If you have an original or a 3G iPhone and upgraded to the latest 3.0 software you must be one happy bunny. Aside from the top-tier features in what has become a brand new phone there are lots of little changes and not-so-obvious features I found. So here’s the Little iPhone Features Guide™ (mini version):
My Number
Entering your phone number in Settings > Phone > My Number will make it visible in the Contacts or Address Book apps. All you have to do is go to the top of your contacts and pull the list down. Above the Search field you should see your number appear. Nice.
Share Contact
Another new 3.0 feature is the ability to send your contacts to someone else over MMS. In the address book there’s now a Share Contact button. Tapping that will bring up the Messages app with the contact information enclosed.
Maps + Compass
This is a 3GS feature only and it’s pretty impressive. Tapping on the “Where am I” icon at the bottom right of the Maps view takes you to where you are using a combination of GPS and WiFi lookup. Tap on it again and the map rotates to show you the direction you’re facing. According to the Apple iPhone how-to pages, Maps will display a cone from the blue dot which denotes the accuracy of the reading – the smaller the angle, the greater the accuracy.
From time to time you may get a strange error whenever the compass is used, like the image below. I have to say I did get strange looks from people when I was waving my iPhone around like a divining rod!
Data Detectors
In the Notes and Mail apps any telephone number or address is automagically recognised. Tapping on a phone number will pop up an alert asking if the number should be dialled. If an address is detected and selected, the Maps app will launch and take you to that address. Very cool.
I’m sure there’s more and I’m keen to try out the Nike+ integration but the 3.0 upgrade is full of changes. It’s always the little things…
This is my Father’s Day gift from my wonderful wife and two lovely daughters.
Gillian upgraded her first generation iPhone to the 3GS, wrapped it up and the girls gave it to me this morning, along with a brilliant home-made card. She now has my one-year-old iPhone 3G along with my wonder and gratitude.
The new phone is very fast and the touch-to-focus camera is fantastic. When I read the specs on the 3GS I was a little bit underwhelmed but having it in my hand really made me appreciate what Apple have achieved: an extremely responsive device which can take great photos and videos, render web pages a lot faster than anything else in the mobile space, track your run with the built-in Nike+ capability, be controlled with voice commands, and a lot more. The innovations also extend to the charger design. Here’s the new charger on the left and the old one on the right:
And yes, I am incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful family.
If you have an Airport Express you have to get Airfoil. The app lets you stream music from your Mac to just about anything that receives a wifi signal, including your iPhone, a Windows or Linux box or even the AppleTV. You select the source application and activate the destination speakers and off you go!
As I mentioned previously, I had a few issues with Renualt UK. I’m never one to just take a situation lying down, so I called Renault’s head office to complain. After about half-an-hour, I had an apology and an agreement to reimburse our recent fault. A week later, a cheque arrived for the full amount and is now sitting happily in our bank account.
I love it when you win a little something.
Pixar: what an amazing idea factory. Watch the latest short film on YouTube before it disappears!
It’s been pulled unfortunately. It’s worth going to see UP in the cinema and watch the short before the main feature.
Not long now. The keynote will be at 6pm tonight and the mac sites are glowing red with rumours.
What I’m really looking forward to, aside from the iPhone 3GS, is the 3.0 software update. I’d love to install it tonight!
Tick, tock, tick, tock.
We bought a new Renault Scenic 5-seater just before our youngest was born, almost 5 years ago. The car was great, spacious especially with the double-sunroof. Unfortunately the dealer we dealt with was getting ridiculously greedy with service costs. We decided to move to another dealer not too far away and despite their reassurances the cycle repeats itself.
We’ve had a problem with the automatic window controls breaking down which were apparently “fixed” by the current dealer, Renault Enfield. The same fault kept on cropping up for the past three years for each of the windows and we’ve had to pay for what they term as “wear and tear”. The latest breakdown just took the proverbial biscuit.
The car, as I wrote earlier, is five years old or thereabouts. When Gillian took it to the dealer and complained about an obvious recurring design fault, she was ultimately told that we should upgrade to the latest model to fix the problem. But that’s getting ahead of the dealer’s incompetence.
Gillian called ahead to book a replacement car while ours was getting fixed and she was told “that doesn’t happen any more and you have to pay for a rental car.” She reluctantly accepted Renault’s new terms. Come the day and come the rental car booked right? Wrong. They made her wait for nearly an hour, despite making it clear the she had children to pick up. When the rental company finally arrived with a the car they asked her to sign a £600 excess form, despite reassurances that there would be no hidden costs. She refused to do that and demanded to speak with the Renault customer service manager, a Mr Pani. This saviour, this Robin Hood of Renault basically told her she had no choice if she wanted to drive off the forecourt while our car was dealt with. Besides, the charge for fixing the problem is subject to an £89 investigation fee and a possible charge of £400. Plus VAT.
At this point Gillian called the whole thing off, called them a bunch of crooks and demanded our car back. She then drove to an independent reputable garage in Crouch End and was given a proper valuation and time frame to fix the fault.
Renault dealers. A bunch of crooks. Expensive cars and expensive and rip-off after sales service. Avoid them like the plague.
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