2010 iPod + iPhone Buyers' Guide

Article

Ask iLounge 1-23-09

Author's pic

By Jesse David Hollington

Contributing Editor
Published: Friday, January 23, 2009
Category: Ask iLounge

Ask iLounge offers readers the opportunity to get answers to their iPod-related questions from a member of the iLounge editorial team. We'll answer several questions here each week, and of course, you can always get help with more immediate concerns from the iLounge Discussion Forums. Submit your questions for consideration using our Ask iLounge Submit Form. We reserve the right to edit questions for grammar, spelling, and length.

The most asked question at iLounge.com:

How do I copy music from my iPod onto my computer?

Click here for the answer.

The second most asked question at iLounge.com:

How do I put DVDs on my iPod?


For converting DVDs, web video, TV shows and home movies to your iPod, iPhone or Apple TV, we have a three-part series outlining the best formats, settings, and various tools to use for converting all types of video content for use on these devices.

The Complete Guide to iPod, Apple TV and iPhone Video Formats

The Complete Guide to iPod, iPhone and Apple TV Video Conversion (Mac)

The Complete Guide to iPod, iPhone and Apple TV Video Conversion (Windows)

Top five questions most recently asked by iLounge readers:

Q: What are the best speakers to use with my iPod? (15, 76-79, and 90-92)

Q: What are the best headphones to use with my iPod? (10, 72-75, and 90-92)

Q: I really want to get a nice case for my iPod. Do you have any suggestions? (36-37, 54-67, and 90-92)

Q: How can I connect my iPod to my car stereo? (14, 32-35, 68-71, and 90-92)

Q: Are there any batteries that I can use to extend my iPod's battery life? (82-83 and 90-92)

A: Answers to these and many other questions can be found in two places. Our Free iPod Book 3.3 provides a complete report card to all of the iPod accessories we've reviewed as of summer 2007, as well as over 125 iTunes and iPod tips & tricks. Further, our new 2008 iPod & iPhone Buyers' Guide has accessory tutorials at the page numbers listed in parentheses above. These and other publications in our Library are free downloads, developed by the editors of iLounge!

And now, for this week's Ask iLounge column:

Q:

How do I download contacts from my email accounts to my iPod touch? I have tried Yahoo, GMail and Hotmail accounts, but I’m only getting my e-mail—none of my contacts are showing up.

- Ann

A:

The iPhone and iPod touch only support wireless over-the-air transfer of contacts from either Apple’s own MobileMe service or a Microsoft Exchange server. For transferring any other type of contact information, you will need to synchronize it via iTunes on your computer.

iTunes itself supports direct transfer of contacts from your online Google or Yahoo! address books, or from your local Windows Address Book (ie, Outlook Express) or your Mac OS X Address Book application.

You can configure these sync settings by connecting your iPod touch or iPhone to your computer and selecting it from the iTunes Devices list. From the main screen which appears, simply click the “Info” tab to display the settings for synchronizing contacts, calendars, and other related information.

Mac OS X users can choose to synchronize content from their local Address Book and their Google Contracts and Yahoo! Address Book contacts—all contacts are aggregated into the OS X Address Book and onto the iPhone. Windows users are instead given a choice of synchronizing with the Windows Address Book, Google Contacts or Yahoo! Address Book contacts.

Once you have configured these contact synchronization settings, iTunes will automatically sync with the appropriate address book(s) each time you connect your iPhone or iPod touch to your computer.

Q:

I have a desktop Mac and a Powerbook. I am the only user for both, and both use my same iTunes account. I use my desktop for syncing my iPhone. I would like to use Apple’s Remote app for the iPhone to control my laptop. I have no problems setting up the Remote app to wirelessly control my desktop computer. However, when I try to set up Remote for my laptop, it doesn’t work. My laptop’s iTunes accessory list DOES show my iPhone is plugged in, but doesn’t give me the “remote” icon (little circle with a triangle in it) which would let me enable the remote feature. Any ideas? 

- Doug

A:

You can easily use the Remote app for the iPhone or iPod touch to control any number of iTunes libraries and even Apple TV devices. The account that you are using in iTunes or the account that was used to download the Remote app has no bearing on this.

You do not need to physically connect the iPhone to your computer in order to pair the Remote app with your iTunes library, and in fact the Remote app will not use a USB connection to establish this pairing at all. Instead you simply need to ensure that both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network and that iTunes is configured to look for iPhone and iPod touch remotes. This setting should be enabled in iTunes by default, but you can confirm this by going into your iTunes preferences and selecting the Devices tab:

Ensure that the option “Look for iPhone and iPod touch remotes” is selected and click OK.

