The iPhone’s camera comes with the ability to digitally zoom, but the controls aren’t immediately visible. Here’s how to make them appear:
Art of the iPhone
Basics: How to Turn On Find My iPhone
Find My iPhone is now a free feature for anyone with an iPhone 4 or newer, and it’s something you’ll want to have turned on, as it can come in extremely handy—not only does Find My iPhone show the location of your iPhone should it be lost or stolen, it can remotely lock the iPhone, wipe its memory, or have the iPhone emit a beeping sound in case it’s lost between couch cushions. To use Find My iPhone, you’ll need to activate it on the iPhone first. Here’s how.
How to Activate Find My iPhone
1. On the iPhone, tap Settings:
2. Tap Mail, Contacts, and Calendars:
3. Tap Add Account:
4. Tap MobileMe:
5. Log in with your Apple account ID and password, which is the same ID you use to buy apps and music in iTunes. Note that your ID needs to be an email address to use Find My iPhone (if it’s not, go here for instructions on updating your ID to an email address). If you don’t have an Apple ID or account, tap Create Free Apple ID:
6. Tap MobileMe (you may need to verify your account first via an email Apple sends you):
7. Slide Find My iPhone to On:
8. Tap Allow:
That’s it. Once turned on, you can now use Find My iPhone’s features on the web, or via an official app on the iPad, iPod, and iPhone.
How to Use Find My iPhone Using a Browser:
1. Go to iCloud.com and log in:
2. Your iPhone’s location will show on Google Maps:
3. To access more features (remote wipe, lock the phone, or make the iPhone beep), click the arrow in the top right corner:
Now you can rest easy always knowing where your iPhone is.
Be sure to check more of our iPhone Tips.
Review: Denon AH-D310R Mobile Headphones
While in-ear headphones for the iPhone have slowly become abundant for iPhone users over the past few years, over-ear headphones, aka cans, that come with a microphone/music control dongle are still rare. That’s why we were pleased to review the Denon AH-D310R ($70)—headphones that, via a control dongle, give you the same music/phone-call functionality of the default iPhone headphones. Sonically, AH-D310Rs are entry-level headphones that deliver solid sound with a full low end, but which lack the build quality and premium sound of studio-level cans.
iPhone Tips: How to Permanently Delete an App, From the iPhone and iTunes
When you delete an app on the iPhone, it’s not completely gone from your life. It lives on in your iTunes library. You’ll notice this the next time the developer of the app updates it. iTunes will signal you, often annoyingly, that there is an update available to download. As you collect more and more apps, it becomes quite a chore to download all their updates. Here’s how to permanently delete apps to avoid such hassles:
How to Permanently Delete an iPhone App:
1. In iTunes, select Apps from the left column:
2. Find the app that you want to delete. You can use the search bar in the top right to quickly find the app:
3. Right click the app icon (or name of the app) and select Delete:
4. A pop-up prompt will ask you if you want to delete the app from your library. Click Remove:
5. A second prompt will ask you if you want to move the files to the trash bin. Click Move to Trash:
Empty your computer’s Trash Bin if you want to say goodbye to the app forever. Pfwew! That was a lot of work to simply get rid of an app.
Be sure to check out more of our iPhone Tips.
iPad Basics: How to Always Display the Bookmarks Bar in the Browser
A seldom noticed feature of the iPad’s browser is the Bookmarks Bar—a bar that appears beneath the address bar and makes navigating to your favorite sites one tap away. It is seldom noticed because, by default, it only appears when you open a new tab, then disappears when you go to a website. It does this, presumably, in order to save screen space. But you can change the settings so that it will always appear. Here’s how:
1. Tap the iPad’s Settings:
2. Tap Safari:
3. Swipe the Always Show Bookmarks Bar tab to On:
And that’s it. Now the Bookmarks Bar will always show. To add bookmaks to this bar, tap the + symbol at the top of Safari, tap Add Bookmark, then tap Add to Bookmarks Bar.
