Chapter 4: How Can I Get More Out of the Phone App?

The iPhone is chock-full of great apps that enable you to surf the web, send and receive email messages, listen to music, take photos, organize your contacts, schedule appointments, and much, much more. These features put the smart in its status as a smartphone, but let’s not forget the phone part! So, while you’re probably familiar with the basic steps required to make and answer calls, the powerful phone component in your iPhone is loaded with amazing features that can make the cell phone portion of your life easier, more convenient, and more efficient. This chapter takes you through these features.

Understanding Cellular Speeds

Working with Outgoing Calls

Handling Incoming Calls

Juggling Multiple Calls and Conference Calls

Managing Your Favorites List

Converting a Phone Number into a Contact

Video Calling with FaceTime

Understanding Cellular Speeds

When we need data, I suspect most of us connect our iPhones to a nearby Wi-Fi network. Of course, there are plenty of us who are more mobile and need data while we’re out and about and can’t always rely on finding a convenient Wi-Fi hotspot. Older versions of the iPhone supported EDGE (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution) cellular networks, EVDO (Evolution-Data Optimized) networks, and HSPA (High Speed Packet Access) networks, which have theoretical maximum download speeds of 0.38 megabits-per-second (Mbps), 3.1 Mbps, and 14.4 Mbps, respectively. EVDO and HSPA are known as 3G ...

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