Article
Ask iLounge 6-12-09
By Jesse David Hollington
Contributing Editor
Published: Friday, June 12, 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.
How do I copy music from my iPod onto my computer?
Click here for the answer.
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, iPhone and Apple TV Video Conversion (Mac)
The Complete Guide to iPod, iPhone and Apple TV Video Conversion (Windows)
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!
Q:
I assume that the boot up process on the iPhone uses more energy than when the phone is in sleep or Airplane mode. Let’s say you need to periodically check your iPhone for email or voicemail, but don’t need to know immediately if either of these things happen. At what point does it pay to turn your iPhone off and on, as opposed to putting it into Airplane/sleep mode, to maximize your battery life?
- Tom
A:For the most part, leaving the iPhone in Airplane Mode and otherwise sleeping with the screen off will significantly reduce battery drain. The main source of power consumption on the iPhone is the cellular and Wi-Fi radios and the iPhone screen itself.
While turning the iPhone off entirely will obviously consume even less battery, the difference in battery consumption compared to sleeping the iPhone in Airplane mode is relatively small. Further, although the startup process will consume some additional power, this is also fairly minimal, although obviously higher than simply putting the iPhone to sleep in Airplane mode.
Another important consideration is the time it takes to wait for your iPhone to boot back up after powering it off. Considering that powering off the iPhone entirely doesn’t result in any significant reduction in power consumption versus simply putting it to sleep in Airplane mode, it’s probably not worth the additional wait time when you want to actually use your iPhone.
Keep in mind that the iPhone can easily get more than 24 hours of audio playback time on a full charge, even with the cellular and Wi-Fi radios turned on. Further, our tests with the iPhone 3G have actually shown playback time in excess of 29 hours while in Airplane mode. Without audio playback, the iPhone could remain sleeping in normal mode for a couple of days, and would last in Airplane mode even longer.
Note that you should always return your iPhone to the home screen before putting it to sleep. Some applications will consume power even when the iPhone is in sleep mode and Airplane mode. One such example is the iPhone Camera app, which keeps the camera powered on even when the device has gone to sleep. Leaving the Camera app running can drain your battery very quickly even when you’re in Airplane mode and have other power-draining features turned off.
I am looking for an application that I can use to write notes on my Macbook that will then sync these notes to the Notes app on my iPhone. I currently use Mac Notepad, which is great for jotting down information or addresses but it doesn’t sync with my iPhone so I cant take that info with me. Any suggestions?
- Adam
A:The bad news is that there are presently no third-party apps available that can sync information with the iPhone Notes application, as iPhone developers can’t normally access the data in applications unless Apple specifically allows it through the iPhone SDK. This means that unless you’ve jailbroken your iPhone, it will not be possible to find a third-party app that can read or write the iPhone Notes database.
The good news, however, is that with the iPhone 3.0 OS update, being released next Wednesday (June 17th), iTunes itself will sync your Notes from the iPhone and iPod touch Notes app to the Notes section in Leopard’s Mail app. While this still does not directly solve the problem of using your own notepad application, you may find it worthwhile to switch to the Notes in Apple Mail is this sync capability is important to you. Further, this opens up the possibility of developers syncing with the iPhone Notes indirectly; they can sync with the Apple Mail Notes, which will in turn be synced to the iPhone or iPod touch via iTunes.
Be sure to check out our Complete Guide to iPhone OS 3.0 for some of the new features that are expected to show up in the 3.0 update next week.
If there are apps and games for my iPod touch on my computer, and I get a new iPod touch will they automatically be synced onto my new iPod touch?
- Rory
A:Essentially, yes. Applications stored in your iTunes library can be synchronized to any number of iPhone or iPod touch devices that are associated with your library. When you first connection your new iPod touch to your computer, iTunes will ask you to name your iPod touch and choose what types of content you would like to sync to it. In addition to choosing to automatically sync music, videos and photos, you should see an option to automatically sync applications.

