School me on the iPhone

SmokeScreen

So I've been enviously eying all of my friend's iPhones for quite some time, and after just recently stumbling into some fortuitous economic straights, I finally have the disposable income to spare so I'm taking the plunge and picking myself up a 32 gig 3GS. However, because my last iPod was a Classic (which went kaput on me a few months ago) I don't know the touch-y iPods from Adam.

In other words, I'm in need of a little guidance. Are there any nifty little features that I might not figure out by just picking it up and fiddling about with it? Are there any particular apps (free or otherwise) that are invaluable? Games are a given, but there are plenty of websites that review iPhone games so finding good ones shouldn't be too difficult.

Specifically I'm looking for recommendations on more utilitarian apps. I just moved to New York City about 6 months ago after living in Florida my whole life, so any apps that would help a poor farm boy get acclimated to life in the Big Apple would be a godsend. And hell, maybe some goofy but fun apps too. I've spent more time then I'd like to admit screwing around with the Zippo app on my friend's phone.

tl;dr I'm out of the iPhone loop, so violently shove me back in.

ToyD

Honestly, my 4 yr old can use it. It's just not really all that difficult, so no worriies about that. Get a weather app and facebook if you're into that. myWireless shows your current AT&T bill (useful if you don't spend the money to get unlimited texts). Mark the Spot from AT&T to show dead areas where calls are dropped, no 3G access, etc. I'm sure there's something out there for "stuff to do in NYC" or a subway map or something, but as I don't live there, I can't help ya with that.

wonderpug

I chose "KICKMap" as my NY subway app after investigating the different options. Easy to use interface, and at the time it was the only one that you could toggle to show the more limited evening service map.

For games you're best off browsing the "let's talk about iPhone games" thread.

As far as utility apps:

• Weather app other than default (I like Accuweather)
• Password manager (I chose Strip)
• To-Do List App (I chose Things)
• Flashlight (does actually come in useful)
• Shazam (must have)
• Pandora
• Radio Paradise
• Guitar Toolkit if you play guitar
• Now Playing - for movies, showtimes, Netflix queue management
• "Google" - Google's app
• NYTimes
• Yelp
• Remote
• Quickpedia
• Dictionary
• PandoraBox
• LOLcats - because there's no better feeling than using a $500 piece of advanced technology and a modern day 3G network to make captioned cats appear in the palm of your hand.

Houndx

I love my 3GS and my wife hasn't complained about her's(that's saying quite a bit). For GPS, Navigon Mobile Navigator is very nice. Other apps that I use all the time are:
Beejive Instant Messenger
Facebook
Pocket Universe
Checkbook(but probably moving to their new app iReconcile - especially if you're married)
iDateME (looks like a dating app with a hot girl icon, sends an email to you with gps coords when opened)
and the included apps - mail, google maps, safari, etc

For games, some very good ones are:
SolFree (free, very polised, maybe one ad a week)
Let's Golf
Peggle
Dungeon Hunter
5 Minutes To Kill (Yourself)
Drop7
Minigore
Action Heroes (it's several games in one)
soooo many other's that I've gotten when they were free for a day that I haven't tried yet

If you're going to Jailbreak:
Pogoplank
Stack(essential)
Categories(essential)
SBSettings(essential)
Lock Screen Info(essential)
iLocalis (find your phone or lock it, wipe it, make calls from it, etc - remotely)

edit: Also, the Apple conference is in 7 days. It might be worth considering holding off for a week to see if they announce a new iphone.

DHS Odium

Dear god don't buy anything until after Apple's conference in a week.

Now, when you do get one after that, hopefully upgraded, it will be easy to use. My Dad got a 3GS when they first came out, his first iPhone. I was with him visiting, and he was worried that it didn't really come with instructions. I told him it's so intuitive, he doesn't need them, and it will be fine. Had to say that a couple times, not sure he believed it then. When I came back for another visit he said it was the best phone he's ever had, and I was right, he didn't need instructions.

wonderpug

Houndx wrote: »

I love my 3GS and my wife hasn't complained about her's(that's saying quite a bit). For
Checkbook(but probably moving to their new app iReconcile - especially if you're married)

What's different in iReconcile?

