by Tom Piper
After having had my iPhone for nearly five months, there is still more to learn about this delightful communications companion. I’ve devoured everything I could read about maximizing my knowledge, including iPhone The Missing Manual by David Pogue (early PDF version). The next generation of iPhone guides have now come out from leading authors in the field . . . more information available at www.peachpit.com.
In order to assist the early adopters, the technology embracers, and the next-version-waiters, I’ve acquired The iPhone PocketGuide and The iPhone Book. These books are reasonably-priced, immediately-available, extra-ordinarily useful, and particularly well-written. I’ve seen, heard and read presentations from these Apple experts, and this is some of their best work.
This review includes a combination of my observations and Internet summaries of these publications. Both books are filled with great information: The Guide is more conversational on B&W stock with green accents, often annotated with useful notes and tips, plentiful illustrations, and good advise; whereas The Book is physically larger, with full-color large illustrations, divided into “how-to” topics, punctuated with “iTips”, and described with overly-large text blocks.
The iPhone Pocket Guide
by Christopher Breen
Publisher: Peachpit Press Pub Date: September 20, 2007
Print ISBN-10: 0-321-51008-9 Print ISBN-13: 978-0-321-51008-2
Pages: 272 Price: $14.99 (discounted 2nd Edition, $8.99 with free shipping)
Here's your essential companion to Apple’s iPhone. This handy, low-priced book is packed with quick results so you can jump in and master the iPhone right away. Snappy writing, eye-catching graphics, and a fresh design walks you through the most common iPhone tasks.
As the back cover summarizes, the iPhone Pocket Guide shows you how to:
• Set up and quickly start using your phone/iPod/Internet device.
• Make and receive calls and send text messages with your phone.
• Sync calendar and contacts between the iPhone and your Mac or Windows PC.
• Send email using AT&T’s wireless network or a Wi-Fi connection.
• Listen to songs and watch movies and TV shows (and YouTube!).
• Surf the Web using the built-in Safari browser.
• View photos and take pictures with the built-in camera.
• Get instant info using the built-in Stocks, Maps, Weather, and Clock applications.
• Run the numbers with Calculator and jot quick reminders with Notes.
• Fix common problems and learn what to do if you can’t fi x them yourself.
The iPhone Book: How to Do the Things You Want to Do with Your iPhone
by Scott Kelby; Terry White
Publisher: Peachpit Press Pub Date: August 16, 2007
Print ISBN-10: 0-321-53410-7 Print ISBN-13: 978-0-321-53410-1
Pages: 240 Price: $24.99 (discounted to $22.49 free shipping, or $17.99 PDF version)
As the ad says: “This book is a "show-me-how-to-do-it" book, that skips all the confusing techno-jargon and just tells you, in plain simple English, exactly how to use the iPhone features you want to use most.”
The iPhone Book is from Scott Kelby, the award-winning author of the smash bestseller, The iPod Book, who takes that same highly-acclaimed, casual, straight-to-the-point concept and layout and brings it to learning Apple's amazing iPhone. Scott teams up once again with gadget guru, and leading iPhone authority, Terry White to put together a book that is an awful lot like the iPhone itself—simple to use and fun to learn. The book's layout is brilliant, with each page covering just one single topic, so finding the information you need is quick and easy, with a large full-color photo on each page so you can see exactly how it works