Review: ZeroChroma Teatro iPhone 4 Case With Built-in Stand
The ZeroChroma Teatro for iPhone 4 ($39) is a brilliantly designed, thin, hard-plastic, snap-on case with a flip-out stand that can rotate 360 degrees and prop up the iPhone in portrait, landscape, or anything in between. With a relatively high price tag, the Teatro is a tough sell, but the flexibility and usefulness of the rotating stand on its back makes it worthy of spending a few extra bucks on. It’s also compatible with the iPhone 4 and 4S.
Video Review:
The Teatro’s most impressive and useful feature is a rotating, flip-out stand on its back. The stand is attached to a circular piece of plastic that can be rotated 360 degrees and can hold up the iPhone in both portrait and landscape orientations. It can hold the iPhone at an impressive 42 angles (14 in landscape and 28 in portrait). When not in use, the stand lays perfectly flat in a recess built into the case, so there’s no awkwardness when not in use.
The stand offers impressive sturdiness for being such a small piece of plastic—we experienced no wobble on flat surfaces, even when tapping out notes on the small screen. The bottom tips of the stand are covered with rubber to help prevent slippage.
If you’re looking for heavy protection for your iPhone, the Teatro is not the case for you. Its thin hard plastic is mainly useful for neutralizing everyday wear and tear, but not protecting from accidental drops. The company’s website describes that case as having “interior rubber shock absorption,” but we no sign of rubber on the interior, or that the thin case as a whole has enough material to take on much shock absorption at all.
Another downside of the Teatro is there is no soft lining on the inside of the case. This could mean possible scratches to the iPhone if the case rubs against the iPhone over time. (Update: Teatro has released a revision of the Teatro, the Teatro-S, that added a soft lining.)
The Teatro somewhat improves your grip on the iPhone via two subtle design touches. The first is a dimple on the back that the tip of your index finger fits in to while you’re holding the iPhone one-handed. The second is a series of wavy indentations along the sides for fingers to rest in. A rubber lining framing along the back corners helps to improve grip.
The case offers excellent accessibility to all the iPhone’s ports and buttons. The areas around the volume buttons, headphone jack, sleep button, home button, and docking port are uncovered and left open, creating virtually no restriction of access.
In terms of aesthetics, the Teatro has a utilitarian look. Thin hard plastic cases can sometimes take on a cheap look, but the Teatro has nice build quality and a textured surface that gives it a neutral matte look. The stand on the back does create some awkward lines. It also is off-color gray that stands out against the black casing (the Teatro is also available in white/gray and pink/pink themes). In the end, we feel the the Teatro is a case that should be desired for its functionality, not its looks.
Conclusion
The built-in stand of the ZeroChroma Teatro ($39) is the best iPhone 4 case/stand solution we’ve seen yet. When not in use, the stand rests flat and out of the way. When in use, it offers a versatile range of angles to rest the iPhone at, supporting both portrait and landscape orientations. The downsides of the case are lack of protection due to its thin hard plastic, some awkward aestehtics, and an expensive price tag. But if you’re looking for the best iPhone case/stand combo, the Teatro is it. We rate the Teatro a 9.0 out of 10, highly recommended.
Review Summary
ZeroChroma Teatro for iPhone 4/4S
Price: $39
Art of the iPhone’s Rating: ★★★★★ (5 stars out of 5)
Review Summary: The best case/stand combo solution for the iPhone 4/4S available due to its rotating stand and versatility. Not the most protective case, however.
Reviewed by: Art of the iPhone
Cost to Cancel a 2-Year AT&T Wireless iPhone Contract Early
Want to get out of your 2-year AT&T Wireless contract early? It’s going to cost you. How much? A fee high as $325 but probably less than that. The is a fee called an Early Termination Fee. Here’s how to calculate that fee:
1. If your contract was signed on or after June 1, 2010: $325 – ($10 x each full month of contract completed)
2. If your contract was signed before June 1, 2010: $150 – ($4 x each full month of contract completed)
How Do I Find Out When I Signed My 2-Year Contract?
1. Log in to AT&T Wireless at att.com:
2. Click on My Profile in the top right, then select User Information from the drop-down menu:
3. In the box labeled Contract Information, you’ll see your Contract end date:
2 years before that date is when your contract began. To calculate how far along in your contract you are, count the months to that date and subtact that number from 24 (example: 24 months – months until contract end date ).
