10 Top iPhone Tips & Tricks That You Might Not Know

Technology April 19, 2010 34 Comments @niallharbison

This is a post by our in house uber geek and all round mobile expert @niall_fagan

So, you just got your brand new iPhone, now what? Here are some tips & tricks for first time users (and some seasoned pros) to get the most out of your phone and impress your friends! I love shortcuts and things in general that will make my life a little easier, of course, that’s why I have an iPhone

1: Calculator

When you launch the app, simply turn your phone sideways to reveal a scientific calculator.

Scientific calculator iPhone

2.AutoFill

It can be a nuisance having to type your email address and password into forms on your safari browser – Go to Settings > Safari > Autofill > Slide to On (from here you will select your own profile from the address book).

3.Emailing Multiple Images

Go to Photos > Select the album you want to use > Tap the icon on the bottom left > Select up to 5 photos by tapping them (you will see a small badge displayed to show that they have been selected) > Finally, you can email (share), copy or delete.

Upload multiple=

4.Scroll To Top

Reading through a long post can sometimes take a while, if you need to get back to the status/URL bar simply tap the top of the browser and it will jump back to the start.

Scroll to top of iPhone

Screenshot

Take a snapshot of your screen by simultaneously holding the Sleep/Wake and home buttons for a second > you can then see the snapshots in your Camera Roll.

How to take a screenshot on iPhone

6.Missed SMS

So you get a text but you have left your iPhone in another room, it would be nice to get a reminder > Go to Settings > Messages > Repeat Alert.

7.Google Streetview

(this is just a cool thing to do) > Search for a city like New York, USA > After you travel there you will see a little orange badge > Tap on it to get Google Streetview and wow your friends.

Goofle Streetview on iPhone

8.Battery life indicator (3Gs only

Go to settings > Usage > Battery Percentage (now you can get a better idea of your battery life).

9.Battery Life Tips

> Its no secret that the iPhone’s best battery life isn’t great (especially for power users) but there are a couple of things you can do to make it last that little bit longer!
9a: Go to Settings > Brightness > Dim the screen to 60% approx.
9b: Go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data > Turn off Push or at least select Manually.
9c: If you don’t need 3G, Go to Settings > Network > Enable 3G and slide to OFF.
9d: Turn off Bluetooth, Go to Settings > General > Bluetooth > slide to OFF.

10.Best Free App

Here is a link to what I personally think is one of the best free apps.

Best free app on iPhone

We hope that you will find some of these useful. Please share your top tips and best apps, free and paid with comments below.

Comments

Brain

Very good Niall. I didn’t know the multiple images email option. Thanks…
http://www.p3.ie Phelim Pekaar

Handy tips thanks, nice blog Niall
Laura Daly

Excellent tips. Just on the battery life I bought a logic3 case which you can charge by USB and it in turn cbarges the phone. While some people might find it bulky I have to say it adds hours to the battery.
DavidByrne

Great tips Niall ! Nice Blog.
http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Fagan

Thank Brian and Phelim.

Hi Laura, thanks for the excellent tip, battery life is my one major gripe with the phone.
Keith Noone

I am just using my new iPhone at the moment to write this. That was a good read. Favourite is that app. Any chance of a post on your top 10 favourite paid and free apps?
Laura Daly

@Keith some nice apps include : Air Mouse, AppBox Lite, Scrabble, Taptu Search, Twitterific and while in Ireland EirText by Vinny Coyne is excellent could go on but
am sure Niall, Niall H, Lauren or anyone else at SZ would probably do a better job at giving an overview of apps than me.

Keith Noone

Thanks laura, just downloaded some of your suggestions. This also led to me downloading tweetdeck and hootsuite so I can trial my favourite:-)

Brain

Turning off location service aswell seems to help with the battery. Settings – General – Location Services
http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Fagan

Nice one Brian, keep them coming!

They are some excellent apps Laura! There are just so many to choose from Keith, I think each category could have its own blog post!

If I was to go for the best paid app then I would go with AirVideo – it cost 2.39Eur and works a dream on the iPad too!(so I hear) Over 3G & WiFi it basically allows you to stream uninterupted video from your mac or pc to your iPhone. No need to clutter your iPhone with video anymore :0)
http://www.jurawatches.co.uk Sean O’Farrell

Here’s a handy tip for all those of us with ‘fadas’ (or ‘accents’) in their names: to get Ã¡ or any such fada/accent press and hold the a key on your iPhone and within a second a range of accented options will appear!

