• MyWi – turns your iPhone into a hotspot
• Backgrounder – brings multitasking to your iPhone
• ProSwitcher – a nice UI for Backgrounder
• Circuitous – a multitasking/app switching application
• Categories – allows you to create folders
• WinterBoard – an app that lets you customize many aspects of your iPhone
• BossPaper – an advanced wallpaper manager that puts total control of wallpapers into your hands
• VoIPover3G – tricks any app into thinking you’re on wifi while you are on 3G or Edge
• Xpandr – a shortcut expander
• Action Menu – improves the copy/paste experience
• QuickScroll – allows you to quickly scroll through a page
• Find In Page – quickly find any text on web pages
• qTweeter – lets you update Twitter and Facebook status from within any application
• SBSettings – a quick a way to toggle settings on/off
• MultiIconMover – lets you move multiple icons at a time
• InfiniDock – add unlimited icons to your dock
• InfiniBoard – vertical scrolling on your springboard
• QuickDo – app switching/launching
• LockInfo – customize your lockscreen to get the information you need

What do you think the best jailbreak apps are? Please feel free to share in the comments.

Federal regulators lifted a cloud of uncertainty when they announced it was lawful to hack or “jailbreak” an iPhone, declaring Monday there was “no basis for copyright law to assist Apple in protecting its restrictive business model.”

Jailbreaking is hacking the phone’s OS to allow consumers to run any app on the phone they choose, including applications not authorized by Apple.

The Electronic Frontier Foundation asked regulators 19 months ago to add jailbreaking to a list of explicit exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act’s anti-circumvention provisions.

At stake for Apple is the very closed business model the company has enjoyed since 2007, when the iPhone debuted. Apple says it’s unlawful to jailbreak, (.pdf) but has not taken legal action against the millions who have jailbroken their phones and used the underground app store Cydia.

Apple maintains that its closed marketplace is what made the success of the iPhone possible, and sold more than three billion apps. Apple also told regulators that the nation’s cellphone networks could suffer “potentially catastrophic” cyberattacks by iPhone-wielding hackers at home and abroad (.pdf) if iPhone owners are permitted to legally jailbreak their shiny wireless devices.

Every three years, the Librarian of Congress and the Copyright Office entertain proposed exemptions to the DMCA, passed in 1998. The act forbids circumventing encryption technology to copy or modify copyrighted works. In this instance, Apple claimed the DMCA protects the copyrighted  encryption built into the bootloader that starts up the iPhone OS operating system.

But the Copyright Office concluded that, “while a copyright owner might try to restrict the programs that can be run on a particular operating system, copyright law is not the vehicle for imposition of such restrictions.”

A federal appeals court came to the same conclusion last week in an unrelated dispute about “dongles,” or keys that grant access to software. “The owner’s technological measure must protect the copyrighted material against an infringement of a right that the Copyright Act protects, not from mere use or viewing,” (.pdf) the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a case concerning a software licensing flap between MGE UPS Systems and GE Consumer and Industrial.

Jay Freeman, who runs Cydia, said about nine million iPhones have his alternative marketplace installed on their phones. “If there was something on the books that jailbreaking was not exempt, that would be painful,” Freeman said. The Dev-Team, one of the main groups offering free iPhone hacks, declared Monday’s development as “fantastic news.”

Mario Ciabarra, chief technical officer of Rock Your Phone, which sells an application to turn an iPhone into a Wi-Fi hotspot, said the the Copyright Office’s decision is a “big win for consumers and applications developers” and has given the jailbreak community “the legitimacy it deserves.”

Apple told regulators that modifying the iPhone operating system leads to the creation of an infringing derivative work that is protected by copyright law. The Cupertino-based computer maker also claimed that the license on the operating system forbids software modification.

Monday’s decision, (.pdf) which applies to all mobile smart phones and not the iPad, does not require Apple or other handset makers to allow jailbreaking. Instead, it makes it lawful to circumvent controls designed to block jailbreaking.

The newly announced phone has “one of the most beautiful designs you’ve ever seen,” Jobs said at a tech conference in San Francisco. “This is without a doubt the most precise thing and one of the most beautiful things we’ve ever made.”

But besides being “beautiful,” what actually makes this iPhone different? After attending the unveiling and talking with analysts and bloggers, here’s our quick list of 10 things you should know about the iPhone 4, which goes on sale June 24, and costs between $199 and $299. Let us know if you have more questions and feel free to leave thoughts of your own in the comments section at the bottom of this story.

1. Sharper screen

In a keynote speech, Jobs sounded more excited about the iPhone 4′s new screen than anything else.

With 326 pixels per inch — four times that of previous Apple phones — Jobs says the iPhone 4′s “retina display” screen is years ahead of anything else on the market.

“Text looks like you’ve seen it in a fine printed book — unlike you’ve ever seen on an electronic display before,” he said. “Once you’ve used a retina display you can’t go back.”

2. Gyroscope

“These phones are getting more and more intelligent about the world around them,” Jobs said. That’s true of the iPhone 4, which has five sensors, including a gyroscope.

What does that mean for users? Probably cooler games and apps. The iPhone 4′s internal gyroscope can sense motion on six axes. On Monday, Jobs showed a demo where he pivoted in a circle, and the stack of blocks in an app spun with him. The phone is basically more aware of where it is in the world, in relation to gravity, than it was before. It’s hard to say exactly what app developers will do with this, but likely something.

