iPhone Tips: Managing Your iPhone Apps
Instead of being able to use an elaborate series of windows, menus, and folders, like you would on a personal computer, an iPhone makes you stack up every program like a series of Lego’s. The more applications you begin to shove into your phone the more pages you end up having, making it harder and harder to search through your selection. To make your increasing library work in your favor there are some great ways to keep things organized.
Many of these application icons cannot be removed because they are built in features, such as the calendar and YouTube link. You do not have to necessarily keep these on the opening screen, especially since you want to keep the most used software up front. If you want to shift the applications around you need to go through the same process as when you want to remove an application completely. Find any application and press down on it, holding for a couple seconds. This will make all of the icons begin to jiggle somewhat. From here you can either press down on an application quickly to delete it, or hold down on it and then dragging it left and right to move it around. This is an easy way to move all of the relevant applications onto front pages.
If you are trying to keep the number of applications down then you can easily keep your pages organized by keeping each page for a specific application type. This would mean that one would be for news and reference, one for games, one for shopping, and so on according to your methods for organization. This would also force you to begin removing programs that you just don’t want, which can be hard for those who like to hoard applications that they “may use someday.”
Try not to “double up” on applications. For example, if you already have one weather application does not get another unless you are going to delete the original. On top of this it is important to delete the source software from your iTunes before syncing you phone again. Though applications do not take up your memory too much, an excessive amount can slow down your iPhone and leave it more open to internal wear and tear.
When cleaning up your pages you will likely begin having blank spots on pages where applications were. Unless you are organizing your applications by pages you should then try to consolidate them as much as possible to reduce the total number of pages. Too many accessible pages can eventually slow down your iPhone and make it less functional. Once you move over all the applications on a given page leaving it empty it will end up disappearing.
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“Though applications do not take up your memory too much, an excessive amount can slow down your iPhone and leave it more open to internal wear and tear.”
Huh??? What is “internal wear and tear?”
I think the author is just making stuff up here.
@david – I believe the author was referring to “internal wear and tear” in a metaphorical sense. Many iPhone users report crashing issues that are most likely related to having too many apps installed. It is unclear what long term damage can be caused by having your device constantly reboot. It is also unclear as to how many apps is too many, but several users with 8 screens of apps seem to have the most problems.
I have only 9 screens and would like more, but as I add a new app one of the old apps will fall off the last screen and be removed unwantly.
Is 9 screens the maximum screens ? I still have lots of memory
Bill
Yes, I read somewhere were 9 was the max
You can also use your iPhone to access remote files and stream your music collection. I ran across an interesting article entitled “Drive a Hybrid Cloud” at DealDogs.net reviewing the ZumoDrive program which works on the iPhone. This is the article link here which has a description and video about the Hybrid Cloud storage provider.
If I had as much free time as Shane, I would consider taking up a productive activity or hobby, rather than invest time writing five whole paragraphs highlighting a “tip” so self-evident that I actually feel compelled to complain. I’m well aware that internet comment threads are, with few exceptions, little more than a waspish dissemination contributed to by irksome pedants, and yes I do feel certain reservations about becoming one of these people. But when a Google search for tips on better managing my iphone contacts yeilds this kind of dross nonsense in the top search results, it is hard not to wonder how.
Shane, this whole sorry mess could be summarised (with fewer inaccuracies than the original article) as a statement: “if you keep the number of installed applications minimal, you will be able to find the one you want more quickly”. Hell, it could have even been a tweet.
I had an unlocked iPhone in 2007 and maxed the app amount ASAP. The result was a daily breakdown & rebooting of the phone. Labyrinth really got bonkers for some reason.
With a 16g iPhone and up to 50 apps on it, the wear & tear is minimal in comparison to my unlocked phone. I’ll max it out if/when 16×9=144apps make it worth while.
My tip is to sort out each page of applications to a match a certain theme. For instance, I have a quick/habitually used front page. My 2nd is utilities, 4th is games, 5th travel & languages, 7 sound&vision.
Sorting them all helped alot.
Here’s to an easy held, video camera, flash&adobe iPhone at the June convention!!
Is there any way to extend to time that it takes to make the icons wiggle?