iPod Transfer, iPod Backup, iPod Converter

Yesterday was the long-awaited launch of the new iPhone 3GS and just a few days ago Apple released the iPhone OS 3.0 update into the wild for older devices. As expected, there are some really nifty gifties!

A while back MacYourself published a compilation called “28 tips & tricks all iPhone and iPod touch users should know,” which focused on some of the new features iPhone OS 2.0 brought to the table. Almost a year later the 3.0 update is here and there’s a ton more to learn! New discoveries will probably continue to pop up in the coming days and weeks, but with a whole day of using the iPhone 3GS under my belt I have already come across a bunch of cool improvements aside from the ones Apple has been hyping. Note that these also apply to the iPod touch, original iPhone, and iPhone 3G running the 3.0 software.

1. Open link in new window in Safari

Finally! This has been one of my most requested features since the beginning, so I’m glad Apple has stepped up. Pressing and holding a link in 2.0′s Safari used to just show its URL in a popup bubble. The new and improved Safari in 3.0, however, offers a few choices: Open, Open in New Page, and Copy. This is essentially the same as opening links in a new tab on the desktop version of Safari – a great step forward in the iPhone & iPod touch browsing experience.

2. Battery life as a percentage

The little battery icon is okay for judging approximately how much battery life remains on the device, but it’s tough to get an accurate reading. To remedy this insufficiency, Apple has added a new option in the latest iPhone operating system. Under Settings > General > Usage, there will be a Battery Percentage field. Switch this to On and a numerical value will display on the top status bar next to the battery icon. Note this is a feature exclusive to the iPhone 3GS.

3. Shake to undo

It used to be a pain to go back and delete text that you typed if your mind was changed midway through. Or perhaps an error was made and the text wasn’t needed anymore. With 3.0, all it takes is a simple shake of the iPhone or iPod touch to invoke a menu which allows you to undo what you’ve just done. This also works when you paste something that was copied to the clipboard and then decide you want to get rid of it.

4. Keyboard advancements

Speaking of typing, the keyboard in iPhone OS 3.0 is slightly more advanced than the one it replaces. For example, pressing and holding down the “.com” button in 2.0 brings up options for “.net” and “.org” as well. The new software’s keyboard takes this a couple steps further by adding a “…” option to the “.” button and a “–” option to the “-” button, among others. The best way to figure out where these hidden keyboard shortcuts exist is simply to start pressing and holding keys to see what happens.

5. Quote a certain part of an email message

Sometimes you don’t want to include the entire body of an original email message that you’re replying to or forwarding. Since 3.0 has support for cut, copy, and paste, there are powerful text selection tools as well. To try this out, view a message in the Mail app and double tap the beginning of a word. That word should be highlighted with drag-able handles on both sides. Expand the selection to cover the text you want to keep and then tap the Reply button at the bottom. Choose to reply or forward and you’ll find that only the content you selected was carried over to the new email.

6. Delete or forward individual text messages

The Messages app received quite a bit of love in iPhone OS 3.0 and now packs some convenient new features. For example, there is an Edit button in the top-right corner of the screen while viewing texts in a conversation. Tapping this button will enable you to select text messages line-by-line, then it gives you the choice of deleting or forwarding them. Unselected messages will remain untouched.

7. The new way to force quit an app

As covered in our 28 tips & tricks for iPhone & iPod touch article, the way to force quit an unresponsive app in 2.0 was to hold down the Home button for a few seconds. Since the new iPhone 3GS uses this action to launch Voice Commands, a new method was needed for the 3.0 software update. Force quitting is now done by holding the sleep/wake button until the red slider displays. Holding the Home button down at this time will kill the problematic application.

8. Spotlight from home

Let’s say you’re viewing home screen #3 right now on your app-filled iPhone or iPod touch. Pressing the Home button from here will bring you directly to the main home screen (#1). If you’re already at home screen #1, though, something else happens when you press the Home button. It slides you over one more spot to the left and launches 3.0′s new Spotlight search function.

