iPhone Tips: Using the iPod Part of the iPhone

What sets the iPhone apart from other smart phones and ensures itself a place in the product driven consumer markets is its iHistory. The fact that it includes the patented iPod gives it not only functionality that people remember, but also a name that has become the standard for all portable media audiences. This is not just a title that can be applied, mind you; it is a full service iPod that plays a variety of audio and video types. When using it there are a number of ways to make it easier and even customize your interface.

When you first open the iPod application you’ll see buttons set at the bottom to organize your library, such as songs, artists, and videos. You can easily change these by customizing it with different buttons at the bottom. Go to the More button at the bottom right, where you will be given a bunch of other options. Press the Edit button up top and then the view of these options will change. Now you can press on each of these and drag them down to the bottom, replacing a button that you might want gone.

Getting video onto your iPhone is a little more difficult than music simply because the formats that are allowed are restrictive. This is done in a futile attempt to combat piracy and force people to purchase movies and television programs from iTunes. You can easily find a converter that will convert videos that you have already downloaded to your computer so that it will be compatible with your iPod. Once the videos are in the correct platform you then add it to your iTunes video library. You then select your iPhone from the device list and go to the Videos tab. Here you will find several classifications for video types that you would want to sync. Decide which video type the video is that you want to add and then put a check into the sync box for the correct one. Now you will be given a list of the videos in this section that you can add. Check the one that you want to add and now the next time you sync your iPhone to your computer it will be automatically added.

Though it is much easier to make alterations on your computer with iTunes, but you can do this on your phone yourself. You can create a playlist by first going to the More tab and selecting Playlists. Go to “On the Go” and you will be taken to a selection menu. Here you can either select specific songs, or add every song to a playlist. When you are done selecting songs you logically press the Done button in the upper right hand corner.

The iPhone allows for the user to quickly bring up iPod controls. When the phone is locked you can just press the home button twice to bring up basic iPod controls.

The iPod has replaced almost every kind of stereo system, and at most college parties you will finally see that the music source is really just an iPod or iPhone plugged into a speaker set up. If you are doing this you may want to make it so that the iPod volume will not go over a certain point, which is the best way to keep the police from busting up your shindig. Go into the Settings icon and select iPod. In the Music section you can select Volume Limit, which lets you set a point where the volume will not be able to go above.

You may have to start and stop quite a bit if you are watching on your phone. Normally the iPod is set to start the track exactly where you left off, but you might want to make it so it starts at the beginning again. Go to Settings and down to iPod. Go to the video section and select Start Playing. From here you can check From Beginning instead of Where Left Off.

These are just a few useful tips, but there are many more things you can do with the iPod application on your phone. Try them out and see what you can find on your own.

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