3. Thickness

The iPhone 4 will be the thinnest smartphone on the market, Jobs says. At 9.3 millimeters (0.37 inches) thick, it is 24 percent thinner than the previous iPhone model, the 3GS, he said.

“I don’t think there’s another consumer product like this,” he said. “When you hold it in your hand it’s unbelievable.” The iPhone 4′s screen remains the same size as before, 3.5 inches when measured diagonally. That makes it smaller than some Android phones, which are its main competitors. But that may not be a good thing. As people watch more video on their phones, they’re demanding larger screens, some analysts say.

4. Camera flash

In what’s largely seen as a catch-up move, Apple added an LED flash to the iPhone 4′s camera, which lets mobile photographers shoot photos and video more easily at night.

5. Better camera

The quality of the iPhone 4′s camera is improved over previous models. The iPhone 4 shoots photos with 5 megapixels of resolution, compared to 3 megapixels before. That’s still not the best on the market. The HTC Droid Incredible has an 8-megapixel camera, for example. The Nexus One, another competitor, has a 5-megapixel camera, too.

The iPhone 4 also shoots HD video, and a video-editing app called iMovie, which Apple will sell, allows people to shoot, edit and share videos with the phone.

6. Video conferencing

In addition to the back-of-the-phone camera improvements, Apple also added a second camera to the iPhone 4, which faces its user. This can be used for video conferencing, which Apple and Jobs expect to be an emerging trend in mobile phone use.

7. Multitasking

The iPhone’s operating system, which Apple calls iOS 4, got an upgrade along with the iPhone 4′s hardware. Among the most-awaited changes is multitasking, which means that the phone can run multiple applications at once. Want to listen to internet radio and check e-mail at the same time? Starting on June 21, you can with the iPhone.

Several other smartphones have featured multitasking for some time. So Apple is not blazing new territory here. Jobs says the company waited to add the feature until it could do so without sucking down too much of the phone’s battery life.

8. Stainless steel antennae

The iPhone 4 is flat on the front and back, and a band of stainless steel goes around the edge as a trim. This isn’t just a design feature, Jobs said. It’s actually the antennae.

“It’s never been done before and it’s really cool engineering,” Jobs said.

9. Guts

The iPhone 4 has a new processor — the A4 — which Apple says makes the phone faster than competitors and faster than the processor in the iPhone 3GS. Apple debuted the A4 processor as part of the iPad slate computer in January.

But the iPhone 4′s capacity to store books, videos and music disappointed some. The high-end model stores 32 gigabytes of data, which isn’t any more than the iPhone 3GS.

10. Wireless carrier

The iPhone 4 is only available with a contract from the wireless carrier AT&T. That’s bad news for some people. Bloggers have been begging Apple to open the iPhone to multiple carriers — and specifically to Verizon — for some time. Some iPhone users, particularly those in bigger cities like New York and San Francisco, have complained that AT&T drops their calls and doesn’t handle data requests quickly enough.

And of course, developers have already created apps that help you do exactly that. In fact, there are so many, it’s confusing. Below is a list of the best Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn client apps, reviewed and voted by users and regularly updated and maintained by the developers (a big downside of using an unmaintained application is that it can stop working or crash at any time and no one will help you or update/fix it).

DroidIn

This is the first and only (for now) LinkedIn app for Android, but it has all the features you may need, so it should be enough for most users. It supports inbox, updates notification and can also post the status to Twitter (though that feature is a bit buggy in 1.7.3). There are 2 versions, Lite and Paid – the former has a few features disabled and is showing ads when you use it, so if you think they’ll be annoying, you can buy the Paid version for $2.

DroidIn

Twidroid

This is the leading Twitter client for Android. It has all the features you may need and is fast, stable and constantly updated. You can view and post tweets, pictures and videos, shorten URL’s, share tweets via email and sms, reply and reply-to-all, and do many more things. The free version is a bit limited (no support for multiple backgrounds, no reply-to-all, no desktop widgets, a few other features are missing) , but should be enough for most basic users. The paid version is $5 and includes lifetime support and features like shake for refresh, tweet outbox (schedule tweets when offline), multiple accounts, and a few other cool things.

Twidroid

TweetsRide

Formerly called TwitterRide, this application is a simple, light and fast Twitter client. It has only the basic features, nothing more. This makes it ideal for those who just want to read and post tweets and pictures. The latest update also includes video upload (through TwitVid), but you should use it with care, as it could eat all your data bandwidth.

TweetsRide

Facebook for Android

Although not developed by Facebook (as a lot of people thought when it was launched), it seems that this free app is officially supported and endorsed by them (they even have it on their Facebook mobile page), so you can be sure that it will most probably work fine. It is a good piece of software, has all the basic features one might need and is maintained by the developer. It comes pre-installed with a lot of devices and you can install it yourself if you don’t have it. This should be the first app you try for Facebook. If it doesn’t work, try the others.

Facebook for Android

Bloo

It may not be obvious from the name alone, but this application is actually a Facebook client for Android. It has all the basic features like status update, commenting, viewing photos, etc. It should be more than enough for most users. A lot of people have reported problems with the free version, and even the developer says that you should get the paid version (which is only $1), but you can try it before buying.

Bloo

fooBook

Another Facebook client for Android. It technically has the most features, but a lot of users are reporting that it doesn’t work right, so you need to try it for yourself. The free version is only missing the ability to post comments and do on-demand resyncing, otherwise all the features are the same. The paid version is on $1.50, so it could be worth it if the free one works on your phone.

fooBook

The above are the best apps for LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook, and I’m sure many more will appear in the following months. What would be really great is one single app for managing all accounts at these 3 social networks. That would be awesome because you wouldn’t have to launch 3 separate apps (and waste your battery time) to see what’s going on online and keep your status updated. It’s quite easy to do for a good programmer (the API is there and it’s open, you just have to implement it) and I’m sure we’ll see something like this, if not this year, then the next.

