My 32gb iPhone 4 is scheduled for delivery today! If you’re an iPhone owner, new or old, then these iPhone tips and tricks are just for you:
Yes you can.
If you’ve already got the Bose Sounddock and an iPhone or iPod Touch, all you need is an internet radio application and an internet connection via Edge, 3g, or wifi.
My favorite free internet radio applications are Pandora and Last.fm. If you’ve never used either, read more about the pros and cons of each.
You won’t be able to operate these applications with your Bose Sounddock remote so you’ll need to pop your device onto the Sounddock and then start up the application via the touchscreen.
Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links and I will receive a small compensation if you make a purchase after clicking through them. Affiliate links are an easy way to support Carrie Actually at no additional cost to you.
- Apple TV gains hard disk capacity, loses weighty price @TUAW
- AT&T poised to roll out 3G MicroCell service @TUAW (Dad wants to know A) why they’re charging a service fee on this and B) why you need a separate box, is 802.11n not good enough?)
- AT&T Says MMS for iPhone Coming Friday Mid-day @Gizmodo
- A walk through iTunes history @TUAW
- Bose SoundDock 10 weighs in with $599 of iPod amplification @Engadget (I’m wanting to upgrade my current Bose SoundDock since it doesn’t charge 3g iPhones, I’m wondering if this one is worth it’s hefty price tag.)
- Do You Unplug at 100% Battery? @Unplggd (In the past I haven’t but maybe that’s why my battery only had a 1.5 year useful life. I’m starting now.)
- Do You Use an Email Signature? What Does It Say? @GeekSugar
- Five Best Time-Tracking Applications @Lifehacker
- Free MP3 Madness!! Harry Connick Jr, Gary Go, Brett Dennen, The Cool Kids, Jars of Clay, and more! @Devastate Boredom
- Intuit (Quicken) Buys Financial Site Mint @Lifehacker
- Music Industry Wants Royalties From iTunes 30 Second Samples @Gizmodo
- Nano vs. the Flip: Who wins? @The Apple Blog
- Operating Systems @GraphJam
- Pantone offers color libraries for iPhone, mostly @TUAW (I have a drawer full of Pantone books at work but put something I already love on my iPhone and it’s always better.)
- Pay for Your Grande Latte at Starbucks With Your iPhone @The Apple Blog (One step closer to my dream of having my ID, credit card, and car keys integrated with my iPhone so that I don’t need a purse anymore. And the best part is the Starbucks by my office is one of the test stores so I can actually try it out.)
- ‘The Lost Symbol’ by Dan Brown for Kindle outselling hardback edition @Download Squad (I’m not surprised, I’m infatuated with Kindle books right now myself and the Kindle edition is the cheaper than the hardback.)
- This Is What It Would Take to Print the Entire Internet @Gizmodo
- Volkswagen E-Up! concept rolls into Frankfurt, hits the road in 2013 @Engadget
- Volkswagen L1 concept is crazy efficient, could ship in 2013 @Engadget
I keep my accessories pretty simple and straight forward. Here’s what I think you need (beyond the headphones, usb cord, and usb power plug it comes with) to get the most out of your iPhone.
Case and Screen Protection
I got my first iPhone the day they were first released. I did not get a case for that phone. It got pretty scratched up so when I upgraded to the iPhone 3g I got a case and some screen film.
After some deliberation I selected the Agent 18 Flowervest in pink and Power Support Crystal Film (I actually have the anti-glare film but now I know that I would prefer the crystal film so that is the product I recommend to you).
Speakers
I was an iPod owner for many years before I finally determined what the perfect speaker set up would be. At first I lived in a studio apartment which was small enough that just using my computer speakers to play my iTunes library was plenty sufficient for the whole place. Eventually I lived with a roommate who had a Bose Sounddock and it was amazing! We could set it up out on the balcony and you could be inside and on the other side of the apartment and the sound quality would still be crystal clear. When I moved out and could no longer use her Bose Sounddock, I picked up my own. It is an absolute must have.
Car Audio
Being able to listen to your music in the car is an absolute must in my opinion.
My dad always gives me a bad time about this: he’s convinced that I selected my whole car for it’s functionality as an iPod accessory. That may have been a contributing factor in but it was not the only factor and was not the primary factor. I have a Volkswagen Jetta with the VW iPod kit which back in 2006 when I bought the car was the best iPod kit on the market. It’s fallen behind the times a bit (like it won’t charge my 3g iPhone) but it has some awesome features like I can call up the playlist of my choice using the radio station preset buttons and it has the best sound quality because it’s hard wired into the stereo system and connects to the dock port on your iPod/iPhone.
You’re probably not going to buy a new car for it’s function as an iPhone accessory but here’s what I consider to be must have features in any car kit:
- good sound quality - Look for something that plugs into the dock port rather than the headphone jack.
- ease of use while driving – At a minimum, you want to be able to skip a song in a way that won’t distract you from the road.
- discrete location – When I run into the grocery store and forget to unplug my iPhone and take it with me, I don’t want it propped up on the dashboard screaming “theft target”. My car kit is set up so that my iPhone is in the glove box.
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