Introduction

When most people see an iPhone, their first reaction is awe with a little bit of covetousness thrown in for good measure. After most people buy an iPhone, their feelings of awe and envy soon change to a desire to show off and start using their new handheld computer. However, the iPhone offers so many cool features that you may feel overwhelmed, wondering how to get started and how to get the most out of your new tool.

If you're feeling overwhelmed by your new iPhone, this is the book you'll need to gently guide you through the basics of using your new phone, browsing the Internet, and performing all kinds of personal and business tasks. This book will show you how to make the iPhone work best for you.

If you already know how to use a smart phone made by another company, you'll discover that moving to the iPhone represents a new-generation technology that's as dramatic as moving from an abacus to a personal computer. If you're new to smart phones, you'll find that the iPhone can be a friendly, forgiving, and fun tool that will make you wonder why anybody would ever want to use another mobile phone.

By the way, if you have an iPod touch, you basically have an iPhone without the telephone feature. Although you can't make telephone calls with an iPod touch, it offers many of the same features as the iPhone. So whether you have an iPhone or iPod touch, you can learn something from this book.

To avoid having to mention both the iPhone and iPod touch all the time, the rest of this book will use the phrase iPhone to represent both the iPhone and iPod touch. Just keep in mind that some tasks, such as making phone calls, sending text messages, and taking pictures, apply only to the iPhone.