Interestingly, even though the 3G S is technically Apple’s third-generation iPhone, some tech pundits were expecting the iPhone 3G S to be called the iPhone 4G. But you could also argue that the iPhone 3G S is more like the iPhone 3.5G, which doesn’t have the greatest ring.

There’s also a chance that in between the iPhone 3G S and iPhone 4G (or whatever it’s called), we might see a totally new branch of iPhone, something akin to an iPhone Mini or Lite.

I’m not sure Apple needs to answer to the smaller form factor of the Palm Pre, but there are some people out there who think the iPhone’s just a tad too big. And there are some people who want a physical keyboard, but don’t count on Apple slipping in a slide-out keyboard anytime soon.

Gizmodo and other blogs posted this concept art for the iPhone 4G before Apple announced the 3G S.

(Credit: Rodolphe Desmare)

All that said, I do think next year’s iPhone will feature a new design that also includes a new screen. Some mock-ups floating around have suggested the aluminum unibody design of the new MacBooks. That’s possible, but so are a host of other innovative industrial designs.

The point is, the next go-round, it’s probably not enough to just stick with upgraded internal components. Some significant cosmetic changes will be required to differentiate the generations and more easily entice upgrades by existing iPod owners. And I’m not talking matte vs. shiny finish.

Ultimately, however, it’s what’s inside that counts and consumers are always wanting faster, more powerful smartphones with more memory that somehow manage to be more energy-efficient and offer better battery life. There’s already talk of the next iPhone having a dual-core processor and better graphics chips that can deliver higher video resolutions and better still images when taking pictures (read Brooke Crothers’ story on new ARM chips here).

The question is whether Apple can continue to increase battery life at the same time. In fact, one big reason a lot of people are interested in upgrading from the 3G to the 3G S is because of the improved battery life.

Beyond the hardware, there are still features concerns to address (everybody has their wishlist) and more importantly, carrier and pricing plan issues. Someday, some other carrier, perhaps Verizon, which is preparing to build out a 4G network, will get the iPhone. And someone, maybe Apple, will declare that iPhone the iPhone 4G. Or maybe it’ll just be the 3G V. All I know is that come this time next year, we’ll most likely be seeing a new iPhone. And it will be here before you know it.

Comments? Aside from a carrier choice, what are looking for in a true 4G iPhone?

Richard Lai has come up with the easiest way to tether your iPhone’s internet connection to your computer, as promised by Apple, but delayed by AT&T. This “hack” doesn’t involve the Terminal, or even your Mac. It’s all done with the iPhone.

Simply navigate on your iPhone to: http://help.benm.at/help.php. Once there, download the MobileConfig file for your carrier. Choose the country your carrier is in, then choose the carrier your iPhone is subscribed to. For the United States, most folks will choose AT&T, but if you plan on unlocking your iPhone on Friday, you can choose T Mobile. The process does requires iPhone OS 3.0.

After the install, on your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Network > Internet Tethering, and enable tethering. Then, plug your iPhone in, and you are ready to go. We’re not sure about the legal implications of this method, but we tested it out for you, loyal readers. Click through the gallery below to see how it works for yourself. Previously, users had complained that Visual Voicemail stopped working after tethering, but we experienced no such problems.

Of course, AT&T will probably nuke this method before the end of the week, but think of the extra pain you caused the upper management.

Disclaimer: Tethering your iPhone without the proper data plan probably violates your carrier’s contract, and you should definitely back up your iPhone before doing this, just in case anything happens. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

No doubt about it, issues with battery life remain a hot topic for iPhone 3.0 and iPhone 3GS users.

Now, if your battery drain is caused simply by use — you never put the iPhone (or iPod touch) down and are always playing games, pushing IMs, watching movies, etc. your only choice is to get a few more charging cables or battery extenders. If, however, you’re doing roughly the same things you’ve always done and getting substantially less battery life for your troubles, there’s a chance a few troubleshooting steps might just help get your power problems back under control.

Reboot iPhone

If, all of a sudden, your iPhone starts burning through battery and getting hot at the same time, there could be a “rogue process” just churning away in the background. The answer to that is a good old-fashioned power cycle.

Hold down the sleep button until the red “Slide to power off” arrow appears. If your iPhone is frozen or otherwise in dire straights, you can hold down the home button at the same time as the sleep button to force quit all applications and bring up the red arrow. Then just swipe, let the iPhone turn off, wait a few seconds, and hold down the sleep button again to turn your iPhone back on.

Redo Push

Since iPhone 2.0 we’ve seen Push gone wrong really cause a hit to battery life. With 3.0, Push Notification means not only could mail, calendar, and contacts start misbehaving in the background, but your IM, Twitter, games, and all sorts of other apps can as well.

Apple says Push can cause a 20% drop in battery life, but if you think yours is worse then it should be, the next step is to redo anything that involves Push, including MobileMe and Exchange accounts, and apps using Push Notification. Now, you might want to try doing one at a time, check your battery life, and if you don’t notice any improvement, try the next one. If you find the culprit quickly, that approach could save you some time. If you just want to get it over with, you might want to do them all at once.

