The iPhone has become one of the most popular gadgets of all time, but are you using yours to its full potential? Many people who own these devices only use them for the basic functions like making calls, sending and receiving texts and emails and maybe playing the odd game. Here's ten ways to get more from your iPhone and all of them are free.
1. Listen to Music
This may seem like a given, but you’d probably be surprised at just how many people own iPhones but never make the connection that their new phone still retains the original iPod capability - I've met several over the summer alone. Even the smallest memory iPhones have the ability to store hundreds of songs. If you’re still carrying around an iPod as well as your iPhone, maybe now is the time to stop.
2. Alarm Clock
Time was that all regular travellers kept a portable alarm clock in their suitcase, now these once ubiquitous gadgets are almost entirely defunct. The benefit of using your iPhone as an alarm clock is the ability to use any of your ring-tones as your wake up call; therefore a little time spent trawling your mp3 collection can reap benefits as your choice of sound is the one to rouse you unwillingly from your slumber.
3. Torch
There are countless torch apps on the App Store and many of them are free. My personal choice is iTorch4 with it’s simple one button interface. The benefit of keeping a torch app on your phone is that in the event of a power cut, most of us will have our iPhones nearby allowing us instant access to light, rather than having to negotiate our houses to find a rarely used torch (and probably a new set of batteries too.)
4.Diary
Keeping appointments stored on your iPhone means you can always be ready to check your availability, regardless of where you are; it also cuts out the need to write down appointments on bits of paper that have a curious ability to vanish before their contents are transferred somewhere more permanent. The other week I found myself in two stores that required me to come back at a later date to pick up orders, I was able to instantly put these new dates into my calendar and set reminders, before I had even left the counter and had chance to forget.
5. Camera
I used to carry a small digital camera in my handbag, but nowadays I try to avoid any unnecessary objects having to live in there as I need the space for half used packets of wetwipes and several toy cars. The iPhone camera doesn’t come close to the quality I can obtain from my DSLR, but then it doesn’t take up even one tenth of the space that camera requires and so I use it daily to capture the little moments with my son and our cats, without having to lug around a separate camera. Taking pictures with my phone also allows me to instantly share them with my husband at work, or onto social networks and Flickr.
6. Dictaphone
The microphone on your iPhone works surprisingly well as a modern dictaphone, allowing you to create what are in effect, long voice “notes”. I used the inbuilt “Voice Memos” app to record a panel at the Empire Big Screen film festival in order to review it later, the sound quality was very high, especially considering that I was in a large cinema screen room sat a good way back from the panellists. If you’re looking for a reason to buy your new college student an iPhone, this just might be it.
Clip of a Panel Discussion at Empire Big Screen - Recorded on iPhone Voice Memo App
__7. TV Channel __
Admittedly, the tiny iPhone screen will never replace the huge flat screen televisions most of us have in our homes, however when out and about, the ability to watch films and TV programs so easily is a blessing. In a restaurant the other week, my two year old was getting rather fractious having been dragged around the shops for several hours. Thanks to YouTube and 3G, I was able to stream an episode of Thomas The Tank Engine straight to my phone* and keep him happily occupied until his food arrived. UK based users also have the option of watching BBC iPlayer on their phones (wi-fi only at this time) which is great for long train journeys.
8. Museum Guide
Some museums such as the Manchester Museum have recently developed apps that allow you to learn more about their exhibits, working as a private in-hand tour guide. These guides often allow you to discover more about the items in an exhibit, such as watching videos of an animal in the wild or a short clip on how an ancient artifact was restored. If you’re going on a museum trip, check if they have an app available.
9. GPS/SatNav
All iPhones have GPS built into them which allows them to be used for activities like geocaching, but your iPhone can also do duty as a satellite navigation system for your car. There are even free SatNav apps available, my husband has been using Navfree GPS for some business trips. If you need an occasional SatNav but don’t want to fork out for a dedicated system, this may be a great solution for you.
10. eBook Reader
I will be the first to admit that reading for prolonged periods on the small iPhone screen is far from ideal, however if your budget won’t currently extend to a Kindle or a Nook, then this makes an acceptable substitute. The free Kindle apps allows you to read anything you’ve bought on the Kindle store however you need to actually buy the books on your computer or the Amazon app first as the Kindle app has no purchasing option. The iBooks app which is my own preference, has its own store that includes dozens of free ebooks, from classics by Charles Dickens to more modern ones - I have a free book on cake decorating on my virtual shelves. The iBooks app also allows you to store PDF files which I have found very useful, I keep copies of my local bus timetables on there for instant access.
*Make sure you check your data plan before you do this.
