How to Download New Apps onto your iPhone
iPhone apps are one of the fastest growing types of software in the world right now. Apple currently offer over 500,000 applications for the iPhone through the App Store. To download apps onto your iPhone from a desktop computer, simply load Apple iTunes and choose the App Store tab you can search in the same way you do for music or movies. For example, you will see New And Noteworthy apps listed as well as a What’s Hot highlight, Staff Favourites list, top paid apps, top free apps and highest grossing apps.
Once you have selected an app, you will be able to read a short description about what it does, see a screen shot and view the ratings of other users – if you want to review an app you will have to download it first. On the app’s page you will see more information, such as when it was released, and the file size so you can decide if you want to download it and fill up your iPhone. You will also find information about the app developer and a link to their website, a list of compatible devices and this will tell you whether the app can be used on an iPod touch or an earlier version iPhone for example.
When you have downloaded an app they will be saved in the iTunes Source list in Library, under the Apps section. In the bottom right corner of the Apps screen are links which allow you to check whether updates are available for the apps you have already downloaded, or to take you straight to the App Store to choose new apps.
Download Apps straight to your iPhone
If you want to buy and download an app from your iPhone double tap on the price and if the app is free an Install button will appear and if you have to pay, the button will change to a Buy option. When you have entered your account and information the App Store will take you back to the Home screen and add the icon for the app to your phone, and a progress bar will show you how much longer the installation has to go. While an application is downloading, you can navigate away from the Home screen and do other things.
If your computer finds apps on your phone which aren’t on your computer during its next sync, iTunes will ask if you want to transfer them back to your iTunes library.
How to Update Your Apps
Apps are constantly being updated with new features, information or solutions to problems. Your iPhone automatically detects when an update is available for any of the apps you already have and a red counter on the App Store icon will show you how many updates are available.
When you launch the App Store and tap on Updates you can choose whether to update one or all of your apps. You can also update your apps from iTunes on your computer as updates are transferred to your iPhone when synchronised.
How to Remove Apps
If you no longer have any use for an app, are making space or just don’t like an app you chose, you can tap and hold the icon of any third party app until all of the icons on the screen begin to jiggle and a black X appears in the top left corner of all third party apps. When you tap on the X you will be asked if you want to delete the application.
As apps store their data in the app’s package, when you delete an app it also deletes all of the app’s settings and stored information. Don’t worry if you delete an app you wanted to keep, because you can add it back to your device by synchronising with iTunes on your computer, but the data stored on the app can’t be retrieved. If you have deleted the app from iTunes too, you can always download it again from the App Store for free as you can download an app onto as many iPod touches and iPhones you want as long as they are synchronised with the same iTunes library.
Working with Apps on your iPhone
When you have a phone which can do so much, you want to make sure you are maximising the capabilities of your iPhone at all times.
This means making sure you are working efficiently and that your phone is working efficiently too.
This is why the iPhone 4 has been released with two important new features - the ability to multitask and the ability to categories your apps into folders. Previously running several apps at once slowed the iPhone considerably, not to mention you could be swiping endlessly through your selection of the 300,000 available apps to find the one you need. Now you can organise, manage, and use your apps more efficiently, and it's as easy as 1,2,3.
Access and organise your apps
All of your apps are accessible from the home screen and when you have more than 14 apps, a new home screen will be created which you can then access by swiping left. You can also tap on the left or the right of the row of dots as these represent the number of home screens you have and can take you straight to a certain screen.
You can also rearrange the location of your apps by touching and holding on any app until they all start to jiggle. You can then drag and drop the apps you want to move to any home screen and when you are happy with the new locations, you simply press the Home Button and the apps will stay in their new positions. You can also change the icons which are in the Dock along the bottom of the screen and you can rearrange your icons using iTunes when you are connected.
To open any app, you have to tap its icon on the home screen once. To close the application, you press the Home Button once and you will return to the home screen.
Multitasking
All iPhone models after and including the 3GS which are running iOS 4 will allow you to switch between apps without having to return to the home screen. This means you can run apps in the background such as your music player, while you are playing a game app or writing an email.
