How to Use an iPhone

iPhone is a smartphone developed by Apple. Smartphones share some functions with personal computers and allow users to surf the Internet, check their e-mail and more. The phone has a touch screen instead of a key pad, a media player and several other features. This page is an introduction on how to use an iPhone.

(Creative Commons photo by William Hook)

• In the United States, the only authorized cell phone provider for iPhone is AT&T, although people have figured out ways to unlock the phone. The instructions will differ for an iPhone 3G. These are the instructions for a regular iPhone:

1. If you are currently an AT&T customer and will use the same phone number for the iPhone, listen to your voice mails first, as they will be erased during the activation.
2. To use iPhone as authorized, you need to sign up for a cell phone contract with AT&T.
3. You also need to sign up for iTunes.
4. Connect the iPhone to a USB 2.0 port on your computer using a dock and cable included with the phone.
5. Follow the instructions to activate the phone.
6. It can take days before you start receiving calls if you are transferring a cell phone number to the iPhone. You can still make calls and use the phone.

• First, learn how to use the touch screen.

1. iPhone has no keypad. Instead there is a touch screen and a virtual keyboard.
2. To activate the keyboard, touch the screen.
3. To move the cursor, simply move your finger around on the screen.
4. You can insert numbers by pressing the numbers key on the keyboard and symbols by pressing the symbols key.
5. Press shift up to capitalize a letter.

• A main feature of the iPhone is the wireless Internet access. Follow these steps to connect to a wireless network.

1. Choose a network to connect to. Depending on the network, a password may be required.
2. You can set up the phone to connect automatically to a network. To do so, click on the WiFi option on the phone. Select Ask To Join Networks.
3. To disable automatic connection to a network, simply de-select Ask to Join Networks.
4. Automatic connection will only work for networks you have used before and that are memorized in the phone.
5. Another option to disable automatic connection is to ask the iPhone to forget a network. Under WiFi settings, click on "forget a network" next to the network and it is erased.

• iPhone has a variety of features.

1. There are many applications available to download. You have to pay for some of them, but many can be downloaded for free. You use your iTunes account to download apps.
2. You can watch photos in the phone's slideshow.
3. The iPhone also has a media player similar to an iPod. You can listen to music and other albums, watch videos, create play lists and more.

• It doesn't take long to learn the basic functions of an iPhone, such as using the touch screen and connecting to Internet. But the phone has many other features that you can explore once you learn its basic functions.

•