9. Scrub media at your own pace

While viewing media (music, videos, audiobooks, podcasts, etc.) in the iPod application, there has always been a dot which marks where the playhead is currently at and can be dragged to rewind or fast-forward. It worked well enough, even though precision scrubbing was always difficult. Improved in iPhone OS 3.0, the iPod playhead scrubber can be more or less precise based on your input. As you move your finger horizontally to rewind/fast-forward, you can also drag it up and down to change the speed at which it scrubs. The lower you go on the screen, the slower it moves incrementally. The speeds are: Hi-Speed (top), Half Speed, Quarter Speed, and Fine (bottom).

Being connected all the time means iPhone users love to instant message their friends on the go. Agile Messenger, which supports multiple IM protocols (such as AIM, MSN, etc.), is a great way to keep in touch.

Rather than download a bunch of individual instant messaging applications like Yahoo! Messenger or AIM, wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to combine all of your IM accounts in one easy to use app? That’s what the folks at Agile Mobile were thinking too. Their Agile Messenger iPhone application is available from the App Store for $9.99 and supports ICQ, MSN, AIM, Yahoo!, Jabber, and Google. They’ve also got versions of their software for Nokia and Windows Mobile phones, but we all know which platform ranks on top.

The Review

I’ve been trying out Agile Messenger for a few days now and was pleasantly surprised by how many features are packed into this app. I’m admittedly an AIM guy for the most part, with occasional dashes of MSN and Yahoo! thrown in for good measure. Being able to handle all of these at once was a strong selling point. Upon launching Agile Messenger for the first time, I was greeted with a Select Services screen. This is where protocols can be turned on and activated with account login details. That’s really all there was to set up – it couldn’t be simpler.

I won’t go through every nook and cranny of the program, but there are a few things worth highlighting. The user interface is visually appealing and easy to figure out. It’s the swift transitions between screens and menus which tie it all together, though, making it all feel very dynamic. I found Agile Messenger to be quite customizable as well. Contact lists and conversation windows can be altered with different font faces, text sizes, and graphic options. Portrait and landscape keyboard orientations are included as well.

A really cool feature is picture and audio sharing. Users can record short audio messages or choose images saved on their iPhone to send over IM. The pictures are especially handy since iPhones won’t support MMS for another month or so. The ability to load a contact’s previous message history is pretty nifty too. I’m not sure how far back it can go, but it’s a great way to remember where a recent conversation left off.

Even with all this great stuff thrown in, Agile Messenger (like most other apps) is still less than perfect. At the beginning it was somewhat buggy and unstable. After a few uses, however, they appeared to work themselves out and the app proved quite reliable. The only other downside – not being able to receive messages when the app isn’t in use – is an iPhone 2.0 software problem common to all IM apps. Apple’s forthcoming 3.0 update with push notifications should alleviate this annoyance, but Agile Mobile has a solution in the meantime. Users can sign up for a free gateway service which keeps them logged in for up to 12 hours and forwards missed incoming IMs to an email address. It’s a clever way of working around Apple’s temporary flaws and, as I mentioned, will probably be eliminated when push notifications arrive this summer.

The Free Giveaway

Now for the fun part! Agile Mobile has been kind enough to offer a free copy of Agile Messenger (regularly $9.99 at the App Store) to one lucky MacYourself visitor! The great features it includes will definitely make instant messaging on the iPhone a more pleasurable experience for anyone. Here’s what you need to know:

To enter, please leave a comment below, along with a valid email address (this is how we will contact you). In order to avoid spam filter issues, please type a coherent sentence saying you’d like a chance to win. Multiple entries will be deleted, so please only add one comment per person. And finally, don’t worry if your comment doesn’t appear on the site immediately — it might be awaiting moderation and will show up shortly. One more thing… this giveaway is only open to those in the United States. Sorry, international readers! The promo codes generated by iTunes are valid in the U.S. only.

A winner will be chosen at random based on the comment number they happen to be. All entries must be made by June 10, 2009 at 11:59pm eastern U.S. time. In the meantime, cross your fingers for something cool from Apple at WWDC next week. Good luck!

UPDATE – June 12, 2009:
Congratulations to our winner Brad! His comment number was chosen from a random number generator and he has been given a free copy of Agile Messenger! Thanks to everyone who entered and remember to consider purchasing a copy of Agile Messenger to chat on your iPhone or iPod touch.

