Customer Reviews

The iPhone Book: How to Do the Most Important, Useful & Fun Stuff with Your iPhone, 2nd Edition

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I got this book as a gift and figured I probably didn't need it. After all, the iPhone is a breeze to use, right? I honestly thought I knew everything I needed to know about it. But holy cow, I found out that there's a whole bunch of stuff that I really didn't know and that the phone has hidden power I'd never tapped. The Killer Tips & Tricks chapter is awesome. I never realized how to access special characters on the keyboard or other domain types besides .com, how to change the size of the caller ID photo, and OMG how to jump to the search field in contacts. Plus, the layout of the book, much like the iPhone itself, is very easy to navigate and use.

This is the second edition of Terry White and Scott Kelby's "The iPhone Book". It's been updated for the new firmware and the 3G iPhone. Like the first book, this one is primarily a "how to" guide, and it does that very well. Every page has a different, focussed "how to" item, from the simple things for first-time owners (like how to turn the thing on!) to more complex items (such as viewing RSS feeds on your iPhone).

What's really nice about the way this book is organized is that you don't have to read through the whole thing. If you're already pretty familiar with your iPhone, you can just look over the Table of Contents for subjects that interest you, turn to that page, and find how how to do it. Because each page is tightly focussed on just one thing, and illustrated with a photo, it makes it very quick and easy to learn about a particular subject. It also makes the book a handy reference down the road when you try out a feature for the first time (which is how I used my first edition with my original iPhone).

The book is written in a very casual style, so you won't feel overwhelmed by jargon or technical details. There are also extra tips at the bottom of many pages relating to the subject at hand. Some of them direct you to programs or web sites that are related to the page subject.

All in all, this is a great book for getting the most out of your iPhone (and, for the non-phone/camera portions, your iPod Touch as well). No matter how much you *think* you know about the iPhone, you *will* find some information in this book that you didn't know (but will be glad you learned).

I own many other Peachpit books (mostly for computer software), and two others by these authors: one by Scott Kelby (alone) and one by Scott and Terry White together. This is just as fantastic as both of my other Kelby books, if not more so.

I got this because even though I am familiar with PDA phones (due to owning a Palm Treo for over two years), I am NOT familiar with the Apple iPhone. I had a feeling this new iPhone 3G had a bunch of hidden goodies I didn't know about, and this book proved me right. I bought my iPhone first, then this book. I fell in love with my iPhone the first week of using it, and this book made my love even deeper the second week! (As of writing this review, I have NOT had my new iPhone for a full 2 weeks yet.)

This book is illustrated with COLOR screen shots on EACH AND EVERY PAGE. It includes beginner, intermediate, and advanced instructions/hints/tips, so no matter what you want to use this phone for this book tells you how to do it - in EASY TO UNDERSTAND wording. It's like learning with your friend who talks like a regular person instead of a techie!

On some pages (at the bottom of the page) the authors include an additional tip on whatever tool you are learning about. These tips can include external links to other websites to explore, or just shortcuts on how to make your iPhone experience more enjoyable.

In a tight economy, this book is a time saver (you know ... "time is money" ...) AND a money saver - the info on how to create your OWN free ringtones saves you money, and allows you to choose your own music instead of relying on what is available thru iTunes.

It is a quick and easy read - I literally read the entire book from cover to cover in about an hour and a half - and you walk away from it feeling smarter and more confident. The BEST thing is that you can refer back to it again and again to refresh yourself or learn something new.

You can also skip around - you DON'T have to read the chapters in order. Skim, scan, pick, choose. It's all good!

Here is the Table of Contents:

pages xvi-xvii - 7 things you'll wish you had known before reading this book (read it, trust me you'll be glad you did!)