For the accounts, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars, choose your MobileMe and/or Exchange accounts, scroll down to the bottom and hit delete. For apps, go to Settings > Notifications and look at the list of any apps using Push Notification. Go back to the Home Screen, hold down the home button until the icons start to jiggle, and delete the Push Notification app.

Then, for accounts, go back to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars, hit Add Account…, choose Mobile Me and/or Exchange, and re-enter your settings. For Push Notification apps, either sync them back from iTunes or go to the App Store app and re-download them.

Restore as New iPhone

We won’t lie to you — this is the nuclear option. It’s scorched earth. But to be frank, we at TiPb almost always default to this step because it almost always “just works”. We do this every time we get a new firmware and every time we notice something just isn’t right, and we have excellent battery life to prove it.

To restore your iPhone as new and get a fresh, clean start, attach it to your Windows or Mac via the USB cable and launch iTunes. A Restore button should be front and center on the screen. Hit it, then wait as iTunes goes through the laborious process of wiping your iPhone and installing the firmware again from scratch.

IMPORTANT: When iTunes asks if you want to restore your data from backup or set up as a new iPhone, choose NEW iPHONE.

Yes, you will lose your settings and any data saved in apps that don’t provide some sort of sync functionality, but it’s possible (even likely) some corruption in those settings or data is contributing to your poor battery life, and with an appliance like the iPhone, this is the only way to get rid of it.

This will also kill your Jailbreak, if you’re jailbroken. But if something in your Jailbreak was killing your battery life, like backgrounder gone awry, trying out your iPhone without the Jailbreak is a good way to establish that.

Once your iPhone is set up as new, you can sync your info and media back over using the iTunes tabs as normal, and/or setup accounts and download apps on the iPhone itself.

Conclusion

iPhone 3.0 and iPhone 3GS should have roughly the same battery life for you as iPhone 2.2.1 and the iPhone 3G. If you’re getting something substantially less than that, there could be something wrong with your iPhone 3.0 install or your iPhone 3GS’ system.

Rebooting the iPhone, redoing Push-enabled applications, and restoring your iPhone as new are three escalating steps you can try to fix your battery problems.

For some, even the newly expanded 11 Home Screen, 180 (including 4 fixed dock) app slots under iPhone 3.0 isn’t enough. It’s not about need — it’s about want. Luckily, iPhone 3.0 offers another handy, theoretically unlimited way to access apps: Spotlight. According to David Pogue:

You can install UNLIMITED APPS! Only 180 show up as icons—but Spotlight can find and open all of them! (And yes, we tried. Stopped at 250!)

So, check off every single one of your 56,000 (maybe?!) apps and sync them over. Then, instead of swiping right through 11 pages only to find the excess unaccessible, swipe LEFT to go to the Spotlight Search screen (or just press the home button again to get there super quick).

Next, start typing the name of the app, hidden or otherwise, you want to access, and as soon as it appears in the results, tap it to launch.

Boom. App pack rat bliss.

Note: Spotlight also shows WebClip icons you’ve bookmarked from MobileSafari to your Home Screen, so you can go crazy with quick access to your favorite websites as well.

And for those who prefer not to fill up their iPhone with apps, remember you can delete an app when not using it and download it again via the on-board App Store app, without any duplicate charges, any time. Cloud management is a reality, and a second option.

[Note: This a a Wait-A-Thon post! Comment on this post -- or any post tagged "Wait-a-Thon" -- for your chance to win a $100 iTunes Gift Card! Note that you must post with a valid and real email address so we can send you your prize -- no switching!]

More and more people are switching to the iPhone. They’re switching from Palm and Windows Mobile and Blackberry smartphones to the iPhone. They’re switching carriers to get the iPhone. And now that the next-gen iPhone 3G is all but upon us, and more and more regions are announcing their plans and pricing, the switching is only going to get faster and more furious.

To celebrate the switchers, those who dare to phone different, the iPhone Blog wants to help you get your content off your old, perhaps restrictive and outdates systems, and onto your shiny, new iPhone.

We’ve already gone over how to move your music, movies, and other media to iTunes, so now it’s time to get with the data: contacts, calendars, and email.

Read on to find out how!

This article assumes you’re switching from another smartphone, like Blackberry, Windows Mobile, or Palm, and are new to the iTunes + iPod (and iPhone!) ecosystem. It also assumes you’re a dedicated Windows user or someone who just recently switched from Windows to the Mac and needs to transfer content to an iPhone.

Since longtime iPod (and Mac) aficionados will almost certainly already be using iTunes and the typical Mac applications, your iPhone will sync your content via iTunes the same as it would any other iPod. And, hey, if you’re a Linux (or any other *nix) user, I figure you’ve kept your content open from the get-go, and already know 18 different ways to get it onto your unlocked, jailbroken iPhone hax0red with Open Moko anyway…

“Push” First: Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and Apple MobileMe

While with previous iPhone firmware, there was tethered (via iTunes) sync between Outlook and the iPhone, and between the default Apple apps and the iPhone, it was on a type-by-type basis (see screenshots in the iTunes section), and only when you actually hooked up your iPhone and pulled down the data would both your mobile and local copies get synchronized.