SmokeScreen

Thanks guys, these are great suggestions so far. And yeah, I will certainly keep an eye on the Apple conference. It will be a few weeks before any of my upped income will be in my hands, so I'd have to wait either way.

Also, I play a lot of tabletop rpgs, mostly D&D 3.5, so are there any apps for that? Virtual character sheets, etc?

Houndx

There are several differences but the reason I said that is that it can synchronize accounts between phones. That should allow you and your partner to both make entries in a joint account, etc. I haven't used iReconcile yet but we've been using Checkbook for quite awhile and it's a solid product, so I don't have any reason to expect less from iReconcile.

edit: Google gave me too many links to look at but the two that stood out were this article about the best D&D apps and this for 4th edition character sheets.

Molly Millions

Hi guys. I have a Macbook Pro and a mobile me account, just two reasons I'd like to pick up an iPhone in the next few weeks.

My worry is this: if I buy the 3Gs, will it be compatible with the upcoming OS 4.0?

LavaKnight

Supposedly the iPhone OS 4.0 is compatible with the 3G and 3GS, but nobody is certain. I don't know why it wouldn't be, though, as it's an OS update that will be coming out presumably before the new iPhone hits.

Speaking of which, the new iPhone revision is expected to hit this summer sometime, and personally, I'd probably wait. It would suck to start your plan and have to wait two years in order to upgrade, potentially missing a full generation (or at least a half-generation).

Molly Millions

LavaKnight wrote: »

Supposedly the iPhone OS 4.0 is compatible with the 3G and 3GS, but nobody is certain. I don't know why it wouldn't be, though, as it's an OS update that will be coming out presumably before the new iPhone hits.

Speaking of which, the new iPhone revision is expected to hit this summer sometime, and personally, I'd probably wait. It would suck to start your plan and have to wait two years in order to upgrade, potentially missing a full generation (or at least a half-generation).

I can't wait for the summer, I need this for work integration. I plan on getting a new phone roughly once a year, so if the 3Gs is compatible with OS 4.0 then I should have one soon.

Tsk

With an iphone, you can hit the power and home button at the same time to take a screenshot (it'll save in your photo album).

It has some really great tower defense games. I like TapDefense and Crystal Defenders. I only have the free versions, and they are plenty for wasting time (though I'd like to get the full version of crystal defenders sometime).

I dont IM on my iphone, but AIM and IM+ Lite work in a pinch.

Facebook and Twitter are good if you use those. I prefer twitteriffic, but also have tweetdeck, they're both good.

Stanza is nice for ebooks. I only get free ones though, havent tried any of the ones where you pay. Eternal Flame is a nice alternative to the handy Flashlight app. It's just an animated flame.

There's a couple alright dice rolling apps. I only try the free ones (seeing a trend here?) but Dice Bag and Dice are alright if kinda fugly.

I have a bunch of crap I never use but figure could come in handy. Convertbot for... converting things. Skype... in case you use skype. Google Earth which doesnt run all that well (I've got a 1st gen iphone). Lite versions of piano programs...

I use a lot of the default apps more than I thought I would. Weather, Calculator, calendar, even the notes are pretty handy. I always just put it to sleep rather than turn it all the way off, so I'm always charging it. It takes too long to boot up if I want to take a quick picture or something. Invest in a wall charger.

SmokeScreen

How quick is the turn around between when they announce a new phone and when it's available, usually? And do you think that the price on the new phone would be the same as the 3GS, and the S would just reduce in price?

Molly Millions

SmokeScreen wrote: »

How quick is the turn around between when they announce a new phone and when it's available, usually? And do you think that the price on the new phone would be the same as the 3GS, and the S would just reduce in price?

The new iPhone (if one is announced) would probably roll out around June. As for the new OS, I'm not sure.

SmokeScreen

So now that the big hubbub turned out to be about the iPad, is it safe to go out and get a 3GS? Or is there still a chance that a new phone could be announced soon?

