There have been a lot of rumors lately about the next generation of iPhone hardware having a 3.2 megapixel camera, but right now we have to deal with what has been given to us: a decent 2 megapixel camera with zero features.

That brings us to a great post that we noticed today on PCMAG.com, 22 Ways to Make Your iPhone a Better Camera. One of the most useful apps they list has to be Photogene. [iTunes Link] This app allows you to:

• Enhance photos with multiple color adjustment options and a sharpen filter.
• Crop and straighten.
• Add fun effects like text balloons, frames or special filters

Be sure to check out PCMAG.com’s article for a boatload of tips and apps to make the best with your iPhone’s camera!

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How To: Improve Photos on Your iPhone

The secret to making your iPhone feel like a 160GB iPod Classic juggernaut is just a few mouse clicks away on your iTunes. Just click on “File” in iTunes, then New Smart Playlist. See where this is going? When you select New Smart Playlist, you can customize a playlist and instruct your iTunes about what music to look for and then keep your iPhone updated with a constant flow of fresh material. It’s a bit like rotating your entire music collection through your iPhone a 100 songs (or whatever you want) at a time.

You can get quite specific with your selection of music. You can instruct iTunes to seek out and load music that has been most recently played or least recently played. You can set the rules for iTunes to follow – like using the rating system in iTunes to select only music that you have given a 1 – 5 star rating. What, you mean you haven’t rated your music?

Well, if you’re like me, you haven’t paid much attention to the rating system or even cared to know why it’s there. If you take the time, though, and rate your favorite music, then your Smart Playlist can become much more meaningful as iTunes searches your music library for songs that you have rated. To rate your music, just click in the Rating column next to the songs you want to rate and then give them a rating, anywhere from one to five stars. In the Smart Playlist, if you set the range to include only your most favorite songs, then you can expect your Smart Playlist (and thus your iPhone) to always rotate your favorite songs each time you sync.

Smart Playlists aren’t just limited to songs. You can instruct iTunes to select all kinds of media, like podcasts, to be added to your Smart Playlist and then synced with your iPhone for your enjoyment. In this manner, you can rotate your media from the vast reservoirs of storage on your desktop or laptop to the limited space on your iPhone, always keeping it fresh. If you haven’t played around with your Smart Playlist, give it a try today and post your feedback in Comments. You might find a way to use this feature that works well for you and then feel free to share it with the rest of us!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Tips and How-To’s: iPhone Music Management

If the iPhone is your first smartphone, then you won’t fully appreciate the lack of a means to send contacts or files via Bluetooth or IR (infra-red). What if you want to send your Google map to a friend to show him or her the way? What about sending a website link of your winning team to your buddy to rub it in? The iPhone is lacking in some of the more conventional methods of sending data to someone else, but the built-in screenshot capability can do wonders! Read on for more!

If you haven’t tried it already, just hold down the power button and home button at the same time and presto, your iPhone will capture a screenshot and send the image to Photos. Just about every other smartphone I can think of requires a third-party app to pull off this neat little trick, but fortunately the iPhone makes it easy as pie. There’s a lot of things you can do with this feature, and here’s just a few.

Send Contact Information

If you haven’t noticed, there’s no button or tab to send contact information to someone else via email or otherwise. Therefore, you have to be creative. Use the screenshot feature to snap a photo of the contact you want to send, go find it in Photos, and email that sucker to the one you want to have it. Easy peasy!

Send SMS Conversation

Maybe you have some important information in a text message that you need to send to one or more people, like movie times, an address, directions, etc. Since the iPhone has no copy/paste and no means of forwarding a text message, take a screenshot and email it. Starting to get the picture? Pun. Ugh.

Send Your Stock Quotes

Yeah, I know, why would you want to send the bad news to anyone? But hey, if there’s a reason to send stock quotes, it’s easy to do with screenshot and email. Maybe you want to send some stock ideas to a family member or friend. Maybe someone you know doesn’t have an iPhone (gasp!) with it’s easy access to stock quotes, so you can be helpful and send the bad news via email!

