One More Tap

If you’ve been trying out a lot of apps (free or paid) on your iPhone or iPod touch, then you would have most likely encountered an app or two that doesn’t behave as intended. It’s quite common to have some badly programmed apps to freeze or stop responding. Here’s when a tip like this falls in.

The iPhone OS, just like its big brother, Mac OS X, allows an application to be quit, forcefully – hence the name force quit. On the Mac OS X, you’ll simply press Command+Option+Escape key combinations. On the iPhone however, things seem to have gone into muddy waters, now that iPhone OS 3.0 as well as the iPhone 3G S was announced.

During the keynote presentation on Monday, June 8, 2009 – we were all told about a new function for the iPhone 3G S, and that is the Voice Control features. Activating Voice Control on the iPhone 3G S can be done by simply holding the Home button. As you can see, the Home button used to be the magic button that force quits an application when held for about 5 seconds. You’ll notice that when the application exits and the home screen reappears. Here’s a video I did some time back, demonstrating how to force quit the Safari application.

The function is now missing in iPhone OS 3.0 – or shall I say, enhanced. Force quitting an app in iPhone OS 3.0 can still be done, with an extra step.

If you are one of the lucky Lukes (or Leia, so to speak) to have iPhone OS 3.0 installed, try this the next time you want to force quit a misbehaving application. Hold the power button for a few seconds until you see the “slide to power off” prompt. Let go of the power button and hold the Home button until you see the application disappear and the home screen reappears.

Force quitting can be good avenues, not only to exit a misbehaving or frozen app. It’s also a good practice to quit background apps like Safari and Mail, which take up precious memory, especially before starting a game. Also, since most games save its state when you quit, you could actually force quit it if you want to prevent the game state from being saved. That’s what I did most of the time to somehow ‘cheat’ in certain games. Try it!

written by xcool \\ tags: Apps, iPhone, iPod touch, Tips

If you experienced a quick battery drain on your iPhone or iPod touch, then this tip would definitely proof useful. This came about after reading TheAppleBlog’s quick take on calibrating as well as prolonging battery life on MacBooks.

For a start, try checking to see if there’s any new firmware updates for you device. For the iPhone and iPod touch, this is usually the software update – with the latest software update for both devices being at version 2.2.1. If you experience a shorter than desired battery life on your device, then an update may be helpful.

Next, proper care should be taken when using your device. One should not let the battery drain completely before charging. On modern devices using battery technologies like lithium-ion, completely discharging the battery may be very bad for it’s circuitry and usually contributes to a shorter lifespan. I would suggest that you charge your device as often as possible.

Since most batteries are rated to last for about 500 complete cycles, what I do most of the time is to charge the device as soon as it has depleted by ten percent (10%). This way, my battery would only deplete for one whole complete cycle after ten such charges.

Also, as a rule of thumb, you should perform some ritual (grins) called calibrating on your batteries to ensure that it always performs at its best. Calibrating, the process of charging and discharging the battery is quite simple. First, plug your device into a charger and let it charge fully – leave it charging for another hour or two after its fully charged. Then, remove from the charging source and use your device like normal. Do not plug it into a charging source, but use it until the device decides to power itself off due to low battery. When that happens, plug in your device into a charging source and let it charge fully. During this time, it is completely safe to use your device.

Performing the calibration ritual on your batteries once every few months (I usually perform calibration for my devices one every month) helps ensure that you get the best life out of it. Take a look at the screenshot below taken from my MacBook, which I’ve had for six months now – and had the calibration process done ritually. The battery’s maximum capacity is higher than original. Application name is coconutBattery. Get it for free here if you own a Mac.

No, there’s no such software for the iPhone or iPod touch that I know of currently. Apple currently does not allow apps to check the battery’s percentage reading – but there’s an app called Free Memory which managed to slip under the radar.

Tip on a tip: Read more about your iPhone or iPod touch’s batteries, straight from Apple, then mark your calendar so as to remind yourself to perform calibration. Even if you own a PC, Apple’s battery information page for notebooks may be useful as they both share a common battery technology. Check it out.

UPDATE: As of iPhone OS 3.0 and above, Apple has provided developers with the ability to read the device’s battery percentage, albeit at every 5% intervals. I have released an app called BattPowr into the iTunes App Store. Check it out if you own an iPhone or iPod touch. P/S: An update is coming soon, with more readings and features – pending approval by the App Store review team.

written by xcool \\ tags: Battery, iPhone, iPod touch, Tips

The iPhone came built-in with many useful apps – but what about a currency converter? Not everyone might need a currency converter, but the same argument goes, not everyone needs the Stocks application.

If you never appreciated the Stocks application, you would now. Aside to showing you some data that might not make sense, the Stocks application also doubles up as a currency converter. One that can even show you some historical data about the said currency!

Here’s the trick. Launch the Stocks application. Tap on the little i icon over at the bottom right corner to flip the application over and see its innards. You’ll see a list of stock quotes that are already pre-defined.

We are going to pre-define our very own currency conversion codes. Let’s say you want to find out how much is one US dollar worth when converted to the British pound. Use this format: [Currency Symbol A][Currency Symbol B]=X, like this USDGBP=X. Type ‘USDGBP=X‘ into the text box above followed by the search button. Tap on the result to have it added into your list. It’s that simple. As you can see in the screenshot, I have got three different conversions added into my list. Tap on the Done button to return. You’ll see the current conversion rate, and also a nice little graph at the bottom that depicts the historical data. Voila!

The system uses three-character currency codes. Most of us will find this page over at Yahoo!’s financial portal useful: http://finance.yahoo.com/currency

Note that this trick would require an internet connection in order to work its magic. If you prefer, check out our review of an app called Currencies (4.5/5.0 Taps) that does not require an active internet connection to work.

written by xcool \\ tags: Currency, iPhone, iPod touch, Tips

Found this video posted over at MobileCrunch, which suggests a concept of managing apps within iTunes itself. As many of us know, arranging your app’s icons within the device, regardless if its the iPhone or iPod touch can be done by simply tapping and holding any application’s icon until it whobbles then dragging it whereever you like it.

Let’s see if Apple takes note of this. And please, trim the fat from iTunes already. It’s getting slower and slower with each release!

Credits of the video goes to YouTube user, svdomer09. That’s some good video editing skills you have there!

written by xcool \\ tags: Concept, iPhone, iPod touch, Tips

I have been having this problem off-late where my iPod touch with firmware 2.2.1 would constantly forget about my home’s Wi-Fi settings, showing a ‘Not Connected’ instead. The only way to get connected is to manually key in the SSID, followed by the password.

I am not very sure how this issue came about, but it all started once I began connecting to my office’s wireless connection, which are usually designated for guests. My iPod touch also managed to connect to a few neighbour’s open connections while I was out for a jog. So, I am guessing that this occurs once your device has connected to too many access points, and it begins to lose memory of which is the default.

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written by xcool \\ tags: iPhone, iPod touch, Tips, Wireless