25 iPhone Power Tips
Posted 08/28/2007 at 12:14pm
| by Leslie Ayers and Roman Loyola
5. Beat a Shortcut to Your Fave iPhone Apps
Handy iPhone apps like Leaflets (free) and Applists (free) put most iPhone apps at your fingertips, but if you want to build your own list, just collect the apps you use most into the same bookmarks folder in Safari on your Mac. Then when you sync your iPhone next, in iTunes, be sure to check “Sync Safari bookmarks” on the Info tab, under Web Browser.
6. Take Self-Portraits
Because the iPhone camera’s shutter button is a “soft” (that is, onscreen) button, it’s a bit tricky to take self-portraits with it since you have to turn the phone around so you can no longer see the button. The solution: With the camera feature selected, place your finger on the camera icon and turn the phone around so you’re facing the lens. Smile real pretty and let go of the shutter button. You’ll hear the telltale click - you’ve just taken a self-portrait.
7. Rehang the Wallpaper
If you’re up for a bit o’ iPhone hacking, you can take any image you find anywhere on the Web and turn it into custom wallpaper (see this YouTube video for details: tinyurl.com/2ecfbg).
But there’s a much easier way: Download 320-by-480-pixel images for free from a variety of online sources, saving them all in the same folder on your Mac. In iTunes, with your iPhone docked, select your iPhone, click the Photos tab, select the radio button next to “Sync photos from,” and then from the drop-down list, select “Choose folder.” Browse to the folder you created, then click Apply in the lower-right corner. Finally, on your iPhone, go to Settings > Wallpaper > Photo Library to hang your new wallpaper.

Darth Vader as iPhone wallpaper, as interpreted by an artist at Gizmodo.com.
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8. Say NO to Magnets
The iPhone has a few enemies. One of the archest (besides tech-loving muggers) is the magnet - especially those that lurk in places you’d least expect them. Like iPhone cases with lids that snap down magnetically, for example. If you can tell an iPhone case uses a magnetic closure of any kind, don’t buy it. We’ve received firsthand reports of iPhone deaths directly attributable to magnets. There’s nothing like killing a $600 device with a $20 piece of pleather.
9. Reveal Secret Features
When Apple released the first firmware update for the iPhone on August 1, it did so with little fanfare, and attributed most of the updates to security fixes. The Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg discovered a few new non-security-related features on his iPhone after the update, including:
> Greater capacity in the Phone module’s Favorites list (was 20, is now 50).
> Ability to automatically blind carbon copy (BCC) yourself on all emails sent, where previously your only option was to CC yourself, which alerted your recipients to what you were up to.
> Compatibility with some car adapters and external speakers originally created for the iPod.
For more iPhone and tech tidbits, visit Walt’s blog at mossblog.allthingsd.com.
10. Ditch the Camera Altogether
If you know you’ll never use the iPhone’s camera, you can remove it altogether. (If you work for or with certain government agencies, your iPhone may actually be contraband on their property because they don’t want you taking any secret photos of the goings-on.) iResQ will remove your iPhone’s camera for $99. Meanwhile, the hands-on folks at iFixit.com have a DIY camera-removal guide (oddly titled “Installing Camera”).

All you need to extract the iPhone’s camera are a few basic tools, including a metal spudger, and a steady hand.
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