More on the iPhone-iPod touch

My last post was a listing of 4 iPhone/iPod touch features that I think are pretty nifty. My motivation is, while the device is new, post a few notes, learn a few thing, get more from your gadget while your are still in the learning mode. Bookmark it, come back to it, refresh your memory.

Here are a few more thoughts on my new iPhone.



Cases

A quick break from features and a word on cases for you iPhone. My first iPhone, iPhone v1, of course I wanted a case for it. It was quite an investment and I wanted to keep it nice looking for a long time. I went straight to the Apple store and sought advice, then shelled out $30 bucks for a case that after a week I threw away. Disgusted with the whole affair, I never put the phone back in another case. After 3 years, the front of the phone stayed in pretty good shape, one or two scratches after threes years in my pocket, not bad. The back of the phone, not so much.

This time, I am once again wanting to keep the phone in good shape. Here is what I am looking for:

-Lightweight, I carry the phone on me, no need for additional bulkiness or weight.
-Smooth, something with a rubbery or too textured feel will be difficult to get in and out of my pocket while driving down the road. This was the single reason the last case sucked and was tossed.
-I'm not too worried about the front, the last phone survived ok and Apple says the iPhone 4 front glass has a harder surface.

That's what I need. I think I have found it. iFrogz Luxe Lean . I purchased at Best Buy for $30 and the color selection was better than on the iFrogz website. So far I really liking it.

Enough on cases.

Typing on a touch screen

If I were 12, I'm betting I could type on the iPhone with blazing speed. I'm not 12, am 46. There is plenty of research that adults have an easier time learning to use a tactile feedback mini-keyboard than touch screen. I have not read research that says once adults master a touch screen keyboard that it is any better or worse the tactile feedback. So, learning is what you need with the iPhone. Tips:

- Use your thumbs and use both hands! Don't let yourself poke the keyboard, use your thumbs. Apple designed it with thumbs in mind. I have better luck with the inside-upper-corners of my thumb pads.

- Learn some of the keyboard shortcuts.

Here are some keyboard shortcut.

--Double tap space for a period.
--For capital letters, tap the shift key and slide your thumb to the letter. Tap slide is easier than tap tap.
--For ? ! & = [ ] $, tap the "123" and slide to the character. The keyboard will automatically switch back to "alpha" when you are done and, again, tap slide is easier than tap tap.
--Keep an eye on the results of your typing and not the keyboard. Let auto-fill do its job. When a word is correctly suggested, tap the space to auto-fill.

More from Apple on typing.

Now, while your are learning to type on this tiny keyboard, think about typing on this tiny keyboard. After a while, you will build speed and quit thinking about how to type on the tiny keyboard.

Ok, this post is long enough. More later. Happy New Year. More to come.