the easiest (and cheapest) way to go if you want to add some flavor to your iPhone messages.

Google Sync for your iPhone

Google has once again added more functionality to your beloved iPhone. This time it is over-the-air syncing of your built-in iPhone contacts and calendar with that of  your Google account. Non MobileMe users as well as those relying on NuevaSync to easily sync contacts and calendar between your iPhone and desktop can now do the same with Google Sync.

• Get Google Calendar events on your device (and be alerted for upcoming appointments with sound or vibration)
• View multiple Calendars in different colors
• Synchronize your Contacts with Google
• Have changes pushed directly to your phone

The best part about all this is that both your calendar and contacts stay synchronized whether you add or edit entries on your iDevice or on your Google account on the web. Sweet. Instructions on how to get started can be found here.  Be sure to back up any contacts and calendars to your computer before proceeding. [PC - Mac]

Tired of iTunes? Try the App Store (the other one)

App Store Messiah

Load times.  Memory.  Indirect links.  iTunes is a glorious application but with its numerous functions, even in OSX it is not as fast as it was just months ago.  Widows Windows users have a right to complain, it is slow in Vista or XP and probably in the upcoming Windows 7 Widows, but now, Apple are causing disbelief even among their most loyal followers:  the Mac faithful.

Shinkansen: iPhone No Go? No Mo…

None of this with the Jesus Phone

Japan has a huge mobile network that for many users, predicates the PC’s role as superfluous.  However, that mobile network makes use of what Apple might call the ‘non-real internet’.  If your needs turn you to that ‘non-real internet your user experience is at best turbulent and sometimes laughable.  It just won’t do mobile internet with any semblance of reliability.  Even some ‘real’ internet pages don’t display correctly, becoming a choppy and unusable mess.

The age old question still remains:  what does one do when they must reserve shinkansen tickets from sites like express yoyaku?  Answer, hop on a computer or use a phone that can only access the ‘non-real internet’.

Top 10 iPhone Tips and Tricks

tap tap tap has recently posted a comprehensive Top 10 list for tips on the iPhone 3G. It is certainly one of the best I have come across on the web, with pictures that are pretty much self explanatory found for each tip. It even talks about how to register your WIFI with Skyhook WPS ( to locate where you are if GPS isn’t available) and how to setup AIM Mobile Forwarding. New iPhone users will certainly find lots of very helpful tips here, and who knows maybe even hardcore users will learn a thing or two from the guide. Here are a few more sample shots:

Want to speed up your jailbroken iPhone?

When I first jailbroke my iPhone 3G, I spent loads of time downloading cool looking themes via Winterboard and trying them out. Some themes were a real treat to look at, but there were stability problems (some themes seemed to slow the iPhone down more than others). Eventually, the novelty wore off and I went back to using the stock springboard theme.

Though I had stopped using themes, I didn’t actually delete winterboard from cydia. By this time, my iPhone felt sluggish and everything seemed slower than pre-jailbreak. That’s when I came across a post on iPhoneinCanada suggesting uninstalling Winterboard
to speed things up once again. I can’t say for sure how much faster my iPhone is now after deleting Winterboard, but I would say anywhere from 30%-50% faster! Needless to say, if you find your jailbroken iPhone slowing you down and can live without those shiny looking themes, try uninstalling Winterboard. Personally, I much prefer stability and speed to just looks. Give it a try and see if this works out for you.