This option is selected by default, in which case all of the apps that are presently in your iTunes library will be synced to the iPod touch.
When enabled for synchronization, apps are always synced to your device automatically, even if you are managing your music and video content manually. There is no “manual mode” for applications, although you can specify which applications you want synced to your device by selecting it in the iTunes Devices list, and then choosing the “Applications” tab from the main panel.

By default, iTunes is set to sync all applications that are in your iTunes library to your iPod touch or iPhone. To select individual applications, simply choose “Selected Applications” and specify which applications you would like to sync. Note that any applications that you DE-select will be removed from your device on the next sync, including any date stored in those applications as well.
I was wondering if it is possible to put a pop-up blocker on the iPod touch?
- Katie
A:Actually, the iPod touch already includes a pop-up blocker option which can be found under your device’s settings. Simply choose the Settings app from your iPod touch home screen, and then scroll down and choose the “Safari” option. On this screen you will see an option labelled “Block Pop-ups.”

Enabling this option will prevent Safari on your iPod touch from opening any pop-up windows except those opened directly by links that you specifically tap on.
Can I sync my new iPhone 3G S with the same iTunes library as my iPod classic?
- Allison
A:Most definitely. The iPhone 3G S will simply sync to your iTunes library like any other iPod device would, and you can easily sync multiple iPods and iPhones with the same iTunes library.
When you first connect your iPhone to your computer, iTunes will take you through a quick setup wizard to ask you how you want to sync content with it. After that, it will simply show up in your iTunes Devices section in the same way that your iPod classic does. You can even have both your iPod classic and iPhone connected at the same time. In fact, there’s no practical limit to the number of iPod, iPhone and Apple TV devices that you can simultaneously.

iTunes maintains separate sync settings for each device, so you could for instance choose to sync all of your content with your iPod classic while only syncing selected playlists with your iPhone 3G S, or you could choose to manage the content on one device manually and use automatic sync for the other.
On my iPod touch, how can I automatically play the next album when the one I’m listening to has finished?
- Matt
A:How the content on your iPod is played depends largely on where you are selecting that content from. When you select a track from an individual album listing, the iPod will only play to the end of that album and then stop. To play multiple albums by the same artist, simply choose the artist from the “Artists” section, select “All Songs” and then start playing from there. Similarly, you can play multiple albums within a specific genre by selecting the Genre and then choosing “All Albums” followed by “All Songs.”
For more precise control, you can place your albums in a playlist, either by building the playlist in iTunes itself and then transferring it to your iPod touch, or by using the On-The-Go playlist to build a playlist on your device - you can easily add entire albums to the On-The-Go playlist by browsing into each album and choosing the “Add All Songs” option.

Ask iLounge Archives:
11-20-09: Sharing iTunes libraries between two user accounts, Enlarging text on iPhone 3GS, Transferring an iPod to a new user, iPhone shuffles when walking, New 8GB iPod touch models, Transferring purchases from a remote iTunes library
11-13-09: Syncing different contact info with two iPhones on the same computer, iPod shows no content, Syncing music and videos in playlists, Exclamation marks next to tracks in iTunes, Playing podcasts on 3G iPod shuffle.
11-6-09: Storing iPod software updates, Playing an iPod continuously, Transferring play counts to a new iTunes library, iPhone backups, Klipsch S4i earphones
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
Next: iPhone Gems: Circuit_strike.one, Prey Invasion, Real Tennis 2009 + Star Defense
Previous: Weird + Small Apps 17: The Mini-Puzzle & Casino Game-Inspired Edition
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1
I have the iPhone 3G S and I noticed the new Belkin grip ergo case and loved the look, but Belkin doesn’t provide too many pics of the case. Will you have reviews of it soon? Also, I don’t see much about the DS style cases for the iPhone 3G S, any reviews?
Posted by dragan plavsic on June 23, 2009 at 6:50 PM (PDT)