So you’re freaking out because your Mac’s hard drive failed and all of those songs, movies, & TV shows you’ve accumulated are gone. No worries, they’re still on your iPod or iPhone and there are tools to help get them back!

Aside from serving as a harsh lesson that investing in an external hard drive and using Time Machine is actually a darn good idea, this kind of disaster can also cause you to curse Apple for not building an iPod-to-computer backup feature into iTunes. It’s a frustrating reality, but since their stance will never change it’s best to focus on other ways to handle this issue. Well, that’s only semi-accurate. They do allow you to transfer content purchased from the iTunes Store back to a computer. This can be accomplished by going to File > “Transfer Purchases from…” in the menu bar when the device is connected to iTunes.

Since the large majority of users’ libraries are obtained from other (legal and illegal) sources, however, this limited functionality will only get you so far. That’s where the excellent 3rd party developer community for the Mac platform comes in. There are a bunch of tools – some free, most relatively cheap – which allow you to copy just about everything on your iPod or iPhone to a Mac computer. This article will briefly feature seven of the best currently available. If anyone knows of others that they feel should be included, please share in the comments!

1. iPodRip

Boasting over 5 million downloads, iPodRip has been around for a while and does a pretty good job of backing up media from an iPod or iPhone. One of the older versions of this program saved me a few years ago, so I can attest to its effectiveness.

Developer: The Little App Factory
Price: $19.95 (free trial available)
Version 1.2.5 compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5

2. Senuti

The tagline used to promote this application is “Works like iTunes, but it’s everything in reverse.” While it’s not an exact clone, it sure is close enough to be familiar and easy to use to any iTunes user.

Developer: FadingRed
Price: $18 (free trial available)
Version 0.50.6 compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5

3. TouchCopy

In addition to standard music and video recovery, TouchCopy also bundles a few other features that set it apart from other programs. For example, it enables data storage (known as “disk use” on other iPods) on the iPod touch and iPhone. Copying notes, contacts, calendars, and voice memos is supported as well.

Developer: Wide Angle Software
Price: $24.99 (free trial available)
Version 2009 compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5

4. Expod

It may not be as polished as other similar pieces of software, but Expod has two things going for it: It’s free and it works. One of the cool things it does is allow you to use whatever file naming format you’d like for the media you extract (ex. “Artist-SongTitle.mp3″ or “TrackNumber-Album-SongTitle.mp3″).

Developer: Steve Joynt
Price: Free
Version 0.5 compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5

5. Pod to Mac

Even though this is a new application which is still in beta, it’s got potential. Regular updates are still being made and a final release is almost ready to go, according to the developer.

Developer: myPod Apps
Price: Free
Version Beta 10 compatible with Mac OS X 10.5

6. iPod Access

Already on its fourth major version, iPod Access is a mature and mostly reliable program for backing up an iPod’s music and videos to a Mac. With an easy to use interface and an instant search feature, it gets the job done.

Developer: Findley Designs
Price: $19.99 (free trial available)
Version 4.2.4 compatible with Mac OS X 10.3, 10.4, and 10.5

7. ImTOO iPod Computer Transfer for Mac

It’s the most expensive program on the list and it may or may not be worth the money depending on your specific needs. The latest version backs up music, videos, photos, and even lets you turn your iPhone into a portable hard drive with Finder access. That last part alone will intrigue some people enough to take the free trial for a spin.

Developer: ImTOO
Price: $29.95 (free trial available)
Version 2.0.52.0508 compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5

Literally everyone on Earth has an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch by now, right? That’s a lot of people who would love to receive accessories for their iOS device this Christmas. With so many interesting products out there, you’re certain to find something for everyone on your list.

Don’t panic, but there’s only two more weeks until Christmas! With the big day rapidly approaching, it’s time to check off all the names on your shopping list. Or, for the purposes of this article, at least all of those who own Apple products. Our iPhones and iPads play such a large role in our lives that getting a cool new accessory can be just as good as getting a whole new device! There are thousands of compatible products out there, but we’ve got a nice collection of 11 iPhone and iPad accessories that are sure to pique your interest and get you started.

Kensington Apple iPad 2 KeyFolio Pro Performance Case with Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard

Price: $61.62 (previously $99.99)
The iPad isn’t quite a laptop replacement, but with this product it comes real close. It acts as a stand, protective case, and wireless keyboard for the iPad 2. When in use on a table or desk, the laptop form factor makes iPad typing a whole lot easier.

