iPhone Tricks

Get more from your phone

By Anca Gagiuc on Jul 18, 2012 in Technology

Having sold 35.1 million iPhones and 11.8 million iPads during the first three months of 2012, Apple is one of the world’s most ubiquitous technology companies.  Chances are, you own one of these devices. But do you use it to its full potential? Even a longtime iPhone user may learn a few things from these helpful tricks.

Photo functionality: if you don’t like taking photos on your iPhone by pressing the virtual shutter button on the screen, you don’t have to. You can use either the increase (+) volume button on the left-hand side of the phone, or the button on the headphone cord. The latter method cuts down shaking of the phone after you’ve framed up your shot.

Sending multiple photos: Trying to send more than one pic at a time by email or text message? All you have to do is open the Photos app, tap on the album you want to send your photos from, tap on the right top corner icon and choose those you wish to forward. Tap Share in the bottom left of the screen and choose Email, Message or Print.

Define words: A few months ago Apple added a built-in dictionary that you can access with all apps that let you select a word within an email, iBooks, and text messages. Once you select a word, a pop up is displayed with the option to “Define” its meaning.

Wet iPhone: You are not the first or the last to drop yours in a sink or – heaven forbid – the hot tub. If it happens, leave the phone turned off (to avoid short-circuiting), and gently towel it dry. Never use a hairdryer as it can push the moisture into areas that aren’t wet. If you have a desiccant packet from a pair of shoes or leather purse, put the iPhone there and leave it overnight, if you don’t, submerge it in a bowl or bag of uncooked rice. No guarantees that this will recover functionality, but it’s certainly worth a try.

Find Your Phone: Go to iCloud and create an account after you have activating this feature on your iPhone (Find it under Features – iCloud). You’re now able to locate it on a map on a PC or Mac, and the option to make it play a sound (loud, if in case you placed it on a shelf or under a pile of laundry), to send a message, to remotely lock it, or to remotely wipe it – meaning that it will erase all your data to protect you from thieves. A wiped iPhone cannot be located and if you recover it afterwards, some services may be temporarily unavailable after it’s restored.

“Printscreen”: If you want to take a screenshot of something you’re looking at on the phone, like a website, press down the Home button and the Sleep button at the same time; you’ll hear the camera click and see a white flash. The screenshot is sent to your Camera Roll.

Add “apps” you visit frequently: To add a website to your Home Screen, visit the webpage in Safari and at the bottom of the page, tap the Go To icon and select Add to Home Screen.

PDF’s & iBooks: When you get an email with a PDF attachment or see one on a website, tap the Go To icon on the top right corner of the screen and select “Open in iBooks”. Your documents will be stored there, making them accessible offline too, until you chose to delete them.

Control your music: We’ve already shown that the headphones can be used to take steady photos. The small controller in the middle of the cord, when pressed, pauses or re-starts the music. Double tapping it skips to the next song and triple tapping jumps to the previous one. iPhone 4S users can tell Siri to play music as well.

What tricks and shortcuts have you discovered while playing with your iOS device?