Send A Web Site Screenshot

Did your Celtics take your friend’s favorite team to the woodshed? Now you can do a little taunting of your own by taking a screenshot with your iPhone and emailing it to your friend to rub it in a little. Yes, it’s gloating. But hey, you have an iPhone – license to gloat, baby!

There are lots of possibilities – take screenshots of Google Maps, your new high score on a favorite iPhone game (again, send to a friend for some gloat-ness), and just about anything else that you can display on your iPhone. Be creative!

If you have a tip or how-to that you would like to share, drop by the forums and/or email us atbrian.hart@tipb.com.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Tips and How-To’s: Screenshot Savvy

The iPhone is a great phone and an awesome entertainment device, but it’s also a great tool for a variety of things, including an excellent travel companion. Ana Ortiz at LaunchSquad dropped me a line and suggested I check out Best Western’s site, which also happens to be iPhone-friendly as a web app. Best Western, partnering with Usablenet, brings their site to the iPhone for your traveling convenience. What features are available via the web app? Read on after the break!

If you enter www.bestwestern.com into your iPhone’s Safari, the site detects you are mobile and will bring you to the web app version. From here, you can check the status of your reservation on the fly, reserve a room for the night, get directions to the hotel, and more – all accomplished from your iPhone.

I like the fact that if I’m out and about and without access to a computer or laptop, I can still confirm my reservations, make a reservation, use the Trip Planner, or get directions to Best Western so I can crash for the night. Since there are thousands of Best Westerns across the globe, this can be a useful web app for the frequent and/or unexpected traveler. If you wish, you also have the option to view the full web site, but that usually isn’t necessary when you have full functionality using the web app. 

According to Ana, Usablenet makes this possible with their comprehensive mobile-web platform, which also works with numerous other hotels, like the Hilton, Starwood, Four Seasons, etc.

As an added bonus, check out Urbanspoon in the App Store. Once you’ve settled in to your Best Western, you might want to grab a bite somewhere and Urbanspoon uses the GPS of your iPhone to help you locate a restaurant near your location for some good eats. Just shake your iPhone and let Urbanspoon do the rest. Keep shaking until the slot machine dials up something you fancy.

That’s it for this time. Thanks, Ana, for the Best Western tip!

If you have a tip or how-to that you would like to share, drop by the forums and/or email us atbrian.hart@tipb.com.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Tips and How To’s: Best Western on iPhone

It’s rare that I place much stock in the “stock” headphones that are included with my devices. Even though the headphones provided with my iPhone 3G are decent, I’ve graduated to a noise-cancellation type of headphone with rubber ear tips. Even so, the stock headphones and many third-party headphones are equipped with both a microphone for phone calls and a “clicker” button to control your audio. The clicker is a fantastic feature because it makes operating your iPhone or iPod Touch as simple as you want – no need to risk flying off the treadmill because you just can’t stand to listen to THAT song even ONE more time!

Along with the many new updates in firmware 2.1, there was also an update for audio features, specifically concerning the “clicker.” The clicker already handled triple-duty with play / pause / skip to the next song. A single click pauses your music, then a single click again will play your music. Two quick clicks will forward to the next song. Now, there is a FOURTH option. With a triple-click, you can go to a previous song. Remember, you can keep moving backward or forward through your playlist if you click in rapid succession, then pause momentarily for each clicking command to register, then proceed.

Many of you may have already been aware of this feature, but if you aren’t, it’s a handy thing to know. Now, if you are exercising or just don’t want to have to look at your iPhone’s screen to manage your music, just make a favorite playlist of everything you like. Then, you can click, double-click, and triple-click your way through your music without ever looking at your iPhone. This feature works also with third-party headphones. For example, I’m using the Maximo iMetal isolation headset (to be reviewed later), and it is also equipped with a clicker button and it works just fine. So if you haven’t already, it’s time to get your “click-groove” on!

If you have a tip or how-to that you would like to share, drop by the forums and/or email us at brian.hart@tipb.com. 