Apple TV

Price: $94.99 (previously $99.00)
The ultimate iPhone and iPad accessory comes in the form of this little box that connects to a HDTV. Music, videos, photos, games, and more can be wirelessly beamed from an iOS device directly to the Apple TV. Not to mention, media can be streamed from iTunes on a Mac or PC and movies can be rented right on the TV.

Withings WiFi Body Scale

Price: $159.00
Who knew a scale could be so high-tech? This body scale is perfect for fitness and diet freaks. You step on to weigh yourself, then the scale wirelessly sends the data to your account, which can be accessed with iPhone and iPad apps. It’s a great way to track long term progress on weight, fat mass, BMI, etc.

Monster Cable iSplitter Mini Y-Adapter

Price: $7.04 (previously $9.95)
Have you ever watched a movie or listened to music on your iOS device, but wanted to share it with a friend sitting right next to you? This adapter solves that problem by splitting the headphone jack into two. Now both of you can listen together.

Griffin GC16040 Stylus

Price: $11.54 (previously $19.99)
Steve Jobs once said that companies who shipped phones and tablets with a stylus “blew it.” And he was right… our fingers are much better for input on a screen. Unless, of course, you’re using an iOS app for drawing or sketching. In this case, a stylus designed for touchscreens is a big help for your artistic creations.

Logitech Speaker Stand for iPad

Price: $62.40 (previously $69.99)
Let’s not forget that the iPad is an iPod too. This product pumps out terrific sound quality from your iPad and fills the room with music. It also serves as a great place to store and charge the iPad too.

Aglove Sport Touchscreen Gloves

Price: $23.99
Live in a cold climate? The gloves most of us wear make it impossible to use an iPhone or iPad on the go. Since the skin isn’t making contact with the touchscreen, it can’t register taps and swipes. This special type of gloves, however, are made with materials that are compatible with touchscreen devices so you don’t have to keep taking them on and off.

Griffin Powerjolt Dual Universal USB 12V Adapter

Price: $6.55 (previously $29.84)
Charging an iPhone in a car that doesn’t have USB connections is a pain. Rather than buy an expensive charger that can only be used in the car, this affordable adapter makes any car compatible with the iPhone’s regular USB cable.

RND Power Solutions 6-Foot Apple USB Cable

Price: $10.99 (previously $19.99)
The USB cable that comes with iOS devices is only about 3 feet long. If that’s not long enough for your syncing and charging needs, this cable is cheaper than Apple’s and twice the length.

4 in 1 Camera Lens Kit for Apple iPhone 4 and 4S

Price: $56.95
The iPhone’s camera is so good that most people don’t even need a real camera anymore. This kit aims to take iPhone photography to the next level by offering different lenses that can be attached to the back of the phone – wide angle, fish eye, and telescope. It comes with a mini tripod and case, as well.

Apple iPad Camera Connection Kit

Price: $29.39
The iPad’s beautiful 10″ screen is perfect for looking at photos. Syncing with a Mac or PC is inconvenient, though. The best way to get photos on an iPad is with Apple’s Camera Connection Kit, which supports USB connections and SD cards.

Prices accurate as of 12/11/11 and are subject to change. Please note that some of the products listed above have not been tested by MacYourself. They are presented here for informational purposes and not necessarily as endorsements.

Since it has such a large screen, the iPad can handle a number of more advanced capabilities than smaller devices in the iOS family – the iPhone and iPod touch. In fact, some of iOS 5′s coolest features are exclusive to the iPad.

Following our collection of 9 obscure iOS 5 tips & tricks, let’s take it a step further and get into what’s new for iPad users in particular. All of these iPad-only features improve how common tasks can be completed, so it’s not just power users who can benefit. Even the most casual iPad user will be able to take advantage of these improvements.

Tabbed browsing

Web browsing on iOS devices is better than on any other mobile platform, but switching between open pages wasn’t so convenient before iOS 5. Now Safari on iPad is more like Safari on Mac and Windows, with full support for tabbed browsing.