With iPhone firmware 2.0, everything changes. Why lead with this? Because if you intend to use either Exchange and/or MobileMe with your iPhone, you can read this section and you’re pretty much done. (Or at least you can skip ahead to photos at the end — though be sure to download iTunes anyway for your media). With Exchange and MobileMe (billed as Exchange for the rest of us), iTunes data sync is eliminated, cables are eliminated, and intermittent syncing becomes a thing of the past. With these “push” solutions, everything is automagically updated wirelessly (via WiFi or EDGE/HSPA cell network). Change something in Outlook and a few seconds later, your iPhone will show the same changes. Tweak some data on your iPhone, and a few seconds later, MobileMe’s website will show the same tweak.

(Not using ActiveSync or MobileMe? No worries. Skip to the next section and we’ll start setting up iTunes for local sync!)

So, to simply and easily set up most of your syncing using iPhone 2.0: tap Settings, tap Mail, Contacts, and Calendars (Just Mail if you’re doing Exchange on iPhone 1.x), tap Add Account, and then select the type of account you would like to add.

Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync

ActiveSync makes its debut with iPhone 2.0, and doesn’t function on the older, 1.x firmware, so if you intend to use it, make sure you have an iPhone 3G or have updated your original iPhone (2G) to the latest firmware as of July 11, 2008. To setup Exchange ActiveSync, tape the logo for it. If you’re using Exchange 2007 on the back end, you may be able to automatically set up your account. If you can’t, or are using an old version of Exchange — or just in general due to the complex and fussy nature of setting up an Exchange account in general — you’re best practice is to check with your Exchange administrator (or hosted service provider).

Apple MobileMe (formerly .Mac)

MobileMe, Apple’s replacement for .Mac and it’s “Exchange for the Rest of Us”. It will sync, wirelessly, over the air (OTA), contacts, calendars, mail, and photos between the iPhone and your Mac (with the aforementioned Address Book, iCal, Mail.app, and iPhoto) and/or PC (with Outlook). MobileMe will debut on July 11, 2008 alongside iPhone 3G and the 2.0 firmware, and should “just work” once you enter in your MobileMe username and password (previous users of .Mac will keep the same credentials, and will be able to use either user@mac.com or user@me.com interchangeably).

Local Sync: Getting iTunes

iTunes is a free download from apple.com and required before you can sync your iPhone. The iPhone 3G will require iTunes 7.7, which will be released day-and-date with the next generation device, so if you’re reading this before July 11, 2008, you’ll need to wait a bit before downloading, or will need to upgrade to that version.

What Data Does iTunes Sync?

Aside from the media we covered in the previous article, Apple’s iPhone 3G will sync the usual data suspects of address book contacts, calendar events, email accounts, web browser bookmarks, and — because we didn’t include them under media — digital photographs.

If you already have your data in Outlook, you’re good to go for the iPhone. If you have it in another application, or scattered among a few applications… well, we’ll get to that in a moment.

On the Mac side, iTunes “just works” with Apple’s default applications, Address Book, iCal, Mail.app, Safari, and iPhoto, or with Microsoft’s Entourage. Since sync services, contacts, calendaring, etc. are all “CoreServices” handled at the OS level, once you check the appropriate boxes in iTunes, the automagic process is almost transparent. You can even sync to Microsoft Office Entourage (Outlook’s ugly step-sibling on the Mac side) by syncing Entourage with the default apps via CoreServices.

Similarly, if you don’t have your data in these Mac apps yet, or have it scattered elsewhere, we’ll also get to that in a moment.

Now let’s break it down…

Syncing Your Contacts

From Microsoft Windows Vista & XP: Outlook, Windows Contacts, and Yahoo! Address Book

These three protocols are all supported from directly within iTunes. If you have your contacts in one of them, simply choose the appropriate program from the drop-down in iTunes and your information will be moved right over to your iPhone.

From Apple OS X: Address Book, Yahoo! Address Book, and Google Contacts

On the Mac version of iTunes, you can check both Apple’s Address Book and Yahoo! Address Book if you so choose. (I keep things simple — and fear duplicates — so I recommend picking one and sticking with it.)

If you’re running OS X Leopard 10.5.3 or later, you can also sync your Gmail Contacts with your iPhone, using a more round-about method: launch Address Book, select Preferences from the Address Book menu, and check the box next to Synchronize with Google. Once set up, this will sync your Google Contacts to your Address Book, and then iTunes will sync them from Address Book to your iPhone.

From Everywhere Else: Thunderbird, Windows Live, Google Contacts

If you have your contacts in anything other than the above-mentioned programs or services, you’ll have to move them over before you can sync them with the iPhone. Many programs/services allow you to export CSV files or vCards, including: Mozilla Thunderbird, Microsoft Windows Live, and Google Contacts.

Once you’ve got your export file, simply import the contacts back into Outlook, Address Book, Yahoo! Address Book and you’re golden.

Syncing Your Calendar

From Microsoft Windows Vista & XP: Outlook

For reasons known only to Apple and Microsoft, Outlook is your only calendar/event choice for syncing with the iPhone. (The drop down is so far only a merciless tease at options yet (maybe never?) to come).

From Apple OS X: iCal

Like Windows, OS X provides only one option for calendar sync: iCal (and not even a drop down to tease more.) Check it and go.

From Everywhere Else: Google Calendar, Windows Calendar, etc.

Many popular Calendar programs are compatible with the iCalendar format, which allows you to publish and/or subscribe from one program (and even platform) to another. Using this feature, you can try to move your data over your iPhone. Here’s an example using Google Calendar:

You can subscribe to Google Calendars through Outlook on Windows, or use the Google Calendar Sync utility. Unfortunately the iPhone thus far doesn’t reliably sync from anything besides the Outlook default Calendar, which means the subscribed Google Calendar doesn’t get moved over unless you use a commercial product like the Paul Thurrott referenced SyncMyCal.