Maybe it’s just me but I like to know how to write my name correctly…

Regards – SeÃ¡n
http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Fagan

Thanks SeÃ¡n, very handy!
http://blog.weedle.com Brendan Hughes

Excellent post Niall. Some really handy tips in there – battery life is a particular difficulty with the iPhone, especially if you are a heavy user, so I’ll be turning off some stuff.
http://thisiswhatido.org Darragh

Nice post. Not an iPhone user but looks useful!
http://www.iphoneapps.ie Ronan

One for your next list: if you want to Undo, just shake the phone and a prompt will come up to confirm the Undo.
http://adforce.ie Shane

cheers Niall, I have been struggling without Autofill!!
http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Fagan

Thanks guys for your kind words.

Excellent tip Ronan, I use the shake feature (shake to shuffle) when listening to music on the iPhone although its a pain if you start running and the songs keep changing haha
http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Fagan

No worries Shane, AutoFill is a life saver for me, there are so many sites that I just wouldn’t visit otherwise.
Fiona MacDonald

Great tips – you know how long it took me to find the scientific calculator while trying to do a percentage one time!! The map feature I didn’t know about – I only just realized you could auto map any contact recently!!
Niall Fagan

Thanks Fiona, I found the scientific calculator by fluke if I’m honest

I am a huge fan a street view – dying for them to release it for Dublin and some other Irish cities!

Btw, I’m leaving this comment from Niall’s iPad – I love it!!
http://www.mediabreakers.com Rob Cumiskey

Great post Niall! Never knew about the screenshot, very useful indeedio! Best new free app for me has to be Opera Mini, the new web browser. 10 times better than Safari IMHO.
http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Fagan

Brilliant Rob! I just downloaded it and I’m well impressed – i’ve pushed Safari down a few pages. Will AutoFill still work though? Haven’t tried it yet but maybe its in the settings? OS 4.0 can’t come soon enough!
http://www.unicef.ie Raphael O’Donoghue

Some great tips provided while we wait for OS4. Many thanks
Yan Fu

Great Tips Niall!!! Steve Jobs should employ you!
http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Fagan

Thanks Raphael – dying to get my hands on the next OS, lots of new features to keep me amused!

haha Yan, he approached me but I wasn’t having any of it ;0)
Pingback: ten iPhone tricks â€” cafedave.net
http://twitter.com/seanear1ey Sean Earley

Nice post Niall. Here’s a few tips I’ve gleaned

- If you double click the home button while screen-locked you get a mini set of music controls for the iPod.

- You can create your own custom ringtones from music using itunes. By setting a start and stop point on your chosen tune, converting it to aac then an m4r and synching it with your iphone. (more details here http://bit.ly/29pc2c)

- Save time when trying to load websites fast by disabling Javascript in the Safari settings. Settings > Safari > Javascript off
http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Fagan

Thanks Sean!

Great tip about custom ringtones as I hate the ones that come with the phone!

I’m sure there will be lots of new tips to be added come June when 4.0 is release ;0)
Steve Walker

How to Group Multiple Contacts into One. I don’t like a lot of contacts on my phone. So I combine them.

If a contact has words after a phone number, the iPhone sends DTMF (touchtone signals) at the start of your call. To prevent this, add a space, a comma and a plus symbol before the text. i.e. 404-555-1212 ,+Directory Info

This allows you group different numbers such as the whole Tennis Team into one contact. The iPhone won’t let you do this, so you must edit the number in Outlook and sync them.

Suggested groups: Doctors, Carpool, Kid’s Friends, Autos, Emergency, ICE, Food, Shopping, Banking, Schools, Utilities, Airlines, etc.
http://www.vittorioatzeni.com Vito

Thanks, usefull tips
http://www.simplyzesty.com Niall Fagan

Thanks Steve, very useful! Just read your reply now!
lu kun

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ibesttips/id452280871?ls=1&mt=8
here is total free app about iphone tips, found it in appstore
lu kun

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ibesttips/id452280871?ls=1&mt=8
here is total free app about iphone tips, found it in appstore
http://twitter.com/NetzenSolutions Netzen Solutions Ltd

Nice list, I had no idea the iPhone had a scientific calculator! After reading this I compiled my own here http://iphonehowto.com/top-iphone-tips-tricks/

Thanks,
James

10 Top iPhone Tips & Tricks That You Might Not Know

1: Calculator

2.AutoFill

3.Emailing Multiple Images

4.Scroll To Top

Screenshot

6.Missed SMS

7.Google Streetview

8.Battery life indicator (3Gs only

9.Battery Life Tips

10.Best Free App

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