Once you’ve confirmed the above settings and that both your Powerbook and iPhone are on the same Wi-Fi network, the task of pairing the remote with your Powerbook should be just as simple as it is with your desktop Mac—simply start the Remote app on the iPhone and it should appear in your Devices list in iTunes on the Powerbook.

If you’re still having problems with the Remote app appearing, ensure that you do not have any firewall software running on your computer that might be blocking the network connection between your Powerbook and the iPhone. You can check the default Firewall configuration, or even disable it entirely by visiting your System Preferences, Security panel on Mac OS X Leopard, or System Preferences, Sharing if you’re using Mac OS X Tiger.

Q:

Your review of the iPhone 3G dock does not address the question of whether it will allow phone call audio to come out through the Dock Connector (ie, for those of us who have the Dock Connector to AV and USB cable).

- Teodoro

A:

Actually, the iPhone does not pass phone call audio out via the Dock Connector at all, regardless of the accessory in use. This is not a limitation of the iPhone 3G Dock or other accessories, but rather of the iPhone itself.

This also includes audio from other phone-related services like Visual Voicemail. Basically, any audio that normally plays through the iPhone earpiece will not be redirected through the Dock Connector. This applies even if you are using the iPhone in speakerphone mode—sound will come from the speaker on the bottom of the iPhone and not via the Dock Connector.

Note that the iPhone 3G Dock does include audio vents in the dock itself to pass through audio when used in speakerphone mode. Accessories that integrate with the iPhone for call handling such as the iHome iP47 (iLounge rating: C+) use the Dock Connector to handle non-call audio and a Bluetooth connection for call handling.

Q:

My PC crashed and I lost all of the data in my iTunes library, including the apps that I bought from the iTunes App Store. I don’t have any back up files for these apps, and now I’m trying to update my iPod touch to the 2.2 software and I want to be able to get all of my applications back after the update. Am I going to have to re-purchase all the apps I already bought from App Store and sync them all over again?

- Marvin

A:

Under normal circumstances, upgrading the firmware on your iPod touch will not remove any of the applications from your device, since it does not actually erase any of your data in the process.

However, it would still be a good idea to have a backup of your applications in your iTunes library. The good news is that it is relatively straightforward to do this, since iTunes provides the ability to transfer any purchased content on your iPod touch back into your iTunes library automatically.

To do this, simply ensure that your computer is authorized for the same iTunes Store account that you originally used to purchase these applications. You can do this by choosing Store, Authorize Computer from the iTunes menu and entering your iTunes Store user ID and password.

Once you have confirmed that your computer is authorized, simply connect your iPod touch to your computer, and select File, Transfer Purchases From (your iPod name) from the iTunes menu. iTunes will go through your iPod looking for any content stored on it that was purchased with an iTunes Store account on your computer, and transfer all of the content back into your iTunes library. This includes not only any applications you have purchased, but also any audio or video media content.

One final note: Although it should not be necessary if you follow the above steps, the iTunes Store does permit you to re-download any applications you have already purchased at no additional charge. Simply attempt to buy the application as you normally would, and iTunes will not that you have already purchased it and offer you the option to re-download it for free.

Q:

I received an iPod touch for Christmas. I am a complete newbie to iPods. A few days ago I purchased a beautiful Impact Tech. T24. When I set up, the screen said the device was not compatible for charging. Later, I noticed on the box that the iPod touch was not listed as compatible. It works very well and was a great deal but why won’t it charge (it’s connected to AC, using the adapter) if it plays my music?

- Anonymous

A:

Unfortunately, Apple changed the charging standards with the release of last year’s new iPod lineup, creating a problem with older iPod accessories that not only affects the iPod touch, but also the iPhone 3G and fourth-generation iPod nano.

For a number of years you could charge an iPod using either the 5V power from a USB port, or the 12V power from a FireWire port, and the fourth-generation iPod models even supported both methods for synchronization between your iPod and your computer. With the advent of the fifth-generation iPod in September of 2005, Apple discontinued support for FireWire synchronization, but continued to support FireWire charging until only the most recent models.

Approximately two years ago Apple did advise their accessory partners that FireWire charging would be going away at some unspecified future point, but not only did some accessory manufacturers continue to use this method (ironically including Apple themselves with their own iPod Hi-Fi speaker system), but there are a wide range of older accessories available that have not yet been updated.

