Useful Tips for iPhone (and iTouch) Users
Hey everyone. I'm supposing that you're reading this because you either own an iPhone or iPod Touch, or plan to buy one or something related to an iPhone or iTouch... This is based on my own personal experience and I'd like to share these tips with you.
Battery Drain when syncing
The iPhone and iTouch use a lot of battery life when syncing over SSH since the screen needs to be left on or otherwise the wifi connection will be lost. This is a problem for many, and this is why there is an app on Cydia called Insomnia.
Insomnia, allows to lock the screen and shut the screen down while still using the wifi. This saves up a lot of battery when syncing. I recommend it a lot because it works and I use it on my 3G.
Converting video:
Sometimes it gets annoying to transfer video from ubuntu to the iPhone or iTouch, it's even more annoying trying to convert it (specially if it was downloaded from youtube).
Install these packages through synaptic:
- ffmpeg
- libavcodec-unstripped-52
These will save you a lot of google time, then to convert simply open up a terminal and cd to your video directory and type
Code:
ffmpeg -i name-of-your-file.flv name-of-your-new-file.mp4
The resulting mp4 file can be transfered via GTKPOD to your device.
Transfering music and video:
I personally use GTKPOD, it's the best application so far and I even have ALL (yes, all) of my album covers fully working on my 3G. I had to add some of the covers manually since I didn't have the meta-data written on them, this is why it's so convenient. It allows you to batch edit full albums.
Go to synaptic and get the package gtkpod-aac. This will allow you to transfer videos through GTKPOD since it's the same gtkpod package with mp4 and aac transfer capabilites, reason why it's more convenient than the normal gtkpod package.
Managing your music:
My two favorite programs are Songbird and Banshee. Both for their user interface and for their ability to get album art. Each album I download through songbird gets its album art fetched automatically and I don't need to edit it later (the meta-data) on GTKPOD. I think that it was unnecessary to add this last part, but I still did
For Songbird Users:
Songbird remote is a great application, it allows you to control Songbrid through your iPhone or iTouch. I personally use it, So if you can, give it a try. NOTE THAT it only controls songbird, it doesn't allow you to sync your music to the iPhone or iTouch.
Ubuntu Look and Feel
The repos of BigBoss and ModMyi have nice ubuntu themes (for winterboard), check them out.
Also, be sure to check out fontswap, ubuntu categories and ubuntu titling font, all of these available on cydia on the BigBoss and ModMyi repos. They will make your phone look and feel a lot like ubuntu.
Jamendo is always Good:
I actually have 2 full albums downloaded from Jamendo on my 3G and other songs, so it's a nice way to discover music. Try it, you'll find yourself buying less music on iTunes and supporting more independent artists.
when wall charging:
remember that your device actually heats up while wall charging, and even more when the screen is on and the wifi (many people do this to sync), so don't leave your iPhone connected to the wall for more than the necessary time, and if you're syncing wirelessly, install insomnia through cydia, this reduces A LOT the temperature when syncing over SSH and wall charging.
Happy syncing =)
Last edited by xrecar; May 14th, 2009 at 05:11 AM.
Reason: revision
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