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Tips and How To’s: Using Headphone Button

[Ed: Many of you know Jeremy as the most Bad Ash moderator this side of Cupertino. Well, we've finally convinced him to tear it up here on the TiPb front page as well. What's he going to choose for his debut post? Heh. Like there was ever any doubt...]

Since you can usually find me on the iPhone Blog Forums I figured I may as well make my first post about some of the happenings over there. So what’s going on?

Firmware 2.0.2 tips and tricks thread is a good place to check out if you are looking for some nifty pointers in the TiPb forums.  SM12 wants to know  what phones did you replace with your iPhone?  Another discussion that is going on is from Scottdoc and he needs help deciding what is the best software for converting DVD’s for use on the iPhone.  Can you help him out?  

Also be sure to check out the new section to our forums that Dieter just added, other devices and gadgets.  Are you a Windows Mobile fan?  How about Blackberry?  Android?  Join our community and mix it up then!  What are you waiting for?! Go ahead and join our community and get in on the conversation!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Today on the Forums: 2.0.2 Tips and Tricks, Other Devices and Gadgets

Following up our Exchange Activesync for the iPhone 2.0 walkthrough, and some FREE/cheap Hosted Exchange solutions for users without Megacorps, here’s an official “welcome!” from biggest Megacorp of them all, Microsoft. More specifically, from the Microsoft Exchange Team Blog:

If you’ve not heard; Apple released iPhone 2.0 today which includes a software update to the existing iPhones in the market (yes, we mentioned it when it was announced as well). We’re thrilled to add them to the family of Exchange ActiveSync licensees that enable all sorts of devices to connect to Exchange Server. For those of you that manage Exchange Servers this means you may see some new devices connecting and we wanted to give you a few notes about what to expect.

Via

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone 2.0: Welcome, from Microsoft + Tips!

People buying an iPhone for the first time are waiting until July 11 or after. In some ways, they are the lucky ones.  They don’t have the conundrum of figuring out what to do with their iPhone 2G.  Sell it on eBay for pennies on the dollar?  Donate it to charity?  Drop it in their “old icky outdated technology drawer” from where there is no return?

I was an “early adopter” — translation: I was suckered into paying $599 (still hurts to type it to this day) for my little slice of techno-nirvana. Given the new iPhone 3G is just around the corner, this week’s Tip is a timely one regarding what YOU can do with your old iPhone!

In no particular order, here are some ideas:

1)  Use your old iPhone as an iPod (a really expensive iPod, but hey, it has a pretty multi-touch screen!)

2)  Hand-me-down: give it to your spouse, significant other, child, friend, boss (possible bribe potential), etc.  I’m sure the beneficiary will LOVE it (especially if they have not experienced an iPhone before) and AT&T will love it too ($$$)!  Besides, the tax write-off may be higher than what you’d get on eBay.

3)  Keep it.  Don’t upgrade.  It’s humanly impossible to resist the siren song of the iPhone 3G, but if you are super-human and manage to stick to your 2G, then at least be comforted in knowing that you will keep your same rate plan and you can point your finger and mock all the 3G’ers that are paying more for their data (see tidbits.com).

4)  Doorstop, paperweight, pond-skipping, coaster, or all the above.

Thanks for dropping by for this week’s Tip about what you can do with your old iPhone 2G.  What will YOU do with yours?  Leave a comment and share!

Disclaimer:  Tip o’ the Week makes no guarantee, express or implied, that any tip found herein will be new or particularly useful to the reader (except for #4 above – I suspect that even the iPhone 2G’s sleek design would beat just about any flat rock in a pond-skipping contest).

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Tip o’ the Week: Old iPhone Useless?

Although the current iPhone does many things, it does fall short in some glaring ways.  Managing tasks, for example, has been discussed both in forums and in TiPB podcasts.  Perhaps Apple refuses to provide a means of managing tasks because they believe an iPhone user will have little time left for anything else in life other than surfing the web on Safari, watching movies and listening to tunes in iPod, Google Mapping, etc.?  Speculation for this exclusion may abound, but fortunately, we’ve got you covered with this week’s Tip.

If you haven’t been checking out the new Web Apps lately, then you may have missed a little gem called Getting Tasks Done!, available here!  Read more about managing your tasks on the iPhone following the break!