As you’ve observed, this only applies to charging the iPod touch—you will still be able to play music through your speakers subject to your available battery life. If charging while listening to your iPod touch is important, then you may want to consider purchasing an inline charging adapter such as the Scosche PassPort, which will convert the voltage and connections appropriately to allow your older speakers to charge the newer iPod models.

Q:

I’m a 15 year old guy from Belgium and I have a question. Sometimes when we are watching TV we realize that our computers (Windows) are still logged on. As they are not in the same room, nobody wants to go upstairs to shut them down. It would be nice if I could just grab my iPod touch and shut them down remotely. My iPod and both PC’s are in the same network. Is there an app that will let me do that easily or is there another way? Thank you in advance.

- Yasser

A:

Although there are not yet any applications that will specifically provide Windows Management functions such as remote shutdown, there are a wide range of more fully-featured remote control applications available from the iTunes App Store, both for Windows and Mac.

There are a couple of popular methods for remote controlling a Windows computer. Windows’ own Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) can be used with a compatible RDP or Terminal Services client. To use an RDP client with Windows, you simply need to enable the Windows “Remote Desktop” feature in your System control panel.

Alternatively, you can look at apps which use the VNC protocol. This would require you to install a small VNC server app on each of your computers, but these apps also have the advantage of working with other computer platforms such as Mac and Linux, and can even be used across the Internet when properly configured.

Some of these applications are relatively expensive due to the level of remote control functionality that they provide, but there are also a few basic ones that can be found on the App Store. A search for “VNC” or “RDP” will turn up a plethora of options.



Ask iLounge Archives:

10-30-09: Authorization problems with iPod touch, Changing Grid View background in iTunes, iTunes library and Music Folder are different sizes, Older iPods and firmware updates, Reconciling two different iTunes libraries, Syncing multiple devices to one iTunes library

10-23-09: Using a laptop with an iTunes library on an external hard drive, Transferring YouTube videos to iPod, iPod touch accessibility settings, Disabling Shake to Shuffle on iPod nano, Purchased songs fail to download from iTunes Store, Charging and powering off iPhone

10-16-09: Moving iTunes to a new computer, Transferring contacts from Blackberry to an iPhone, Disabling iPhone Backups, Using AV cables for audio only, Problems syncing photos to iPod touch, Memorex iFlip and iPhone compatibility

10-9-09: iPhone OS and external keyboards, Adjusting ratings in a remote iTunes library, Excluding tracks from Genius Mixes, Moving iTunes library out of My Documents, Playlist folders on iPod touch, Refreshing random Smart Playlists

9-25-09: iTunes 9 and Shopping Cart, Restoring iTunes to an external hard drive, Using an HTTP Proxy over 3G, Problems transferring movies from iTunes to IPhone, iPod touch shuffle mode, Using an iPhone without a SIM card

See the rest of the Archives...

Next: iPhone Gems: Burning Tires, Downhill Bowling, Flight Stunts, Hellfire + Saturday Night Fever

Previous: FAQ: CEA and iLounge's CES 2010 Pavilion for iPod and iPhone Vendors

Comments

1

I have just purchased an ipod touch(2nd Gen.) and want to download ONLY music and videos that I purchsed from the itunes store—how do I do this?

  Thanks for your help

Posted by james cannon on January 26, 2009 at 9:45 AM (PDT)

2

Nuevasync does over-the-air sync of Gmail contacts and Gcal, and its free (at least for now).  There were some service issues a couple of weeks ago when they rolled out read-only/multiple calendar support, but that all seems to be taken care of.

Posted by Jacob on January 27, 2009 at 12:13 PM (PDT)

3

I just noticed that there does not seem to be a way to delete duplicate entries in a Smart Playlist. So, how do you delete anything from a Smart Playlist ? (there is NO delete selection in the right click menu)

Posted by dwr50 on January 28, 2009 at 9:49 AM (PDT)

4

To answer my own question #3. I have discovered the Live Update feature causes the problem. To stop duplicate entries in Smart Playlists : Turn off Live update. When you do, you will also get a Delete selection in the right click menu.

Posted by dwr50 on February 2, 2009 at 9:42 AM (PDT)

5

My music library is too big to keep on my C drive. Is it possible to permanently change the location of the library to an external hard drive attached to the computer? I don’t want it to just be a copy but rather the library copy that will be used to sync with my ipod and the one to which I will add new music. TIA

Posted by pat on February 3, 2009 at 7:29 PM (PDT)

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