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The new iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3.0 software have arrived, and New York Times tech columnist David Pogue is on top of it with a thoroughly updated edition of iPhone: The Missing Manual. Each custom-designed page helps you use your iPhone for everything from web browsing to watching videos. The iPhone is packed with possibilities, and with this handy book, you can explore them all. iPhone 3GS Picture-Taking Goodies
by David Pogue
| If you have an iPhone 3GS, then you’re in for some extra camera goodness. See the white box in the center of the screen? That’s telling you where the iPhone thinks the most important part of the photo is. That’s where it will focus; that’s what it examines to calculate the overall brightness of the photo (exposure); and that’s the portion that will determine the overall white balance of the scene (that is, the color cast). |  | | But often, dead-center is not the most important part of the photo. The cool thing is that you can tap somewhere else in the scene to move that white square—to make the camera recalculate the focus, exposure, and white balance. |  | Here’s when you might want to do this tapping:
1) When the whole image looks too dark or too bright. If you tap a dark part of the scene, you’ll see the whole photo brighten up; if you tap a bright part, the whole photo will darken a bit. You’re telling the camera, “Redo your calculations so this part has the best exposure; I don’t really care if the rest of the picture gets brighter or darker.”
2) When the scene has a color cast. If the photo looks, for example, a little bluish or yellowish, tap a different spot in the scene—the one you care most about. The iPhone recomputes its assessment of the white balance.
3) When you’re in macro mode. If the foreground object is very close to the lens—4 to 8 inches away—the iPhone automatically goes into macro (super closeup) mode. In this mode, you can do something really cool: You can defocus the background. The background goes soft, slightly blurry, just like the professional photos you see in magazines. Just make sure you tap the foreground object. |  |
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 3.0 OS iPhone Manual |
| Review Date: August 22, 2009 |
| Reviewer: B. A. Dilger, Charlotte, NC USA |
| This is the current manual for the iPhone 3Gs and the upgraded iPhone 3G 3.0 OS. Though unofficial, if you want to understand the powerhouse in your hand this comes highly recommended. Author David Pogue, et al, has written an extremely user-friendly text with useful graphics. It's great to be able to navigate through the new 'cut, copy, and paste' feature with relative ease. In my review of the 2nd edition I stated that this book was a whole lot more usable than the online instructions. It is. And again for reference you can purchase the electronic version from the iTunes App Store on your iPhone. I prefer the book itself since that is the way humanity has received it's wisdom for millennia. And all it takes is a little study with this manual to control the smart phone of the ages. |
Do I need another Iphone Manual? Yes, I do!
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| Review Date: September 30, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Eddie Wannabee, Western Hemisphere |
Call me dense, too busy to learn the hard way, technologically challenged but do not call me late for supper! I will not make apologies for wanting to learn from the best how to use the Iphone 3GS to its full extent and with the help of iPhone: The Missing Manual: Covers All Models with 3.0 Software-including the iPhone 3GS I am finally well on my way. What appears to be a cut and dried device is undoubtedly much more. Yes, I did go to the Apple Website and I went through some tutorials when initial questions arose. But like a wise reviewer pointed out some people prefers to learn the old fashioned way: with a book. I have purchased several books on computers throughout my time using computers. No, I am not very fluid on computers, even though I have to admit to myself I have learned quite a bit over the years and it makes me proud to realize I was not the "zero to the left" once I feared I was when it came to computers.
David Pogue's is a fine and well informed teacher. He knows a lot more than the average user. I have bought his book on Leopard (when I finally made the switch from PC's to Apple, so glad I did by the way), also the one on Office 2008 for Macintosh so I knew that he is a capable, competent source writer. At one time I even got mad to be buying so many books but that is what some must do to learn and I am one. The Iphone book by David Pogue is a delightful, entertaining, visual learning experience. I had my doubts what book on this subject to buy because similar books had release dates before the 3GS came to the market. I kept waiting and looking for reassuring reviews on what book dealt with the 3GS and was considered at least a 4 Stars. I realized soon enough that the number of people flocking after books for Iphone 3GS was extremely limited (is it because the average owner is more savvy? do not need to purchase additional resources and are content with Apple's?) so I couldn't single out the best of the bunch. Finally I gave Mr. Pogue's book a try and as I have been reading it at night, in bed might as well say it because I find it a very relaxing learning environment, with the wonderful Iphone 3GS laying right besides me and ready to interact with, I discovered that for the money you can not go wrong with this book. He is funny, all of a sudden he will say something very amusing, it is just his style. But he also seems to be a 5th Degree Black Belt on the subject at hand. Yes, this is an updated version and it definitely covers the 3GS. Thought I write this review when I noticed how few were available. I am sure other authors writing on the same subject have the potential to be as good as Mr. David Pogue but I chose his book for I know he knows. 5 Stars, Love the Iphone 3GS with its camera, video capabilities, voice memos, wallpapers, bluetooth, etc etc. For such a streamlined device it sure packs a lot of goodies! |
Best out of three books on the subject...
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| Review Date: October 18, 2009 |
| Reviewer: G. Bainer, Laurel, MD |
If you have a new iPhone 3g/3Gs, and are looking for a great guide, and a great read, this is the book for you! I have another book by David Pogue, "Windows Vista, The Missing Manual", so I expected this to be good....and it is.
Many great tips, that I would have never figured out on my own, are in this book, and are highlighted in a light colored yellow box...so you'll pay attention to them. Everything that I needed and wanted to know I found in this book and then some. Pogue even adds some humor here and there, which keeps it from being boring. He has a way of explaining things so they make sense, and is easy to follow.
A great read, whether you just got your new phone, or are thinking about one...lots to learn on this tiny pocket computer that happens to be a phone! Very up to date, covering firmware version 3.0 and the 3Gs model, including the video camera, copy and paste, voice recording, compass, etc.
Highly recommended! |
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