5101 David Pogue's legendary Missing Manual series has gone through a major metamorphosis during 2007, with the phasing-in of a new smaller, thinner, and cheaper ($19.95) book format with a tighter, less conversational prose style, less white space, sans-serif typefaces, and all color illustrations instead of the erstwhile grayscale; page, chapter, and topic information appearing in OS X - style Aqua title bars, albeit positioned at the page bottoms, a slimmer book format than the classic Missing Manual motif. I like the color, but am less enchanted with the other changes, particularly the black/white/green cover theme in contrast with the previous editions' copious white spaces to my eyes is neither as attractive nor distinctively imaginative than the very classy original Missing Manuals look. On the other hand, the books are now more precisely focused as reference works, and perhaps more efficiently the accessible in that context, so that may compensate for what's gone "missing" from the first-generation Missing Manuals format, and I'm guessing this change in form partly results from market research into what people are looking for in this type of book.

Anyway, if you're getting an iPhone for Christmas, already have one, or have an iPhone user on your Christmas list, this book will make a practically useful and appreciated gift or stocking-stuffer.

As iPhone The Missing Manual's author and co-publisher David Pogue notes, the downside of writing computer books is that you can just get them out the door when the software or product gets updated and your book is out of date, and he predicts that this will be especially true of this book, five since the book's publication date. With no significant hardware changes to the iPhone so far, it's holding up pretty well.

Pogue observes that the iPhone is a platform, a computer, so Apple can update and improve it by releasing revised software, such as programs to fill those empty spaces the bottom of the iPhone's home screen, fix bugs, patch holes, and so forth. Consequently, the book will be periodically updated by free email newsletters as developments unfold.

So much for preliminaries, iPhone The Missing Manual is structured in six parts, each containing several chapters.

Part 1 - The iPhone as Phone: The Guided Tour; Phone Calls; Fancy Phone Tricks, covers topics related to using the iPhone as a cell phone, dialing, answering, voicemail, conference calling, text messaging, and the Contacts program.

Part 2 - The iPhone as iPod: Music and Video; Photos and Camera, is dedicated to the iPhone's iPod-like features - music player, photo storage and slideshows, broadcasts, movies and video, as well as the iPhone's built-in camera; a feature not available (yet?) on any iPod, including the iPhone-like iPod touch.

Part 3 - The iPhone Online: Getting Online; The Web; Email; Maps and Apps, covers the iPhone as a Web-surfing device, email, Web-browsing was Safari, YouTube, Google Maps, RSS, weather, stocks, and so forth.

Part 4 - Beyond iPhone: iTunes for iPhoners; Syncing the iPhone; Add-Ons - Accessories and Web Apps; Settings, addressees matters outside the iPhone itself - using iTunes on your computer to load the iPhone with music, photos, or videos, and syncing the Calendar, Address Book and Mail settings. This section also covers Web-based third-party software for the iPhone, and iPhone accessories like cases, car adapters, and chargers, and finishes with a tutorial on using the iPhone Settings program.

Part 5 i two Appendixes on Setup and Signup; Troubleshooting and Maintenance
Index

Chapter 1, The Guided Tour, walks you through a description of the iPhone's many controls and shows you the basics of how to use them, as well as the peripheral bits in the box. There is also a short tutorial on "Seven Basic Finger Techniques" for using the iPhone's touchscreen and a longer tutorial on how to finesse the units virtual keyboard. There are tapes on charging the iPod and managing battery life as well.

The content of Chapter 2, Phone Calls, is pretty much revealed in the title, and tells you why you need to know to use the I've fallen as a phone.

Chapter 3, Fancy Phone Tricks, fills you in on using Visual voice mail, gas and amassed text messages, chat programs, call waiting, caller ID, call forwarding, plus Bluetooth earpieces and car kits.

Chapter 4, Music And Video, details getting the best out of the iPhone's iPod persona - features like cover flow, the Now Playing screen, and playing back movie, music and video content.

Chapter 5, covers Photos And Camera on the iPod - viewing pictures on the iPhone screen and taking photos with its built-in 2 megapixel camera. There is also a section on photo wallpaper and setting up head shots for Contacts.

