Episode 42: Email, Contacts & Calendar Settings

Hi Everyone,

Well it’s the beginning of a new year, and we’ll start the year with some simple email tips. Reading through my email, I’m finding more and more people responding to your email from your mobile devices.

Signature: Mail Settings
Did you know that you can add/change the signature on your device? Have you seen what others see when they receive your email? If you go to your mail settings on your device, you will see the default signature. In most cases (Apple), it will say “Sent from my iPhone”.

Default Alert Times: Calendar Settings
 If you always want a reminder when you set a calendar event, go to “Default Alert Times” and set the default. If you have Birthdays in your contact, set the reminder to alert you the day before (I’ll remind you when my birthday comes up in June).

Calendar: Calendar Settings
 Do you have multiple calendars? You can set your default calendar in “Calendar Settings”. Are you like me and have multiple Google Calendars (default, Family, etc.)? This one is from iPhone and iPad users. From your device, launch Safari and go to www.google.com/calendar/iphoneselect. Sign in and select your calendars you want to sync. That’s it…easy as apple pie. Now when I get home and find no one home, I check our “Family” calendar and see that they are at the HS for Jazz Band…oops, I better get going too…or maybe I’ll enjoy the quiet.

Here’s a side note. Did you know that the Calendar Icon displays the current date?

Episode 41: A different way to look at things.

Looking for specific word in an article or web page on your iPhone or iPad? Type the word in the search bar and scroll down to where it says “On This Page”. When you click on the word, it will highlight the word on the screen. Use the navigation buttons to find the next match.

Photo Album: Send multiple photos
Looking through your photo album, did you know you can send more than one photo at a time? From your Photo Album, click on the Print/Send icon (looks like an arrow coming out of a box) and select up to 5 photos. Choose “Share” and then Email. *Note, when you send more that one group, it will hae the same file names...photo1.jpg, photo2.jpg, etc.

Google Map: Street view
Did you know when looking up a place in “Maps” you can switch to street view? Street view puts you on the street, like you are standing in front of the place you are looking for. Pan around to help you find landmarks to help you get to your location. When you click on the pin and the info bar pops up. If it show an orange person icon, click on that to see the street view.

Deleting items: You can swipe in either directions
Looking at some of you delete items, is like watching someone conduct an orchestra. Your fingers or stylus are moving from right to left and circling back to click delete. Try moving left to right and straight down to delete.

I hope to have more tips for you next year as we countdown to the new year (“you know, there’s an app for that”). Be safe during the holiday break and remember if you have a tip, share it with the world (or group)… It’s cheaper than a gift card.  : )

Episode 40: Picking up a present on my way to Grandma's hourse.

iPhone & Android Tip:

Did you know that you can scan the barcode on an item and find the best local or internet prices? There are several free and paid apps out there that will use your phone’s camera to scan the barcode and show you the local and internet prices.

iPhone/iPad Tip:
Do you frequently use common phrases when texting friends and family?

On my way…Be there in 5 minutes…In a meeting…picking up lunch for the office because it’s the holiday and I would like to treat the office because I’m a great boss. LOL…

Well, maybe not the last one, but you get the point. Go to “Settings\General\Keyboard\Shortcuts and will see “Phrase” (enter the phrase - On my way!) and “Shortcut” (enter the shortcut here – Omy). Use the “Add New Shortcut…” to create more shortcuts. To use the shortcut, start typing out the shortcut in your text and it will automatically show the phrase. Hit the space bar to set the phrase. Easy as pecan pie (Epp).

*Note: remember when you start a text, the first letter default is a CAPITAL letter, so on your shortcut use a cap first letter (Omy).

Episode 39: When is your flight arriving?

Well, we are in the midst of the travel season and did you know that there are apps to help you on your travels? Explore the app stores and you will see several free and paid apps that will help you in your travels or help you pick up family arriving from abroad.

Try TripIt and GateGuru (free apps) when traveling to help you find your gate or the Starbucks in the airport. Picking up someone at the airport, there are several free and paid apps that will let you know the flight status. You can watch their plane travel across a map and see if there are any delays. Remember, pay attention to the arrival times. If you watch the estimated times on the map, they run about 3-4 minutes behind.

Are you a airport circler? Do you drive around and around the airport waiting for someone? Try the airport “Cell Phone Lot”. Park in the free “Cell Phone Lot” and wait for your party to call when they are heading out to the curb.

Here are my travel apps: Kayak, TripIt, United, Flight Tracker & iExit. Be safe on your travels,

Episode 38: Apple's Express Lane

This tip is brought to you by Griselda King, “find your happy place”. Did you know that Apple offers support services other than Genius Bar? If you can’t get to an Apple store, try Apple’s support service called Express Lane. This is their support service for mobile devices (iPhone, iPad, iPod), Apple TV, Macs & Software where you can schedule to have an Apple tech call you at your home or office.

Go to Apple.com, select “Support” then “Contact Us”. After you enter your serial number, the system will let you know if you qualify for service (Apple Care). Follow the questions about your issue, select a day and time. Then wait for the tech to call at your scheduled appointment.

Hope you enjoyed this tip,

Episode 37: iOS5

Hi Everyone,

I’m using this TOD (Tip of the Day) to cover some of the new iPhone iOS 5 updates. Last week, I showed you how to find the Camera button on the “Lock Screen” (double tap the home button to see the camera icon and use the volume up to take your photos).

Try the location service on “Reminders” to set reminders when you get to work or leave from a destination (when I set an alert to go off when I leave the office, I found that it goes off when I hit the parking lot).

Here’s a couple of new tips.

Message:
To lower your keyboard in Message, just swipe down right above the keyboard to lower your keyboard. To raise the keyboard, swipe up from the bottom of the screen (where it says “Text Message”). Tap and hold on a message balloon to show copy/speak option. Click on speak to hear your message.

Weather:
If you click on the weather screen, it will expand to show you the hourly forecast.

Remember, if you find something new, pass it on

Episode 36: How smart is your phone (Calendar Events)?

Do you get emails asking you to mark your calendars or maybe just setting up a meeting date. Well, check your email to see if it adds a link to the date. If it does (iPhone & iPads do), just press and hold on the date to create an event. It will use the subject line for the event title and place the event into your calendar. Sorry Android users, maybe on the next update? Blueberry users, let me know if this works on your phones.