For Mac users a one way (Google to iPhone) work-around involves subscribing to your Google Calendar. From Google Calendar: Click on the Calendar Settings drop down, click on Private Address, and click on iCal to generate a private address for your Google Calendar especially designed for iCal. Copy the URL and open iCal. Inside iCal: Select the Calendar menu and click on Subscribe, then paste in the Private Address you copied from Google Calendar. Next time you sync, iCal will feed your Google Calendar to your iPhone. For bi-directional sync (Google to iPhone and iPhone to Google), there’s the commercial Spanning Sync, and you can try the demo before you buy.

Theoretically, you could also try exporting and importing XML, CSV, or another cross-program file, although in my experience this often requires a vast amount of work (and Googling, and message board begging…)

Syncing Your Email

From Microsoft Windows Vista & XP: Outlook and Windows Mail

Two options for Windows users, the ubiquitous Outlook and Windows Mail (which I believe is an “upgrade” to the horrible Outlook Express rather a desktop version of the far superior WIndows Live Mail — tsk tsk to both Apple and Microsoft).

From Apple OS X: Mail.app

Still only one choice from Apple OS X users, however: Apple’s default mail client, the eponymous Mail.app. Again, just one checkbox, to keep with the ultra simple groove. (Usability over options is a mantra).

From Everywhere Else: Google Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, AOL, Microsoft Live/Hotmail, etc.

Yahoo! Mail can be setup as an IMAP email account on your iPhone, which means your Yahoo! Mail folders on your iPhone will exactly match your folders on Yahoo!’s website and vice versa. Also, Yahoo! provides “push” email for the iPhone, meaning changes to one will be reflected automatically and near-instantly in the other, just like Exchange ActiveSync and MobileMe (but without the calendar and contacts sync).

You can also set up your Gmail account, including the new Gmail IMAP service which works like Yahoo! Mail — but without the “push” — keeping your web, local client (i.e. Outlook, Mail, etc.), and web-based views synchronized at user-definable intervals (manually, every 10 minutes, etc.).

Unfortunately, since they don’t (to the best of my knowledge) surface any open, standard protocols like IMAP or POP, Microsoft Live/Hotmail accounts can’t easily be synced with the iPhone. Your options include signing up for a Yahoo! or Gmail account and manually moving the messages over to your new, IMAP-happy account, or you can try this free solution and see if it works for you.

For any ISP mail, you can simply set up the iPhone as a POP (or IMAP if they offer it — much better!) client.

Syncing Your Bookmarks

From Microsoft Windows Vista & XP: Internet Explorer and Safari

iTunes supports syncing over all your bookmarks from Internet Explorer (hopefully the much more secure and standards friendly IE 7, right?) and Windows Safari (Apple’s own browser). Hierarchies will be preserved, so think about how you’ll use your booksmarks both on the desktop and the iPhone, and organize a good middle ground.

From Apple Mac OS X: Safari

No choices here. Check Safari and move along.

From Everywhere Else: Firefox, Opera, etc.

If you’re using Firefox, Opera, or another Firefox-like (Mozilla Gecko powered), or Safari-like (Apple WebKit powered) browser, is to try and import your bookmarks into Internet Explorer or Safari (export first via HTML if you have to).

If you want to keep using Firefox (or another browser) for desktop use, there’s no way to keep your bookmarks synced, unfortunately, but you can delete the IE or Safari bookmarks (since you’re not using them) and re-import a fresh, updated set whenever you like.

Syncing Your Photos

From Windows Vista & XP: Folder Sync

For Windows users, the procedure to sync photos to the iPhone is as simple as it is non-powerful. Put all the photos you want to sync in a folder (or hierarchy of folders if you want to separate them out, e.g., Family, Friends, Birthday, etc.) and then select that folder in iTunes.

From Apple Mac OS X: iPhoto and Folder Sync

For Mac users, in addition to the folder sync described above, you can also chose to sync from Apple’s iPhoto application, either your complete library, or from selected sub-libraries.

From Everywhere Else: Yahoo! Flickr, Facebook, Google Picasa, etc.

If you keep your photo collection online (i.e. Flickr, Facebook, Photoshop Express, Windows Live, etc.), you’re going to have to target a desktop backup, or download the photos you want on your iPhone to a local directory. Put all the photos you want to sync in one folder, and make sure you note down the location of that folder (e.g. iPhone Photos). This will be the folder you target inside iTunes as described above.

For Picasa, make sure you organize all the pictures you want on your iPhone into one folder, or a hierachy of folders, and then that will be the folder your target from inside iTunes, also as described above.

Wait! Help! My Data is Stuck On My Phone!

On the off chance that some of you don’t use a desktop, laptop, web service, or anything besides your mobile (smart)phone for your data, here’s a down and dirty guide to help you get started.

From the Original iPhone (iPhone 2G) to iPhone 3G

Apple provides excellent directions for upgrading to the iPhone 3G.

From RIM Blackberry, Windows Mobile, and Palm Treo (Windows Mobile OS)

Blackberry’s are data monsters. Data — all of it, all now, all the time — is the only reason for a Blackberry. It’s why RIM invented the Blackberry. Windows Mobile, whether running on a Motorola, Samsung, HTC, Palm, or whatever device, is made to integrate with other Microsoft products like Exchange, ActiveSync, and Outlook/Entourage. (Note: Always make sure you have the latest/greatest firmware, patches, updates, etc. from your phone carrier and platform provider).

