By: Paul McFedries, David Pabian Publisher: Wiley Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Format: Illustrated Label: Wiley Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 267 Publication Date: August 04, 2008
Product Description: You don’t have to be a genius to use an iPhone 3G. But if you want to get the very most out of yours, put this savvy Portable Genius guide to work and start ramping up the pace. Want to e-mail attachments twice as fast? Talk and browse at the same time? Quickly locate the nearest coffee shop? Sync your iPhone 3G with multiple computers? You’ll find cool and useful Genius tips, full-color screenshots, and pages of easy-to-access shortcuts and tools that will save you loads of time and let you enjoy your new iPhone 3G to the max.
Paul McFedries is the president of Logophilia Limited, a technical writing company. He has written or cowritten more than four dozen books that have sold more than two million copies worldwide, including MySpace Visual Quick Tips and Computers Simplified, 7th Edition. Paul encourages all readers to drop by his Web site, www.mcfedries.com. David Pabian is a freelance writer and Mac enthusiast. A self-taught Mac expert and early adopter, he can often be found troubleshooting all things Mac for his family and friends.
Portable GENIUS
Fun, hip, and straightforward, the new Portable Genius series gives forward-thinking Apple users useful information in handy, compact books that are easy to navigate and don’t skimp on the essentials. Collect the whole series and make the most of your Apple digital lifestyle.
Amazon.com Review:
You love your iPhone 3G and you’ve found out that it’s mighty simple to use out-of-the-box, but you might not know that some of its most useful and powerful features are hidden away in obscure parts of the system. You’ve found out that your iPhone 3G doesn't get in your way when you're trying to be productive or creative, but sometimes it will do something (or force you to do something) that just makes you want to scratch your head in wonderment. You’ve found out that your iPhone 3G's robust design makes it a reliable device day after day, but even the best-built machines can have problems.
When you come upon the iPhone 3G's dark side, you might consider making an appointment with your local Apple Store's Genius Bar, and more often than not the on-duty genius will give you good advice on how to overcome the iPhone 3G's limitations, work around its annoyances, and fix its failures. The Genius Bar is a great thing, but it isn't exactly a convenient thing. You can't just drop by to get help; you have to make an appointment; you have to drag yourself down to the store, perhaps wait for your genius, get the problem looked at, and then make your way back home; and in some cases you may need to leave your iPhone 3G for a while (No!) to get the problem checked out and hopefully resolved.
What you really need is a version of the Genius Bar that's easier to access, more convenient, and doesn't require tons of time or leaving your iPhone 3G in the hands of a stranger. What you really need is a "portable" genius that enables you to be more productive and solve problems wherever you and your iPhone 3G happen to be.
Welcome, therefore, to iPhone 3G Portable Genius. This book is like a mini Genius Bar all wrapped up in an easy to use, easy to access, and eminently portable format. In this book you learn how to get more out of your iPhone 3G by learning how to access all the really powerful and timesaving features that aren't obvious at a casual glance. In this book you learn how to avoid your iPhone 3G's more annoying character traits and, in those cases where such behavior can't be avoided, you learn how to work around it. In this book you learn how to prevent iPhone 3G problems from occurring, and just in case your preventative measures are for naught, you learn how to fix many common problems yourself.
This book is for iPhone 3G users who know the basics but want to take their iPhone 3G education to a higher level. It's a book for people who want to be more productive, more efficient, more creative, and more self-sufficient (at least as far as the iPhone 3G goes, anyway). It's a book for people who use their iPhone 3G every day, but would like to incorporate it into more of their day to day activities. It's a book we had a blast writing, so we think it's a book you'll enjoy reading.
Look Inside the iPhone 3G Portable Genius(Click on Images to Enlarge)
Tips from iPhone 3G Portable Genius(Click on Images for More Information)
The book both my uber geek spouse and I agreed on My husband and I generally don't look for the same things in a technical manual. He's a programmer by trade and can handle complexity. I want my instructions simple.
When we both got iPhones, I figured there would be two manuals in the house. Big surprise, we both agreed on this one as being the best. There are enough insider tips and advanced techniques for my husband, plus, it's got plenty of colorful illustrations and simple to understand language for me.
The index makes it simple to find what you're looking for. The tips are useful. Plus, the manual is lightweight and easy to put in a bookbag if you need to take it with you.
Rebecca Kyle, November 2008
Just Give Me the Facts What I like most about this little book is that it gives me the facts I need to get productive FAST!!!! It's innovative layout and folksy tone make it that much easier to cut to the chase. I can't afford the time or money to shell out for a lot of these technical books, but this one WAS REALLY WORTH IT IN TIME AND MONEY!!! GREAT BOOK, GUYS!! (FYI There are some nice skins and covers for the iPhone, but the one I've liked the best is the iPhone Invisible Shield by Zagg. It's industrial strength plastic really protects the back and front from scratches.)
3G Genius?? Chaulk full of information that has been pulled together for easy reference, most of the information I already new about, but a few things came in handy!!
Finally... A genius to hold your hand I am a self-confessed Apple lover and part-time geek. Living in the UK, I was one of the first Brits to get by grubby paws on the original iPhone - a mere 3 days after it went on sale in the US. Of course, I had to upgrade it to a 16GB version when that was released, and again when the iPhone 3G came out. In short, I think the iPhone is a mighty fine phone indeed.
As an architecture, the iPhone is particularly clever - you can update it when Apple release updates, which means that your phone might have more functionality in the evening than it did in the morning - how many phones do that for you? The downside of this is that the iPhone changes constantly, and while some of the upgraded things are announced loudly, it takes a lot of dedication to become a full-on power user of the iPhone.
One way of doing that is to go to the Apple store and listen to their seminars, but frankly, I don't really fancy travelling across town to get to the apple store: I've got better things to do with my evenings - and for those living outside London, it's not really an option. Which is why McFedries and Pabian's iPhone 3G Portale Genius book is such an amazing find. Here, you get all the inside information from people who really know what they are talking about, because they've used the phone as power-users, researched all its functionality, and manage to impart the knowledge in a rather clever way, too.
Using simple step-by-step instructions, lots of insight, and an easy-to-read writing style, this book is a fabulous find.
True geeks won't need it, of course, but despite being one of those, I have to confess I learned quite a few new tricks from it - and if I manage to talk my mom into buying an iPhone, then this book will be her welcoming present into the iPhone universe... If only to stop her from asking me all the mundane questions :)
great resource I thought I knew everythign about my iphone. I am the type to figure out and not read directions. There are a lot of tips and tricks in here that you cant possibly figure out on your own. I now love my iPhone evern more.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Trevor
