iPhone

iPhone 3GS

After quite some time with my last phone Palm Treo 650 I now have an iPhone 3GS. Why so late? Why anyway? I think the perspective of a pda "veteran" and long time user of mobile data might be interesting for some. Especially the high class iPhone has some disadvantages one wouldn't expect. Some are correctable and some not, yet. Following you will find some information about the iPhone 3GS which might be interesting while using.

Bluetooth

Profile Short Usage Sample Products
Advanced Audio Distribution		 A2DP Audiotransfer Audioplayer, Headphones, Micro
The Advanced Audio Distribution Profile supports the transmission of stereo audio data between two devices, e.g. between a pc and a headset. There are two different roles within this profile - one unit is the source (A2DP-SRC) and the other one the sink (A2DP-SNK).
Audio Video Remote Control		 AVRCP Audio/Video Remote Control PC, VCR, DVD-Player
The Audio Video Remote Control Profile enables mobile Bluetooth devices to act as a remote control for audio- or video devices. Instead of a simple remote control unit the controler may also be a pc, mobile phone or pda. There are two different roles within this profile - one unit is the controler (AVRCP-CT) and the other one the target (AVRCP-TG).

AVRCP support in the iPhone is limited to pause/play/stop prior to iOS 4.1
Hands Free		 HFP In car telephony Phone, Hands free kit
The Hands Free Profile supports the use of a car kit. It manages the communication between a car kit and a mobile phone via Bluetooth. There are two roles in this profile. The car kit is called HF-Unit while the mobile phone is called HF-Audio Gateway.
Headset		 HSP Headset voice output Headset
The Headset Profile supports the usage of wireless headsets, e.g. sound input and output for a mobile phone or VoIP calls with a computer. The possible quality is only sufficient for speech. For music the A2DP profile is used. There are two roles in this profile. The headset is called Headset-Headset while the opposite unit is called Headset-Audio Gateway. The Headset Proile uses services of the Serial Port Profile (SPP).
Human Interface Design		 HID Inputs Keyboard, Mouse, PC
The Human Interface Device Profile supports the wireless use of input devices like mice, keyboards or joysticks. There are two roles in this profile. Input devices are called HID-Client and receivers as HID-Unit.

HID support was introduced to the iPhone in iOS 4.0.
Personal Area Networking		 PAN Network connection Access Point
The Personal Area Networking Profile supports networks in personal areas. Through these ad-hoc networks up to eight devices can exchange data. Devices like harddisks, internet access or printers may be used like in local networks (lan). There are two different roles. A PAN-Access Point can provide a network access to other Bluetooth devices which are called PAN users or act as a master in a PAN group. This network can consist of up to seven PAN users via a PAN-AP. Two PAN users may otherwise connect directly with each other without a PAN-AP.
Phonebook Access Profile		 PBAP read phonebook Phone, Car Kits
The Phonebook Access Profile supports read access to a mobile phone's phonebook for other devices.

The Bluetooth implementation in the iPhone is quite rudimentary and only supports the profiles mentioned above. Here you will find >Infos about all Bluetooth profiles.

Calendar

The Calendar in the iPhones looks great at first sight but lacks some major features while using:


  • No feature go to date
  • No weekly view
  • No calendar week shown
  • Calendar invitations received via e-mail (ICS) can not be applied to the calendar
  • One can not invite other persons
  • Tasks from iCal are not synced
  • The category colors are not synced from iCal
  • Appointments can not be moved by drag & drop
  • No copy & paste
  • In the monthly view every day with an appointment is shown with a grey point instead of the correct category color
  • While adding an appointment the category may be chosen. Afterwards this is not changeable (works since iOS 4.0)
  • Birthdays are not taken from the address book and shown in the calendar (works since iOS 4.0)

 

Birthdays

As the iPhone calendar does not show birthdays stored within the address book before iOS 4.0 one can use >Occasions. This app also features additional features like reminding of birthdays, anniversaries, infos about the age and other details.

Notes

The very simple Notes app in the iPhone has nearly no functions. Notes can only synced with Apple Mail and are not password protectable. As an alternative I use >Notebooks which adds a lot of other features and syncs via WebDAV or SyncDocs with the computer.

Incoming call forwarded

Every time I placed a call this message was shown on the display. The solution is to install a provider profile. Here you will find a >Carrier Bundle Generator for iOS 3.0 - 3.1.2. In iOS 3.1.3 tethering did't work afterwards. Since iOS 4.0 this also does not work anymore since only profiles signed by Apple are accepted by the iPhone.

Carrier logo

Instead of the name of the carrier one may show an individual text or graphics by installing a provider profile. Here you will find a >Carrier Bundle Generator for iOS 3.0 - 3.1.2. In iOS 3.1.3 tethering did't work afterwards. Since iOS 4.0 this also does not work anymore since only profiles signed by Apple are accepted by the iPhone.

Ringtones

In iTunes switch import prefs to AAC stellen. Then right click on a song and select a maximimum 30 seconds long range in options by changing th "start at" and "stop at" values. Afterwards one can right click on the song and select "Convert selection to AAC" in options. The selected range is saved to a file with the extension .m4a. This file is then renamed to the extension .m4r which is Apple's extension for ringtones. If this file is double clicked it is imported into iTunes and copyied to the iPhone at next sync.

Voicemail

If you don't use your iPhone in an Apple approved mobile network in your country but for example with Vodafone Germany the voicemail key in the telephone app is not assigned at first. You can do this by entering the digits *5005*86*5500# and hitting the green phone symbol where 5500 is the number of the Vodafone voicebox.

Screenshot

A screenshot can be taken by holding the home button and clicking the on/off key at the same time. The produced JPEG picture is saved in Photos and transmitted at next sync.

Net monitor

The net monitor can be activated by entering *3001#12345#* (green handset). Since iOS 4.0 this does no longer work.

Tethering

Using the iPhone as a data modem via usb or Bluetooth is called Tethering by Apple. This may be activated since iOS 3.1.3 for unlocked iPhones.

Infos

>Official Apple iPhone website


Overview

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