Chapter 1: The Bare Essentials (the stuff you have to learn first)
Chapter 2: Phoneheads (how to use the iPhone's phone)
Chapter 3: Please Mr. Postman (getting and sending email on your iPhone)
Chapter 4: Surfin' Safari (using the iPhone's Safari web browser)
Chapter 5: Tool Time (iPhone's tools for organizing your life)
Chapter 6: The Song Remains the Same (using iTunes, the iTunes store, and the App store)
Chapter 7: Video Killed the Radio Star (using the iPhone's built-in iPod)
Chapter 8: One Hour Photo (enjoying photos on your iPhone)
Chapter 9: Cereal Killer (killer tips and tricks) THIS ROCKS!!
Chapter 10: The Trouble with Boys (troubleshooting your iPhone) This could also be called "Tips & Tricks, part 2".
Chapter 11: Setting Me Off (the ins & outs of your iPhone's settings)
Index

There are two additional FANTASTIC bonuses included with this book:
1. a link to a BONUS video
2. FREE online access to this book

I am CONVINCED that this book was written for "non-techies", as well as techies. Since I am somewhere in the middle, I found a couple of things I already knew, but many things I did not. (Granted, I do NOT use an "exchange server" connection for my email, but if I did I would know how to do it.)

I took a one-day Kelby training seminar last year, and was so very grateful for all the generous "bonuses" that came with my seminar fee. This book is NO exception to the generosity of Kelby. These folks just want all of us to be happy with our technology, and it shows.

I can't thank the authors enough for this book. I want to hug both of them and tell them it has changed (ENRICHED) my user experience of my iPhone. If you only glean ONE new technique, then it is more than worth it.

Thanks to all involved in writing this book!

This is a fine and reasonably thorough book for the basics but if you are going to buy only one iPhone book you're better off with either David Pogue's The Missing Manual or Andy Ihnatko's iPhone Fully Loaded. Both cover the basics as well or better than this book and both also provide information to help you take full advantage of all the iPhone can do. I think iPhone Fully Loaded is the better of these two in this respect and is the easy choice but it might be a little geek-centric for some. For example, anyone not interested in turning DVDs into iPhone-playable media is likely to be perfectly happy with Missing Manual.

What a great book to have to learn all about the iPhone.
There are how to tips, little known features, and great ideas on really personalizing your iPhone.
One of my favorites is creating your own wallpaper business card for your iPhone.
Whether you've had your iPhone for awhile, or just got one, you'll find many tips in this book for you.

What a gift this book is. The authors are irreverent, funny, and very good writers. The book is full of helpful tips, along with a very easy-to-understand user's manual. The pictures are very clear and helpful. This is so much better than trying to understand the on-line Iphone manual.

WOW !! Scott and Terry managed to write yet another INCREDIBLE iPhone book. Seriously, I thought I knew everything about my iPhone (b/c I have their first edition iPhone book also), but this book informed me of SOOO many useful tips that I was unaware of. Seriously, I think Apple should let these two write the manual that comes with the iPhone.... B/C then there would be no reason for anyone else to even attempt writing an iPhone book... it covers EVERYTHING !! Even if you think you know everything about your iPhone... YOU DON'T until reading this book... ; )

Highly recommended : )

This book is great for the iPhone novice, of which I can number myself. It starts with the basics of iPhone operation and gradually builds to offer more and more complex functions. The occasional humorous remark keeps the book light and easy. Directions are simplified and, most importantly, the authors have gleaned the MOST useful applications from the thousands that have been formulated for the iPhone 3G. I highly recommend this book!

This book is great for the beginning iPhone user; however, if you've had the iPhone more than a few days and are decently technologically literate, you could have figured out a good 75% or more of these tips on your own. Since the iPhone (and all Apple products) are designed to be user friendly, this is a nice guide book, but now it will permanently sit on my shelf. The handiest hints I found, personally, were the MMS (multi media messaging -- picture mail) workaround and the section on creating a ringtone from iTunes within Garageband.

I got the iphone 3G for Christmas. My flip phone was old, but it worked for me and I was comfortable with it. The iPhone, wow! So much more, it was actually daunting! I went to purchase "iPhone for Dummies", and then found "The iPhone Book" with all the tips and all the pics that easily show you step-by-step. I scanned through the other books and the book for dummies, and hands down, this book will help anyone! There are so many tips and comments that you can relate to. You can jump from chapter to chapter without missing a link! This book is great!