We know that many of you were asking for and may have received an iPhone for the holidays and even though it’s quite an intuitive experience, we thought we could provide a simple guide for setting up and getting the most out of your new Apple smartphone. This should be applicable to all iPhones but we’re using the iPhone 4S as our barometer, so your mileage may vary slightly.
Setting up
One of the greatest things about iOS 5 is that you don’t have to plug your iDevice into a computer to set it up any more. Now, you can unbox your iPhone, turn it on and you’ll be greeted with a way to set up and activate your phone wirelessly. The process is pretty simple too, as you first need to pump in your Apple ID and password – if you don’t have one yet, you can sign up for one directly on the device. This will be your ID throughout the entire Apple ecosystem and it will also be one that is tied to your purchases, so make sure you put in or sign up for the proper one.
You’ll also have the option to sign up for Find My iPhone at the setup screen and I’d advise you to do this because it’s free and it’s a good way to track your device if it’s lost or stolen. It’s not a guarantee that you’ll get it back but it’s better than nothing. You’ll also get the chance to sign up for iCloud and you really should because it’s an easy way to keep your content synced across multiple Apple devices. The iCloud service isn’t quite perfect yet but it’s pretty good so far and it will only get better in the future.
You’ll also have to activate your AT&T, Sprint or Verizon 3G and this should just take less than a minute. I’ve experienced some errors connecting to Verizon’s 3G on an iPhone 4 but hitting the activate button again usually fixes that issue. If you’re struggling with this after more than a few attempts, bite the bullet and call your carrier’s support line or go into an Apple Store.
Additional reading: How to setup e-mail on your iPhone
Additional reading: How to use home sharing with your iPhone
Using your iPhone
Steve Jobs used to say that the iPhone “just works” and for the most part, it does. You use your finger to interact with the touchscreen and it’s extremely responsive to the touch. You’ll be greeted with multiple icons in a grid across multiple homescreens and you can put multiple apps into a folder by dragging an app on top of another – the phone will automatically create a title for you but you can change this to fit your needs.
That touch interaction is used throughout the system in really cool ways. If you’re in the browser or the photo gallery, you can double tap to have it automatically zoom or you use a pinching motion to zoom with more granularity. While we take this for granted now, we were all blown away by this when it debuted in the original iPhone and it is just one small reason why Apple has been so successful in the smartphone space.
If you’re using an app and want to dive into another program, you can hit the home button and then launch the new one by clicking on another app icon but that can get tedious. With iOS 4, Apple introduced multitasking by hitting the home button twice and a little tray of recently-used icons will pop up at the bottom of the screen. Tapping an icon will launch it and if you want to stop an app’s process, you hold down on those icons and then click on the “x” icon.
Apple’s iOS 5 revamps the notification system, as you now have a pull-down menu which is similar to what we’ve had with Android for years. Pulling down this tray will bring up all the apps which have a notification and tapping one will launch the app. You can dismiss all of an app’s notifications by hitting the X button and be sure to dive through the main Settings menu to control which apps can populate this tray, as it can quickly become overcrowded.
If you have one of the new iPhone 4S units, then you’re probably going to be using the voice-controlled Siri a lot. Read our full Siri review for an in-depth take on this but I’ll quickly say that it’s a service which is full of promise and it is getting better every day. I found that setting alarms and reminders using your voice becomes very natural after a few days and you really miss this feature when you’re switching to a different device.
The latest iPhone software also brings you quick access to the camera from the lock screen by tapping the home button and hitting the camera icon and there’s also system-wide Twitter integration. You’ll have to sign in or set up a Twitter account from the Settings menu but it’s nice to have this sharing option built into multiple core apps.
Additional reading: Apple iPhone 4S review
Additional reading: Apple iPhone 4S Siri review
Additional reading: Using iOS 5 on your iPad
Additional reading: Watch Steve Jobs introduce the original iPhone
App, app and away
The iPhone is good by itself but it becomes great with the addition of multiple third-party applications from the App Store. Of course, it’s tough to figure out what’s good and what’s bad with more than half a million apps out there, so we’ll lay out some of our favorites. You’ve already heard of the most popular apps like Angry Birds, Pandora, Facebook, Instagram, Words with Friends and more, and you should definitely download these because these are all really good apps. I also suggest checking out the most popular lists in the App Store itself because many of these are pretty good and popular for a reason.
The best thing about the App Store and the iPhone is that there is so much choice, so you can find the apps which are best for you. If you’re a photography fan, you can check out Instagram, Camera+, Chumkee and more. Gamers will be very, very happy with their new iPhone because the App Store has all types of games – you can find something that will occupy your time for 30 seconds, top-of-the-line games like Infinity Blade 2 or even old favorites like Final Fanstasy III. Music fans can rock out to apps like Spotify, Pandora, Rhapsody, Slacker Radio, Rdio, MOG and more.
The iPhone and App Store has the best selection of apps in the mobile market today and it continues to grow by leaps and bounds. If you don’t have much money for apps, you don’t have to worry because I’ve found there are still a ton of free apps which will keep you entertained.
Visit the IntoMobile App section
Visit the IntoMobile App Review section
Additional reading: The Top 10 iPhone apps I can’t live without
Additional reading: Apple iPhone apps I’m digging
Additional reading: Apps I’m digging lately
Making the most of your iPhone
The iPhone is pretty simple to use but there are a few tricks and tips which could make your life easier. Once you’ve downloaded multiple apps, it can be tough to keep track of them, so I just swipe to the search screen and start typing the app’s name to bring it up and launch it. It takes a few steps and you have to know what app you’re looking for but it can be much quicker than panning through multiple homescreens and squinting to see what icons are in your folders.
The iPhone is useless if the battery runs out, so read this post on how to get the most out of your battery life. Basically, tweak your screen brightness, turn off services you’re not using and adjust your settings to how you use it and you can greatly improve how much life you get out of a single charge. This does take more management but luckily, I’ve found the iPhone has pretty good battery life without having to monkey around with it.
If you’re a heavy texter or e-mailer, you’ll want to watch the video below on how to set up some keyboard shortcuts. Be sure to chime in with your own tips in the comment section.
Additional reading: How to get the most out of your iPhone battery
Additional reading: How to set up your iOS 4 keyboard
Moving forward
You’re probably still buzzing from getting your new iPhone but will that device still be exciting during next year’s holiday season? Well, judging by Apple’s track record, you can expect your iPhone to get better even if there will be a new model in 2012 which may draw your envy.
Apple has done a great job of pushing out a new version of iOS which greatly improves the experience on their existing iPhone. For example, while iOS 5 is optimized for the iPhone 4S, it has been running perfectly fine on my iPhone 4 and it has made it a better phone. Sure, it’s not quite as fast and speedy as on an iPhone 4S but if I didn’t do this for a living, I probably wouldn’t even notice that and instead be happy with the new notification system, photo editing, improved browser and more.
There will be an iPhone 5 (or whatever it’s called) next year and it will likely have a revamped look and feel and include more powerful hardware than the iPhone 4S. But I get the feeling you’ll still be pretty satisfied with your current iPhone by this time next year.