Chapter 6, Getting Online, highlights a singular (or should I say Cingular?) distinction of the iPhone's all-screen concept, its adroitness as a Web-surfing device. The iPhone supports both regular WiFi hot spot connections and AT&T's proprietary EDGE wireless data network via cellular phone connections. This chapter discusses the relative merits of these two online modes, as well as Airplane Mode, which disables both of the iPhone's antennae when aboard aircraft or in other environments where wireless transmissions are not welcome.

Chapter 7, The Web, carries on with a tutorial on using the mobile version of Apple's Safari browser that ships with the iPhone, with sections on using the Address Bar, distinctions of the Safari keyboard as opposed to the regular keyboard, managing bookmarks, audio and video on the Web, managing multiple web pages, and RSS: The Missing Manual.

Chapter 8, Email, provides you with the information you need to set up email accounts on the iPhone, including POP 3 and IMAP, and tutorials on the various aspects of email management, combating spam, in a section on Virtual Private Networking (VPN).

Chapter 9, Maps And Apps, contains sections on using the Calendar, YouTube, the Stocks application, Google Maps integration on the iPhone, Weather, the Clock, the Calculator, and the Notes app.

Chapter 10 is iTunes for iPhones. The iPhone essentially incorporates an iPod nano along with all the other stuff, and this chapter is a tutorial on using Apple's free iTunes digital jukebox and multimedia software to load and manage music, photos, and video files on your iPhone. If you already have an iPod, most of this will be old hat, but it's a capsule refresher.

Chapter 11 is on Syncing the iPhone with data on your computer - everything from podcasts and contacts lists to email settings, and even sections on syncing with multiple computers and one way emergency syncing.

Chapter 12 is entitled Add-ons: Accessories And Web Apps, such as word processors, news readers, and application launchers in the software category, plus hardware bits like external speakers, FM transmitters, earphones, and iPhone cases.

Chapter 13, Settings, demystifies the sundry iPhone preferences settings from ringtones and wallpaper through Security and mail, Safari, and much more.

That's it for the main chapters content.

Appendix A, Setup And Signup, is a tutorial on iPhone activation, step by step.

Appendix B, Troubleshooting And Maintenance, is your go to of first reference when your iPhone is not working correctly, with information about where to go for further assistance if the tips provided don't cure what's ailing.

I live in Canada, where the iPhone is not (officially) available or supported by a network yet (hopefully in 2008) but I still thoroughly enjoyed exploring and reviewing this book, and I now know a great deal more about the iPhone than I did previously, which I guess is the central point. There is an awful lot more to the iPhone than one might anticipate, and iPhone The Missing Manual does the usual masterful and entertaining job of explaining it all that we've come to expect from this excellent book series.

At just $19.95, iPhone The Missing Manual is an inexpensive resource that covers a whole raft of things that don't get addressed in the iPhone's "Finger Tips" documentation, with the useful unbiased perspective and objective critique of shortcomings that only a third-party can provide. It is indeed the "book that should have been in the box," and one any iPhone user who aspires to being well-informed about the device and getting the best out of its use won't want to be without.

iPhone The Missing Manual really is a resource you should have if you own an iPhone and want to get the most out of it. At the price of twenty dollars, it's a great deal. I have to concede that I lament the passing of the classic Missing Manual look, but the attractiveness of their full color presentation compensates a fair bit, and while I'm partial to the more prolix and detailed text content of the early editions, I'll concede that for the average iPhone user, this more bare-bones approach makes sense and the book will be more likely to be referenced frequently.

It's also a treat to see the inimitable David Pogue personally authoring a Missing Manual again, and his friendly, witty, entertaining prose style has survived the lean-down makeover at Missing Manuals. Best of all, perhaps, this book is enjoyable and fun to read. I had fun, anyway.

iPhone: The Missing Manual
By David Pogue
First Edition: August 2007
Series: The Missing Manuals
ISBN 10: 0-596-51374-7
ISBN 13: 9780596513740
Pages: 304
Book Price: $19.99 USD
UK £12.50
Print Book + PDF
$29.99
PDF $19.99

For more information, visit:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9780596513740/

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