Back & forward history buttons

When you’re in the midst of a vicious web browsing session in Safari, you can rapidly go through a ton of different pages. By tapping and holding either the Back or Forward button, a pop-up containing a convenient list of your recent history will appear.

Year view in Calendar app

iOS 5 introduces a new way to look at your calendar on the iPad – year view. This turns your calendar into a heat map of your year’s events. The more events you have scheduled on a day, the darker it appears.

Split keyboard

Are you used to typing with your thumbs on your iPhone or iPod touch? The iPad’s larger size makes it hard to do the same thing, but with iOS 5 you can split your iPad’s keyboard in two. Just tap and hold anywhere on the keyboard with two fingers, then drag each finger in the opposite direction towards the sides of the screen. The keys will shrink and each half of the keyboard will be pinned to one side. Much easier on those thumbs!

Move keyboard up and down

The iPad’s keyboard got another upgrade, too. By holding down the Hide Keyboard button in the lower-right corner of the screen, you can choose to Undock it. Now when you hold the same button and move your finger up and down the screen, the keyboard moves with it. Top, middle, bottom – it can move anywhere you put it, even in split keyboard mode.

Multitasking gestures

The iPad now supports a number of convenient multi-touch gestures thanks to iOS 5. For example, you can use 4 or 5 fingers to swipe up on the screen and reveal the multitasking bar. This is in comparison to pressing the Home button twice, of course. You can also swipe left and right with 4 or 5 fingers to switch directly between open apps. It’s kind of like hitting Cmd+Tab on a Mac to cycle through running programs. Finally, iPad users can use 4 or 5 fingers to pinch inwards on the screen and go back to the home screen.

Having trouble getting your multi-touch gestures working? Make sure they’re enabled by going to Settings > General > Multitasking Gestures.

The fifth major release of Apple’s mobile operating system, iOS 5, has been in users’ hands for about a month. Now that we’ve all had time to play with the marquee features like Notification Center, let’s dig deeper to reveal more obscure new functionality.

It seems like every time Apple releases a new product, there are little gems and nuggets of functionality that don’t become widely known until weeks or even months later. That’s because the heavily marketed features like Notification Center, Siri, and iMessage understandably get all of the attention at first. Having had some quality time with iOS 5 under our belts, let’s look at 9 lesser-known tips and tricks power users might enjoy.

1. Swipe to view Camera Roll

When you’re in the Camera app before or after you’ve taken a photo, you don’t have to tap the little thumbnail in the lower corner of the screen to see your pictures. Just swipe anywhere on the screen from left to right and your Camera Roll will instantly slide into view.

2. Hourly forecast in Weather app

The Weather app in iOS has always been very basic, which often meant downloading a 3rd party app was necessary to get more detailed information. Apple has given the Weather app a nice upgrade in iOS 5 by including hourly forecasts. Just tap on a day of the week and the hourly breakdown will appear.

3. Remove specific website data

In the past, we’ve had to delete the entire cache and all of Safari’s cookies in order to remove one site’s data from our device. Not anymore! By going to Settings > Safari > Advanced > Website Data you can pick and choose which website’s data should be deleted from your iOS 5 device.

4. Quote level control in Mail

Have you ever had to copy something from a previous message in an email chain and then paste it in the message you’re composing? Those “quoted” indentations came along with it and were a hassle to remove. Now you can select the text after you’ve pasted it, tap the arrow pointing to the right, and select the Quote Level option. From there you can decrease or increase the indentation level.

5. Draggable recipients in Mail

It was incredibly frustrating to reply to certain emails in previous versions of iOS because you couldn’t move a recipient between the To, CC, and BCC fields. Deleting and retyping the email address was the only way around it. Now, in iOS 5, you can simply tap, hold, and drag recipients between these fields.

6. Custom keyboard shortcuts

If you type certain phrases or lines of text often, iOS 5 can automate the process with custom keyboard shortcuts. Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Add New Shortcut. For example, you could enter “I’ll be right there!” as the phrase and “brt” as the shortcut. Anytime you type “brt” in an email, message, note, etc. your phrase will appear.

7. Swipe to navigate in Calendar

When you’re in Day view in the Calendar app, you don’t have to tap those tiny arrow buttons to switch between days. Just swipe left or right anywhere on the screen to navigate.