From a Blackberry or ActiveSync perspective, pretty much all business users will have an Exchange server of one kind or another available to them. Just use ActiveSync on your new iPhone 2.0 and you’re good to go. (Check with IT if you have to, especially for the settings information).

If you don’t have a business Exchange server but you do have access to a Windows computer with Microsoft Outlook on it, sync your Blackberry to Outlook, then Outlook to your iPhone.

For Mac users, check out Markspace, which provides a variety of phone-specific syncing solutions especially for the Mac. They’re not free, but the time and effort they’ll save you are well worth it. (I used to it get my data off a Palm OS Treo 680 into the default Apple apps and it worked seamlessly).

If you don’ have any of the above available to you, try a hosted Exchange service, even temporarily. Sync your Blackberry data to that, then ActiveSync it to your new iPhone, and cancel the hosted Exchange service.

From Palm OS Treo

Palm OS (Garnet) Treo’s can work similarly to the above if you have ActiveSync installed (or download it from Palm’s website – warning, direct file link!) and access to an Exchange server (business or hosted).

Similarly if you have access to Outlook. If you’re stuck in Palm Desktop, you’ll first have to find your Palm install CD and go through the setup again, choosing Outlook instead.

(Mac users, see Markspace, above).

From a Feature Phone

If you don’t have a smartphone, but are coming instead from a standard consumer feature phone (candybar or flip phone from Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, etc.) and have data on there you really don’t want to retype, you can try looking for a data transfer kit that matches your phone. These vary widely in form, availability, and functionality, and will cost you money and time, but if you have both check out Howard Forums or even Google. Search and ask around. Be key word specific (i.e. “transfer data nokia model# outlook”. Best of luck, and please share what you find in case others are trying out the same.

Conclusion

Well, there they are, my tips and tricks for getting your data off the old and outdated just in time for your brand new iPhone 3G/2.0. But try as I might, I know our readers — the real data ninjas — have a whole host of sneaky black magic all their own.

What are your best tips and tricks? Drop a comment and let us know!

iPhone 3.0 has settled in quite well in my view and I am sure many have been more than pleased to see Apple finally give the iPhone features such as copy and paste, MMS, landscape mode typing, Spotlight search, push notifications and many more. But did you know that actually there are some “hidden” functions that weren’t announced?

1. You can now have 11 home screens instead of the previous limit of 9 home screens. So you can now launch 32 more
   iPhone apps from your iPhone’s
   home screen.
2. Thanks to Spotlight for
   iPhone, there is no limit on the number of
   iPhone apps that can be installed on the
   iPhone running
   iPhone OS 3.0 assumming that you have the required storage space on your
   iPhone. If you install more applications then the
   home screen icon limit, you can now access them using Spotlight.
3. This hidden feature addresses one of the minor annoyance in previous
   iPhone OS. When a phone call interrupts you, after the phone call you are taken back to the
   iPhone app you were using before you were interrupted.
4. iPhone’s virtual keyboard has also been updated with few more extra special characters while holding certain characters down similar to the “.com” button. In
   iPhone OS 3.0, when you hold down the “.” you also get “…”. The dash “-” also displays an em-dash “-” and quotations and apostrophes display “<<” and “>>” and can also be curved.
5. Along with Spotlight, Apple has also added Camera app to the Home button settings (Settings > General > Home Button) in
   iPhone fimrware 3.0 so if the Camera application is your favorite
   iPhone; you can quickly launch it from your iPhone’s home screen or any other
   iPhone app by double-clicking on the Home button.
6. You now have another option to force quit an unresponsive
   iPhone app. You can hold the sleep/wake button until the red slider appears, then press and hold down the home button to quit the
   iPhone app.
7. You can undo typing by shaking the
   iPhone. When you are in the Mail, Messaging, Safari or Notes applications, after you typed a word/several words, just shake the phone and a pop-up will appear, asking you whether you want to undo what you have just entered.

This week, I gathered up some useful shortcuts that come built into most of the BlackBerrys, even older models, made by Research In Motion Ltd. but not many owners actually use or know about them. Ironically, most of these shortcuts are conducted using a BlackBerry feature that the iPhone lacks: its physical keyboard. (The iPhone uses a virtual keyboard that appears on-screen only when needed.)

RIMSome useful shortcuts are built into most BlackBerrys, even older models, though not many owners actually use or know about them. Most of these shortcuts are conducted using a BlackBerry feature that the iPhone lacks: its physical keyboard.

Some of these shortcuts are seemingly obvious, like number or capitalization locks, but others are more obscure, like codes that can be entered to display the BlackBerry’s precise signal strength. Some shortcuts are performed with a single keystroke; others work in conjunction with a trackwheel or trackball, depending on your BlackBerry model, and still others work when two keys are pressed simultaneously. BlackBerrys with condensed keyboards that use auto-correcting SureType may require extra or different keystrokes.

Navigation Simplified

A series of keystrokes work in various BlackBerry applications to make navigation much faster. Pressing the Space bar works like Page Down on a computer keyboard, moving down one screen per press. Holding Shift while pressing the Space bar moves in the opposite direction, like the Page Up key. To quickly move to the very top or bottom of a page, press “T” or “B,” respectively. Another way to page down or up through lists is to hold the ALT key while scrolling with the trackwheel.

Users can toggle between the BlackBerry’s running applications without the extra step of navigating back to the Home screen. To do this, press ALT and the Escape key, then release Escape and use the trackwheel to scroll through a display of icons that represent running programs until you reach the desired program, then release the ALT key to select that program.