KalTorak

New iPhones have traditionally hit the stores in June or July; I don't remember if they announce the new models much in advance of having them for sale (other than the first one).

Reboot

if you can wait, you should see what the Jun-Jul Apple update is about - there's a chance that Apple may release information about the next generation of iPhones. It may take a few months after that to see the phone on the shelves.

SmokeScreen

Eh, as much as I'd like to have the latest and greatest, I've already been without an iPod since October, and that's been painful enough, especially in New York. I doubt I could handle another nine months or so without one.

limester816

Tsk wrote: »

With an iphone, you can hit the power and home button at the same time to take a screenshot (it'll save in your photo album).

wow nice, never knew this. could come in handy.

I've tried multiple Twitter apps, and Tweetie 2.0 has been the best for me: rotates to landscape, geotags, great interface that can load multiple tweets, etc...

MMS has also come in handy more than I thought it would. Now that I have it, I've been able to show friends and family cool places I've been while I'm still there.

EggyToast

SmokeScreen wrote: »

Eh, as much as I'd like to have the latest and greatest, I've already been without an iPod since October, and that's been painful enough, especially in New York. I doubt I could handle another nine months or so without one.

I got a 3G iPhone in February, and was unphased by the release of the 3GS. The improvement was certainly not significant enough to give me any sort of envy, especially since I could say "that's nice. In the meantime I've been using the thing for the past 6 months).

They're easy to use, and you wouldn't have any issues just picking it up. It doesn't matter where you buy it from, either, so if you have Best Buy gift cards or something, you can snag it there.

KalTorak

Yeah, at roughly halfway through the release cycle I don't think you'll lose much by buying one now. Early adopters get burned in a different way anyway. I'm holding out because I'm trying to get my 4 year old iPod to limp until the summer; if it broke now I'd probably just take the plunge and get a 3GS.

Lunker

SmokeScreen wrote:

Are there any nifty little features that I might not figure out by just picking it up and fiddling about with it?

I don't know if it's really secret or anything, but when you have the screen locked, if you double-tap the home button, you'll get iPod controls, so you can skip forward/back and pause without having to unlock the screen. I use this constantly, and my wife didn't know about it for the first month she had her iPod Touch.

And it's kind of bullshit, but if you want the feel of an actual tactile remote, you can buy the iPod Shuffle headphone adapter from Apple (I think it might be from Griffin? About $20) and use that with your iPhone to get the clicky remote with regular headphones. It's a dongle, but this way you can pause and skip forward/back without even having to pull the iPhone out of your pocket.

There's a whole iPhone gaming thread in G&T if you want to see our recommendations and discussion. And in terms of NYC-related apps, if you like rock music at all 101.9 RXP has a streaming radio app that I use constantly.

wonderpug

Lunker wrote: »

And it's kind of bullshit, but if you want the feel of an actual tactile remote, you can buy the iPod Shuffle headphone adapter from Apple (I think it might be from Griffin? About $20) and use that with your iPhone to get the clicky remote with regular headphones. It's a dongle, but this way you can pause and skip forward/back without even having to pull the iPhone out of your pocket.

Do you have the first gen iPhone or something? My 3GS came with headphones that had that dongle, along with an embedded microphone so if you were listening to music you could answer phone calls and talk without even touching the phone itself.

Lunker

wonderpug wrote: »

Lunker wrote: »

And it's kind of bullshit, but if you want the feel of an actual tactile remote, you can buy the iPod Shuffle headphone adapter from Apple (I think it might be from Griffin? About $20) and use that with your iPhone to get the clicky remote with regular headphones. It's a dongle, but this way you can pause and skip forward/back without even having to pull the iPhone out of your pocket.

Do you have the first gen iPhone or something? My 3GS came with headphones that had that dongle, along with an embedded microphone so if you were listening to music you could answer phone calls and talk without even touching the phone itself.

