iPhone Primer for iPhone Newbies: Part II

Hopefully, after reading yesterday's first part of our iPhone primer, you feel a bit more comfortable with your new iPhone. After all, iPhone is designed to be a phone anyone can use and feel comfortable with.

We ended yesterday's iPhone Primer: Part I with a cliffhanger. So we'll pick-up where we left off, with iPhone's most important "app":

Settings

Anything/everything you want your iPhone and its apps to do can be adjusted and personalized to your satisfaction in Settings (the App with the gear icon). There are general settings for iPhone's primary functions, Apple's own apps, and for every app you download.

iPhone's personalized permutations are virtually endless. Tap Settings, then tap any of the menu choices and you'll be presented with a wondrous array of options. Some functions will be mysterious, most fairly obvious, such as how often your iPhone checks for email, what kind of photo (or "wallpaper") you'd like in back of the app screens, what kinds of sound you'd like to accompany each activity (if any), adding Mail accounts, and on and on.

Explore each app Settings, even if you're unclear on what a particular setting is. It's the best way to discover all the fabulous things your iPhone is capable of doing.

Sync

Unlike your previous phone, regardless of type, iPhone loves it if you put your stuff (your music, your photos, et al) into it. Your iPhone can be your iPod and your photo collection.

But you can only put stuff into an iPhone if you sync it through iTunes.

If you have an iPod and have used iTunes, you already know how to do this. Open iTunes on your PC, plug in your iPhone. Once iTunes finds and lists your phone under Devices, click on it.

You'll see a window with tabs across the top. Click on the Music tab and you can choose which playlists – or all your music – to sync to your iPhone. Click on the Photo tab and you can choose which photo albums to sync to your phone. Click on the Music tab to put your selected music onto your iPhone. Info tab to sync your email, your calendar, your address book. As always, the sync process is fairly self-exclamatory – and all completely at your disposal.

In the Apps tab, you can use your mouse to drag and drop app icons to more easily rearrange how your apps appear on the screen.

Syncing also merges stuff you acquire on your iPhone – apps, app updates, music, videos, books, et al – with stuff you've bought on your PC. When you sync, everything will be up-to-date on both your iPhone and your PC's copy of what's on your iPhone.

After you've synced the first time, you may never have to sync again. But it's good to sync periodically if you've added music or photos to your PC-based collections.

And once you load stuff on your iPhone, iTunes will store a back-up. If/when you get a new iPhone, you simply use your iTunes backup to recreate your old phone's settings and content.

Updates

iPhone is not made of stone – it will need to be updated periodically.

For instance, a small number appearing in a red circle on the upper right hand corner of the App Store app indicates that that many of your apps have updates available. You can update apps on your iPhone directly (the process, like many on iPhone, are self-exclamatory) or through iTunes (click on, duh, "Apps," in the left hand column).

And every few months or so, Apple issues an update of iPhone's operating system, iOS. If an iOS update is available, you'll be notified within the Summary screen when you sync your iPhone.

Or, your iPhone can perform the iOS update by itself – go to Settings, then General; Software Update is the second item listed. Go now and check to see if an update is available for your phone.

Finally…

iPhone is simpler than it looks. There are no hidden menus with secret functions on any app screen. Anything you need to do should be right in front of you.

If you're stuck, just ask yourself, "How would I want this to work?" Your instinct is likely the solution.

If you're still uncomfortable or curious about how you can make iPhone do what you want, you likely know an iPhone semi-expert to pester. Or, head over to any Apple store and to the Genius Bar. They may seem like cult members, but Apple employees will joyfully help you out.

Remember, iPhone is a tool. It should work for you, not vice versa.

Happy iPhoning!