Messaging Magic

Shortcuts in BlackBerry messaging can be a real boon when you’re trying to get work done quickly. While looking at a list of emails, hit “C” to immediately start composing a new email. When a specific email is highlighted, pressing “R” will reply to that message; “L” will reply to all and “F” will forward it. Hitting “J” while an email is highlighted will jump directly to the oldest message in that email chain.

A list of emails can be more neatly organized from the message screen by holding the ALT key and pressing a letter. “I” will alter the list to show only incoming emails, “O” will show just those emails that were sent. “P” shows a phone log, including dates and times, and “s” displays all SMS messages made or received on the BlackBerry.

In the body of a message, pressing the Space bar twice inserts a period and capitalizes the next word. When the left Shift key and ALT are pressed together, the keyboard’s number lock is on; the right Shift key and ALT work as the caps lock. Holding any letter down will capitalize it, saving users from pressing another key to do so. To type a letter with an accent, hold the letter key down while scrolling up or down with the trackwheel until you find the correctly accented letter.

Type Less, Say More

While composing emails, a series of AutoText codes can be typed in the email body to automatically display certain phrases or information. Typing “mynumber” and a space in the text of an email will automatically display your BlackBerry’s phone number. Similarly, when “LD” is entered the local date is displayed, and when “LT” is typed the local time appears.

If your email inbox is full and you can’t send emails, find out the PIN of your recipient’s BlackBerry and use it to message the person directly. (To find your own PIN, type “mypin” and a space into the body of an email. This code can be used to send PIN messages from one device to another without using the device’s usual email system.)

Geeky Codes

If you’re just dying to know some techie details about your BlackBerry, the “Help Me!” screen will be right up your alley. To view the “Help Me!” screen, press ALT, Shift and “H” simultaneously. This displays data that won’t matter much to the average person, such as the device’s vendor ID, platform and free file space. But it also shows the exact percentage of remaining battery power on the BlackBerry, which could be helpful if you aren’t sure how to interpret the imprecise battery indicator bars at the top of the home screen.

Another way to geek up your BlackBerry is to change its signal strength indicator from bars to numbers that tell how many decibels per milliwatt the device is transmitting. To do this, go to the Home screen and hold down the ALT button while typing “NMLL.” My BlackBerry displayed a minus 75 when I made this change. Strengths of minus 50 to minus 90 are said to be good, while anything higher, like minus 100, isn’t. Though this numerical indicator won’t likely be of any practical use, you could use it to turn to a friend and compare reception during an excruciatingly boring meeting.

One way to impress a technophile on a date is by pulling up a BlackBerry’s Event Log. To do this, go to the Home screen and hold down ALT while typing “LGLG.” This retrieves a long list of numerous confusing codes representing the functions that were performed on your device. The Menu screen in the Event Log gives users the option to clear this log, freeing up some BlackBerry memory, while an Options screen lets people set the log up to record only certain kinds of activities.

Finally, to reboot your BlackBerry without removing its plastic back and taking out the battery, press ALT, Right Shift and Delete simultaneously. More codes can be found in the blogosphere or in a special section of RIM’s Web site: http://na.blackberry.com/eng/support/blackberry101/tips/. Adopting just one of these shortcuts can significantly change the way you use your BlackBerry.

—Edited by Walter S. Mossberg

Write to Katherine Boehret at katie.boehret@wsj.com

Decibel meter.
Displays your signal strength in decibels, instead of bars.
Hold “Alt” and press “N”, “M”, “L”, “L” (repeat to reverse the effect).

Address Book file verification.
Checks the data in your Address Book for inconsistencies.
In the Address Book, hold “Alt” and press “V”, “A”, “L”, “D”.

Address Book data structure rebuild.
Forces a data structure re-build in the Address Book…
In the Address Book, hold “Alt” and press “R”, “B”, “L”, “D”.

View source code.
Displays the source code of a Web page.
In the Browser, hold “Alt” and press “R”, “B”, “V”, “S”.

Help Me! menu.
Provides crucial technical information about your device, for when seeking technical support or help in forums…
Hold “Alt” and (left) “shift”, then press “H”.

IMEI display.
Displays your device’s international mobile equipment identity (IMEI – your serial number) on-screen… Also works from all other GSM handsets.
Type “*”, “#”, “0″, “6″, “#” on the Home screen.

“Soft” reset.
Performs a “soft” reset of your device; the equivalent of doing a “battery pull” (ie. Removing the battery for a few seconds).
Press-and-hold “Alt”, then press-and-hold (left) “shift”, then press-and-hold “Del”.

Event Log.
Displays event logs of all the system-level events that occur on your device…
Hold “Alt” and press “L”, “G”, “L”, “G”.

All of these secrets have been tested on the BlackBerry 8800 and BlackBerry Curve 8300; .

In some cases, you will need to be on the Home screen when you enter these codes…
Key shortcuts:
A or C = phonebook
S = search
F = phone profiles
W or B = browser
H = help
K = locks the keys
L = calendar
V = messages
M = messages folder
R = alarm
T = tasks
U = calculator
I = applications
O = options
P = phone

Some new additions thanks to the contributions in this thread:

T – Top of page (in browser)
B – Bottom of page (in browser)
Space – Page down (in browser)
ALT + Right Shift + Del = hard reset
D – Memo pad
U – Switch between hide/unhide in title bar (in browser)
ALT + NMLL = numbers instead of bars for signal strength