Oh, no, I have those, and I threw them in my drawer right away. :P The stock earbuds never fit right in my ears. This way you can get the remote with any set of headphones. It doesn't have the mic, though, and I will admit that the voice-activision on playlists and albums is pretty awesome, but I could never make piece with those earbuds.

Monoxide

EggyToast wrote: »

SmokeScreen wrote: »

Eh, as much as I'd like to have the latest and greatest, I've already been without an iPod since October, and that's been painful enough, especially in New York. I doubt I could handle another nine months or so without one.

I got a 3G iPhone in February, and was unphased by the release of the 3GS. The improvement was certainly not significant enough to give me any sort of envy, especially since I could say "that's nice. In the meantime I've been using the thing for the past 6 months).

They're easy to use, and you wouldn't have any issues just picking it up. It doesn't matter where you buy it from, either, so if you have Best Buy gift cards or something, you can snag it there.

Talking points from the internal Apple town hall meeting:

-Apple will release updates to the iPhone so Android can't keep up.
-The next iPhone is "an A+ update."

read: they're feeling the pressure from Android phones and this release should be a larger improvement than the 3GS since they need to fight back with something bigger than "it's faster and shoots video"

Rothgarr

I know it's already been mentioned... but i always check here before picking anything up Apple-related:

http://buyersguide.macrumors.com/#iPhone

Obviously, if you need to have something now by all means go nuts.

KalTorak

Lunker wrote: »

wonderpug wrote: »

Lunker wrote: »

And it's kind of bullshit, but if you want the feel of an actual tactile remote, you can buy the iPod Shuffle headphone adapter from Apple (I think it might be from Griffin? About $20) and use that with your iPhone to get the clicky remote with regular headphones. It's a dongle, but this way you can pause and skip forward/back without even having to pull the iPhone out of your pocket.

Do you have the first gen iPhone or something? My 3GS came with headphones that had that dongle, along with an embedded microphone so if you were listening to music you could answer phone calls and talk without even touching the phone itself.

Oh, no, I have those, and I threw them in my drawer right away. :P The stock earbuds never fit right in my ears. This way you can get the remote with any set of headphones. It doesn't have the mic, though, and I will admit that the voice-activision on playlists and albums is pretty awesome, but I could never make piece with those earbuds.

Yeah, I hate the Apple earbuds too. I use Sennheiser earbuds currently, and luckily they make a version that has the remote/mic built in. Think it's a bit pricey though.

wonderpug

Lunker wrote: »

Oh, no, I have those, and I threw them in my drawer right away. :P The stock earbuds never fit right in my ears. This way you can get the remote with any set of headphones. It doesn't have the mic, though, and I will admit that the voice-activision on playlists and albums is pretty awesome, but I could never make piece with those earbuds.

Can you post a link to the adapter you're talking about? I never use the stock earbuds either but it'd be great to get those controls on my Sennheisers.

KalTorak

wonderpug wrote: »

Lunker wrote: »

Oh, no, I have those, and I threw them in my drawer right away. :P The stock earbuds never fit right in my ears. This way you can get the remote with any set of headphones. It doesn't have the mic, though, and I will admit that the voice-activision on playlists and albums is pretty awesome, but I could never make piece with those earbuds.

Can you post a link to the adapter you're talking about? I never use the stock earbuds either but it'd be great to get those controls on my Sennheisers.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16855990086

Here's one version, I'm sure other third parties make them as well.

Lunker

wonderpug wrote: »

Lunker wrote: »

Oh, no, I have those, and I threw them in my drawer right away. :P The stock earbuds never fit right in my ears. This way you can get the remote with any set of headphones. It doesn't have the mic, though, and I will admit that the voice-activision on playlists and albums is pretty awesome, but I could never make piece with those earbuds.

Can you post a link to the adapter you're talking about? I never use the stock earbuds either but it'd be great to get those controls on my Sennheisers.

The one I bought was this one from Belkin for $20 from the Apple Store. They had it in a brick-and-mortar Apple store by my house. It's made for the iPod Shuffle but it'll still work on my iPhone and, I'm assuming, an iPod Touch.