A number of friends are getting iphones and I’m starting to hear the same questions come up, so here is a quick list of questions and answers

How do I sync this thing?

You need to have itunes. Sorry, no way around this.. and i have been looking. However, I would recommend getting this application. TouchCopy. Be careful though, do not go around deleting things you are not sure about.

I have a bunch of mp3s. Can I load them on the phone?

Yes you can. I would recommend you do everything in mp3 if you can. Load them through itunes. For my windows friends who do not have ipods (yes they exist), do not think about things in folders anymore, get used to categories.

What is this I hear about 3G not being very good?

It’s not. Sorry to tell you. They are working on it and they may be able to improve it through firmware, but get used to keeping the 3G off unless you are using it for web browsing or downloading files. More here.

How can I extend battery life?

• Keep the brightness only as bright as you need it. A great feature is the iphone will auto adjust from your setting. Great.
• Keep 3G off unless you need it. Same with the WIFI.
  
• Have the email check ‘push’ off and only check email every 30 min. I however do not do that. NEED that blackberry email rush. :p
• Keep your iphone plugged in as often as possible. Try to only let it drain to empty once every few month. Apple says once a month, but I don’t agree. 2-3 months unless you tend not to run on battery that much.
• Keep the phone out of the sun. Heat is bad for the phone all around.
  
• More info here directly from Apple.
  

I keep dropping calls, what can I do?

If you are dropping calls, try to keep your phone OS updated till its stops. Keep 3G off. Every now and again, do a full reboot of the phone. If you are on the edge of service, the position of your phone will have an affect on reception. Totally trial and error to figure that out. For me, pointing the top of the phone toward where I know where the tower is does help a bit… only a bit.

Should I buy a case?

Yes, Now, do it now.

Should I get the 8 gig or 16 gig version?

If you only plan on having some music, 8 gig should be enough. If you plan on putting video on, then you may want to think about the 16 gig. Between apps, music and photos, it does get full fast.

What is jailbreak? What is pwned? Should I do it?

Basically, its a rewrite of the of the firmware that allows people to install programs without going through the apple store. The plus side is the applications have more access to functions then going through the normal SDK. The downside is its a hack, so no promises as to what will happen. Odds are 95% that you will be fine, but don’t count on Apple to help you. Here is a link.

Also, click on ‘jailbreak‘ under Categories on the right. I blog about it quite a bit.

Can I get hacked version of programs and load them on the iphone?

Not really. This isn’t like windows mobile or Palm. If you want to go that way, check into jailbreak or pwned.

Why does my car power adaptor from my first iphone not work on the 3G iphone?

The 3G does not use the firewire pin for power anymore. Many older (cheaper) power adapters used that pin because it allowed more power, thus faster charge. More here and here.

What programs should I load on my iphone?

I have a few free ones I like. Here is an older list. I will update it tomorrow.

Where can I get a list of of new iphone apps when they come out?

• {update} Just came across this site from Pinch Media.  Looks like they keep up to date and they include an RSS feed.
• There are a few sites but they all seem like they are a few days behind, but this one looks good although there are things I do not like about it.
• There are also Web based apps. Apple has a list here.
  
• I have a list here that comes from twitter. Its just plain text, but I may add functions to it later. However, this seems to have the latest apps. I tend to go here once a day and find thats good enough.

Any Other tips?

Sure. Check this out.

What about linux?

Nothing yet, but I’m looking.

I’ll add more as more Q and A comes in.