8. Draggable events in Calendar

In Day view, you can edit an existing event without ever going into Edit mode. Tap on an event and hold it until a drop shadow appears underneath. Now try dragging it up and down to change the time of day it occurs, or left and right to switch which day it appears under. You can even drag the dot handles up and down to change the duration of the event.

9. Disable iMessage read receipts

When someone sends you an iMessage and you read it, the other person is notified. If you’re someone who doesn’t like to reveal that kind of information for whatever reason, you don’t have to. By going to Settings > iMessage, you can switch “Send Read Receipts” off. Now the sender won’t know whether you saw their message or not. Sneaky!

What are your favorite “obscure” iOS 5 tips & tricks?

Monster has just released a new product that makes cleaning your iOS devices – specifically the iPhone and iPod touch – much more convenient. It’s both travel and touchscreen friendly.

We’re constantly touching our iOS gadgets and gunking them up with greasy fingerprints. Wiping the screen of an iPhone on your pants is usually effective enough, but it mostly just spreads the oils (and germs) around rather than removing them. Monster has developed a new product to combat this problem.

The Monster CleanTouch Pen retails for $24.95 and lasts for up to 100 uses. It’s unique in that there is no bottle to carry around with a cloth or cleaning solution to spray on your device. You simply pop the cap of the CleanTouch Pen, “write” all over your screen with the tip, and wipe the thin layer of solution off with the built-in microfiber pad. Within seconds your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad screen is spotless.

One thing that sets the CleanTouch Pen apart from other cleaning products is that it doesn’t streak, stain, or damage the special coatings on the screen. Better yet, it’s alcohol and ammonia-free, and it helps prevent the spread of germs. Monster points out that the CleanTouch Pen is TSA-approved for air travel as well.

In my use, the product did a great job cleaning my iPhone and iPad screens. They looked fantastic afterwards and even felt smoother to the touch. I can definitely see why many would want to throw this in a bag to clean their device on the go when it starts to get filthy. Monster claims the CleanTouch Pen applies a thin coating to the screen that resists scratches and fingerprints, but those results were less obvious. Fingerprints reappeared within minutes of use, although they didn’t smear as easily.

Win a free Monster CleanTouch Pen!

The makers of the CleanTouch Pen (regularly $24.95) have been kind enough to offer free product samples to 2 lucky MacYourself readers! To enter, please leave a comment below, along with a valid email address (this is how we will contact you to get your shipping information). In order to avoid spam filter issues, please type a coherent sentence saying you’d like a chance to win. Multiple entries will be deleted, so please only add one comment per person. And finally, don’t worry if your comment doesn’t appear on the site immediately – it might be awaiting moderation and will show up shortly. Please note only those living in the 48 contiguous United States are eligible to enter.

The winners will be chosen at random based on the comment numbers they happen to be. The lucky guys or girls will be announced on this page, so save this article’s URL and be sure to check back later. All entries must be made by July 21, 2011 at 11:59pm eastern U.S. time. In the meantime, check out Monster’s website to learn more about the CleanTouch Pen. Good luck!

UPDATE – July 24, 2011:
Congratulations to our winners Chris and Megan! Their comment numbers were chosen from a random number generator and they will each be sent a free Monster CleanTouch Pen! Thanks to everyone who entered and remember to consider purchasing one yourself to keep your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad screen clean.

It’s a somewhat common problem for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users to find events synced to their calendar application have the wrong start and end times when compared to the iCal versions on their Mac.

A few weeks ago I noticed some new appointments I entered in iCal on my Mac were not syncing correctly to my iPhone. One event I created for 11am was oddly showing itself as 2pm. And another later that day was displayed as 5pm instead of the 2pm entered in iCal. If I corrected the error on my iPhone and synced to my Mac again, now iCal would have the wrong start and end times. It was pretty frustrating, to say the least.

Upon further research, I discovered this is actually an issue many people with iOS devices experience. Surely there must have been a software glitch to blame for all these headaches, right? It turns out that wasn’t the case. Neither iCal on my Mac nor the calendar app on my iPhone were configured to handle time zones correctly. Here’s how I fixed the issues:

Configuring iCal on a Mac

Assuming you’re using a Mac and not a Windows PC, the first place to go is iCal preferences. Under the Advanced tab, is “Turn on time zone support” enabled? If not, check the box to enable it. Now in the upper-right corner of the iCal window you will see a drop-down box with the current time zone and an option to change it. Every time you move between time zones and work in iCal, it would be a good idea to make sure this setting is correct.

