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

by Terry hite, Scott Kelby, Terry White

If you're looking for a book that focuses on just the most important, most useful, and most fun stuff about your iPhone 4--you've found it. There are basically two types of iPhone books out there: (1)... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0321647238
• Release Date: January 2009
• Publisher: Peachpit Pr
• Length: 292 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Scott Kelby's iPhone book

I really enjoy Scott Kelby's material and this book does not disappoint. Gives a lot of nice hidden tips and techniques - a great resource for iPhone owners!

Having an iPhone without this book is like having a Ferrari without the key

I purchased my iPhone just under a month ago, and was disappointed that it basically came with nothing as far as a user guide, manual, etc. (I guess I should have expected it though, from Apple). I am a little more 'techie' than some people, and I think I figured out a good number of things on my own, or from talking to friends who had an iPhone too, but I decided to go to the store to find a good book on how to use my newest toy. I knew there had to be a lot more to it, that I hadn't uncovered and I didn't want to let features go unused. I know Apple designs their products to be able to be used by just about anyone right out of the box, but I knew there are things not everyone just discovers. Having an iPhone without this book is like having a Ferrari without the key. The selection of iPhone user guide books that's available was a little overwhelming, but when all was said & done, I bought this book. I spent a little more than an hour looking through the different books on using an iPhone, and this one was hands down the best one out there. The layout is fantastic (I love the fact that you don't have to read from the beginning to the end, you can go to certain sections), very well written (easy to understand), love all the color pages and sample photos, and like others have said in their reviews, the iTips at the bottom of some of the pages are great! I feel like I have learned a ton from this book, even though there was a lot from it I had already self-taught. Even though there were things I already knew I wasn't disappointed they were in the book either. I found it reassuring that I found a good number of the basics. This book is great for everyone from new users who aren't that well advanced, all the way to the most savy of iPhone users who've had it since day one. My neighbor has had one for a long time, and in the past couple weeks, I've shown them a few things they had no clue how to do, or that the feature was even available. Bottomline: This book should be mandatory reading material for all iPhone users.

New iPhone User

I just recently purchased the iPhone 3GS. I had been considering the purchase for awhile. I wasn't sure how I would like the touch screen, or if it would be a cool toy for awhile and then I would eventually get bored with it. So I decided to take the plunge and buy it. And I absolutely love it thus far. When I was in the store I did not really get a tutorial on how it worked, so I basically went in cold turkey playing with it and learning things. What I noticed is there is not really a manual included you just learn on your own, or ask someone who has knowledge of it. A co-worker then let me borrow this book, she thought I would find it helpful. And oh was it. It gives you the basic things you need to know to work the iPhone, and it is written in plain english so any user can understand. My favorite part about the book are all the neat tips/tricks that are usually in a gray box at the bottom of the pages. The index helps you navigate anything you wish to know that is included. And by far my favorite tips were on how to save some of your battery life, because if you are a user you know how fast it can drain when you are playing with apps, calling, texting, emailing, and using the iPod feature. I highly reccomend this book for all new and current iPhone users.

Makes your high tech purchase a "turnkey" experience!!!

I waited to purchase my iPhone 3GS until this book came out ... it was worth the wait. How many times have we bought high tech gear or software with manuals and directions that take days or weeks to master with comfort of use? This "how to" book makes your iPhone as pleasurable as buying a new car - putting the key in the ignition - and taking off ... the learning curve is almost instantaneous. You are communicating "full steam ahead" halfway into Chapter 2 ... with the concise logical progression of feature descriptions. We've all used them ... those manuals that are all TEXT and a chore to read ... NOT THIS guide ... what makes the iPhone book so quick to comprehend is the visual layout focusing on one specific item at a time with a corresponding photograph displaying exactly what the authors are explaining. This eliminates the guesswork and assumptions of less visual text styles. At the bottom of many pages you'll find an "iTip" which offers a special shortcut or anecdote to speed your floating fingers across iPhone's stand alone interface. One of my favorite "killer apps and tricks" features is on Page 209 --- [...] This is the ONLY iPhone manual you will ever need! Get set to launch your journey to the iTunes App Store to start sampling some of the most incredible software from Google Earth (it's free) to Taxi Magic (get a cab anywhere! - also free) ... and to type in foreign languages - see Page 210 ... the tempting smorgasbord of the digital universe is just at YOUR fingertips. Thank you - Terry White and Scott Kelby for this magic carpet ride ... Aladdin would be jealous!!!

Gimmee more input .... again!

I reviewed the 2nd edition of this book, and now here is my review for the 3rd edition. This edition INCLUDES info for the 3G, the 3Gs, and the iPod touch. I own many other Peachpit books (mostly for computer software), and three others by these authors: one by Scott Kelby (alone) and two by Scott and Terry White together (including the 2nd edition of this particular book). This is just as fantastic as my other Kelby books, if not more so. I originally got this book (2nd edition - prior to the 3.0 firmware upgrade) because even though I was familiar with PDA phones (due to owning a Palm Treo for over two years), I was NOT familiar with the Apple iPhone. I had a feeling my 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 re-writing this review, I have had my iPhone 3G for over seven (7) months.) 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 (they nickname 'iTips') 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: (for the 3rd edition) 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