There are three ways you can use the multitasking functions of the iPhone:
Context switching
With the iOS 4, there is a smart way to switch between apps by pressing the Home Button twice quickly, a window will pop up from the bottom of the screen which looks a lot like the Dock. On the screen is a list of your recently used apps and you can tap on any of the apps to launch it. This allows you to switch quickly and easily between apps without having to go through the Home screen.
You can also freeze your apps in place if you have to leave an app and go to another in the middle of an operation. This means you can come back to exactly the same place you left, without missing anything or losing any data.
Background tasks
You can also do the opposite of freezing your apps and keep them running in the background while you do something else. There are several tools provided by Apple which allow app developers to build apps so they can continue running and performing in the background.
One of these tools is push notification, another is a background audio service which allows your apps to continue playing audio such as Pandora, while you are using another app. These services can be accessed with a double tap on the Home Button when the iPhone is locked, to display iPod controls.
You can also use Voice over IP in the background of other apps, whereas the Skype app for example could only previously send and receive calls when it was in the forefront. However, with the iOS 4 multitasking functions you can leave Skype and other VOIP apps running in the background with the connection live, while you switch to another app to continue working while you talk or to receive other calls.
You may notice that your push notifications are coupled with a Local Notifications system which originate from within your iPhone. Rather than a standard push notification which requires a link to an external server to notify you of an event, apps can now set alerts in advance for times when they aren't running, for example your TV guide app can still notify you when your favourite show is about to start without the app having to be open and active.
With so many things going on at once, when you're trying to tidy up your workspace, you want to make sure your apps have finished their tasks before you close them and you can do this with task completion notification. For example, if you are uploading an image online and then began browsing the internet while it was uploading, you want to know it is finished before you close your browser.
Shortcuts
Shortcuts always make things easier when you have a lot on your plate and in the multitasking menu of your iPhone you can see five buttons if you swipe left. The button on the far left is the Orientation Lock which allows you to lock your iPhone in portrait mode so your viewing isn't disturbed if you're moving around. There are also music controls in this set of buttons and a quick link to the app they're controlling so you can manage and modify your music player without having to go into the app.
App Folders
The third way you can now manage the apps on your iPhone is to organise them into folders. The app folders you create can be accessed from the home screen and you'll also see miniature representations of the apps inside each folder so you can easily find what you need, as well as being able to name each folder into your own filing system.
When you tap on one of the folders, the Dock on your screen will disappear and you will be able to see the apps inside, displayed as they normally appear on your screen, with their name, and an icon. You can then tap on your chosen app to launch it or tap outside of the folder to return to the home screen.
The iPhone 4 is already loaded with a utilities folder which has the apps for your clock, calculator, compass, voice memos, and notes. Each folder is able to hold up to 12 apps and you can even place folders in the Dock. That means that over the 11 Home screens, which add up to 180 icon spaces, you can have up to 2,160 apps in the plan of your hand. You can also install more apps than will fit on your Home screens, but you will have to access these using the search function.
To create folders on your iPhone:
- Tap and hold any app icon until they all start to wobble. This allows you to edit the Home screen as you will now also see a delete icon in the corner of your downloaded apps.
- Drag an app you want to move to a folder, on top of another app you'd like in the same folder and when you release, a folder will be created.
- The new folder will automatically open and display both of the apps you have included.
- The folder will be automatically named after the primary category of the apps you have added to it, but while you are still in edit mode after creating the folder you can tap inside the name field and enter a new title.
- Press the home button to exit the edit mode.
- To add more apps to a folder you have already created activate the edit mode again and drag the apps you want, to the folder you want them in.
To edit your iPhone app folders:
- You can edit the name, contents or the layout of the apps inside a folder by entering edit mode.
- You can also edit a folder when it is open by tapping and holding any app inside, tapping the folder name to edit, or dragging the apps around within the folder.
- You can also drag apps from a folder, back out onto the Home screen.
- You can tap the delete button of any app to remove it completely from your phone.
- To delete a folder, remove all of the apps from inside it an it will disappear.
To manage your folders using iTunes:
- You can edit your iPhone folders if you are using iTunes 9.2 or later.
- Use your mouse and keyboard to choose which apps you want to sync with and how you want them organised.
- You can use your mouse to drag an app onto another app to create a folder.
- When managing your apps on iTunes you can edit them at any time and don't need to click on an app until they start to wobble.
- You can edit an existing folder by double clicking on it.