Configuring calendar on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

The most important part of solving this issue is changing your iOS device’s time zone settings. To do this, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars and scroll to the bottom of the list until you find Time Zone Support. Tap this field, switch Time Zone Support to the on position, and select the correct time zone below.

After completing these steps my iPhone no longer displayed wrong calendar event times and accurately synced with my Mac. The cause of all my troubles was that my Mac was set to Pacific time, while my iPhone was incorrectly set to Eastern time – hence the persistent 3-hour difference.

From what I can tell, calendar time zones on all devices need to be manually changed every time a user travels. If anyone knows a way to make it happen automatically, please share in the comments!

Many users who jumped to set up their free Find My iPhone accounts after upgrading to iOS 4.2 have been bombarded with the nagging error, “Cannot Access: Review your account information in Settings.”

One of the 4 new features the iOS 4.2 software update brought to the iPhone was a free version of Find My iPhone. Previously only available as part of Apple’s $99 per year MobileMe service, Find My iPhone helps locate, send messages to, and wipe important data from stolen or missing iPhones. Some users who created their free accounts, however, have been hit with a reoccurring popup error on their iPhones: “Cannot Access [user's email account]. Review your account information in Settings.”

Even though all of the account information is correct, the message still pops up multiple times throughout the day. And while the cause appears to be a bug Apple needs to address, it turns out there is an easy solution to the problem right now.

1. Tap Settings on the iPhone’s home screen, then go to Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data > Advanced.
2. Go to the MobileMe account and change the selection to Manual. All of your other accounts can stay the way they are.

You would think Push has to be enabled in order for the iPhone to send out a GPS signal or instantly receive a message sent through www.me.com, but that is not the case. The free edition of Find My iPhone will still work just fine with Manual selected and the “Cannot Access” error will no longer appear.

Apple’s iOS 4.2 software update was released last week for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. While the iPad got the biggest upgrade and most of the attention, the iPhone got its share of enhancements too.

One of the most rewarding things about buying an Apple product is that it always seems to get better and better the longer you own it. Through a series of software updates, new features and minor tweaks continue coming years after the original purchase – especially when it comes to the iPhone. And even though 4.2 is not a major new version of iOS, it still offers a few things to get excited about.

1. Search within a web page in Safari

Safari for Mac and PC, like other desktop internet browsers, lets users find specific words within the web page they’re currently viewing. Now that capability has come to iOS 4.2 and iPhone. Just type your search term in the regular search box (at the top) and scroll all the way to the bottom of the live results list. You’ll see a heading for “On This Page” with your term below. Tap that and you’ll be taken through each instance of that term on the page, highlighted in yellow.

2. Find My iPhone for free

What was previously considered by many to be the most compelling reason to buy Apple’s MobileMe service is now free. Users with an iPhone 4 can sign up for a free Find My iPhone account using their Apple ID (which is also used in iTunes). This is an invaluable service in case your iPhone ever gets lost or stolen. To set up your free account, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Add Account > MobileMe. Type in your Apple ID and password, then check your email account for a verification message. Follow the email’s instructions, then go back to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > MobileMe to switch on Find My iPhone. Now when you log in at www.me.com it will pinpoint the location of your iPhone, let you send a message to it, wipe its data, etc.

3. Convenient audio volume slider

While not a huge feature by any means, it certainly brings some convenience to volume control. A lot of times when you use the volume buttons on the side of the iPhone, they control the ringtone volume, not the audio playback volume for music & videos. No matter what app you’re in, with iOS 4.2 you can just double tap the home button and swipe the multitasking bar all the way to the left to reveal a volume slider.

4. Assign text tones to individual contacts

iPhone users have long been able to assign specific ringtones to each of their contacts. Text messages, on the other hand, have always been delivered with the same tone no matter who they’re from. The iOS 4.2 software update finally resolves this limitation. Just go in to edit a contact and you’ll see a field where you can choose a text tone for that person.