Getting Tasks Done!, by Volodymyr Sergeyev, is one way that you can manage your tasks (’to-do list’, if you will) on your iPhone.  With the ability to accept unlimited tasks and projects, you can probably list more things that you need to do than you can get done!  To get started, just go to the site and set up an account for free.  Once you have an account set up, you can login and start tasking!

Some great features are included in this web app:  sharing tasks with family, friends and co-workers; archiving of tasks and projects; accessible 24/7 via the internet; even a daily motivational quote or phrase to inspire you to get your tasks done!

One of the criticisms of web apps are the requirement of having an internet connection; no connection, no app.  This is one reason why resident apps are more appealing to many — if you have juice on your iPhone, you can use the app.  However, Getting Tasks Done! will also work offline.  If you don’t have an internet connection, you can still work on your tasks offline and they will sync with the server when you are online again.  Sweet!

As you can see on the left here, you can “Add task”, “Archive” your completed tasks, “Work offline”, “Hot tasks”, and even “Share tasks” with others.

Once you’ve completed a task, just check the box and move on to the next one.  I always find the checking-of-the-box part to be very rewarding because it gives me a sense of accomplishment.  There are few things better than completing a task, checking the box, and getting back to some Safari surfing, YouTube’ing and iPod’ing!

Check out Getting Tasks Done! and start getting things done!  

That’s it for this week’s Tip.  If you have a tip of your own that you would like to share with the rest of us, please leave a Comment or you can email me at: brian.hart@phonedifferent.com.

Disclaimer:  Tip o’ the Week makes no guarantee, express or implied, that any tip found herein will be new or particularly useful to the reader (and now that you have a Tip about a good task manager for your iPhone, we certainly can’t guarantee you’ll get things done.  Just remember this: Nothing makes you more productive than the last minute.  Try that out on your boss!).

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Tip o’ the Week: Tasks on iPhone!

Hold +, and press Right, Right, Left, Left, 2, 2.  Do this quickly.  Oh, and by the way, do this at the “Chapter Select” screen.  Sounds simple enough, right?  What does this mean, anyway?  A new dance step?  Marching orders?  Or a way to unleash your weapons mojo playing Call of Duty 3 on your Wii?  You may not be able to hook up your iPhone to your Wii and use the accelerometer (yet), but your iPhone + a handy web app may make your Wii experience more lively (and give you the power to beat your kid’s high score).  Press Right, Right, then click Left on your mouse button to read on!

Buying a Wii is like catching a leprechaun.  If you are one of the lucky ones (I suggest filling your pockets with four-leaf clovers before shopping) and already have a Wii, then you may be interested in a web app that I’ve selected for this week’s Tip o’ the Week!

Wii Cheats is an iPhone-optimized site filled with cheats, tips, hints, and codes for your enjoyment while playing on your Nintendo Wii.  The site is laid out alphabetically by game titles.  A bar just above the first titles permits you to jump ahead in the list, i.e., if you need a hint for overcoming a difficult level in “Prince of Persia Rival Swords”, just tap on “N-T” and you will be whisked far down the list to titles starting with “N”.

Aside from having to put up with advertising, this is a great little app for your iPhone that can give you hints on tips anytime, anywhere when playing games on your Wii.

The general layout for games you access on the site includes various codes for the game, step-by-step instructions for entering the code, and the effect or result of the code entered.

Tips and hints are provided when a code is not necessary.  For example, if the game you are playing has certain programming glitches that can be exploited to your advantage, Wii Cheats is a good place to find this information and it’s FREE to use.

So whether you want to be able to go into the office on Monday and brag about your prowess as a Guitar Hero, or impress your little brother or nephew, the Wii Cheats web app for your iPhone may come in very handy.

Disclaimer:  Tip o’ the Week makes no guarantee, express or implied, that any tip found herein will be new or particularly useful to the reader (and in all likelihood, your little brother and his friends have already found the cheats and codes from “other sources” and you’re dreaming if you really think you can compete on their level).

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Tip o’ the Week: Wii Cheats!