If you wish to see the terms of your contract, click on Contract (Wireless), which will open a PDF document showing your calling plan, contract activation date, and other important info.
Here is the exact language on Early Termination Fees taken from AT&T.com’s Customer Agreement page:
If your Service Commitment includes the purchase of certain specified Equipment on or after June 1, 2010, the Early Termination Fee will be $325 minus $10 for each full month of your Service Commitment that you complete. (For a complete list of the specified Equipment, check att.com/equipmentETF). Otherwise your Early Termination Fee will be $150 minus $4 for each full month of your Service Commitment that you complete.
Review: iQueue Free, Netflix Queue Manager (Best of iPhone Apps)
iQueue Free (free) is a free app that lets you manage your Netflix DVD and Instant queues on the iPhone, which is something, for some bizarre reason, the official Netflix app won’t let you do. While iQueue Free won’t win any design awards, it does have a nice drag-n-drop interface that makes it a snap to manage your Netflix queues. Overall, iQueue Free has all the basics you’d want from an app to manage Netflix, and it’s the best free solution we’ve come across so far.
There aren’t many free solutions for managing your Netflix account on the iPhone. Our previous app pick for managing Netflix, PhoneFlicks, is barely better than using the website on the iPhone. But we recently came across iQueue Free, and we like it a lot, mostly for its drag-n-drop interface for rearranging your Netflix queues (both DVD and Instant). Other than that, the app is a stripped down, iPhone-friendly version of Netflix, without the ability to watch movies, of course. You’ll still need the official Netflix app for that.
The interface of iQueue Free follows a familiar template for iPhone apps: a navigation bar on the bottom with information showing on the top. The navigation bar features 4 options: DVD Queue, Instant Queue, Browse, and Search. The DVD Queue and Instant Queue options allow you to view those queues in a list form and tap on individual movies for more information. Movies can be deleted from the list by swiping left to right. A Reorder button in the top right of the screen opens a drag-n-drop interface where you can rearrange the order of your queue.
The Browse button is a way to find movies to watch. Tapping it brings up Netflix’s movie lists, including personal recommendations, Top 100, New Releases, New Watch Instantly, etc. You can add any movie to your queues by tapping a red Add button in the top right. If the movie is available in both DVD and Instant, a pop-up will let you select which queue to add it to.
The Search feature words just as you’d expect, allowing you to type in keywords to find movies and add them to your queues. The app also supports rating of movies using their five-star system. You can also rate movies within the app. Simply tap on the stars and a pop-up will ask you to rate the movies from 1-5 stars.
Conclusion
iQueue Free won’t win any design awards, but it gets the job done, which is giving you complete access to managing your Netflix account. Its best feature is its drag-and-drop interface, which makes rearranging your Netflix queues a snap. And it’s free, so can you really complain about? We like it enough overall to make it one of our Best of iPhone Apps.
Download iQueue Free from iTunes App Store.
CNN iPhone and iPad Apps Now Free
The CNN App for iPhone is now free to download, having been lowered from a previous price of $1.99. Also introduced today was the CNN App for iPad, which is free to download as well. The CNN app garnered many positive reviews when it was first released in the fall of ’09, although there seems to be a lot of complaints lately in iTunes about ads and performance issues.
How to Search for Text Within a Web Page on the iPhone & iPad
The ability to search for a specific bit of text within a web page has long been a sorely missing feature on the iPhone and iPad. Thankfully, Apple added the feature in the iOS 4.2 update. Too bad the iOS browser gives no indication on how to use the feature. But we’ve got you covered:
How to Search for Text Within a Web Page
1. On the webpage you want to search, tap the “Google” Search Bar in the top right corner:
2. Enter the text you want to search for, but do not tap the Search button:
3. Look below the drop-down list, you’ll see text that reads On This Page (X matches):
4. Quickly swipe upwards on the screen:
5. At the bottom of the list that appears on the screen, tap the text Find “Your Text”:
6. Any text that matches your phrase will be highlighted in yellow:
7. Tap Next to travel to matching text. Tap Done when finished:
And that’s it! Not too obvious, huh? Be sure to check out more of our posts on iPhone Basics.
