Tag: iphone

Shared Calendars on the Mac & iPhone with Google Sync

Today I have been attempting to set up Google Calendar so that it automatically synchronises with an iPhone and also iCal on a Mac computers. It was a bit trickier than I expected, so here are some of my observations. Hopefully they will help someone else!

Google Sync 

Here are some of the main things you need to remember to do:

  1. Make sure you have enabled Google sync for mobiles in your Google Apps account. From your Google Apps Dashboard, click the Mobile link. Then tick the Enable Google Sync box on the next page and press save.
  2. Set up Google Sync on your iPhone to sync calendars and contacts from Google. Basically you just add a Microsoft Exchange account with your google apps login details, and then select calendars and contacts in the syncing options.
  3. You must also choose which calendars you want to sync to your iPhone via the Google Mobile website. Visit http://m.google.com in Safari on your iPhone.

iCal

You can set up iCal to subscribe to your Google Calendars via a caldav url. First you add a new account under preferences, and then under the delegation tab you select the calendars you wish to subscribe to.

Sharing Google Calendars 

You can share a calendar with other users in your google apps domain, or external users on other domains. There are various ways to do this such as sending a link to the ical url or sending an invite within the calendar sharing pages on the Google Calendar website.

How to upgrade iphone 3.0 beta to full official release

If you are an iPhone developer and have been running one of the beta versions of the 3.0 firmware then you might find that iTunes will not update you to the latest official 3.0 release, as it already thinks you are using the most recent version.

It’s taken me a while, but I’ve finally found out how to do it!

NB: Before you do anything, make sure you have backed up your phone in case something goes wrong!

  1. Download the latest firmware directly from Apple’s Content Delivery Network:
  2. The file may have a .zip extension, if so remove this by renaming the file so that it ends with .ipsw
  3. Open up iTunes, and Option-Click the restore button. You should then select the ipsw file you downloaded.
  4. Follow the on-screen instructions as it upgrades your firmware.

Warning – do this at your own risk. It may break your phone.

iPhone 3.0 Software Update

Apple held a media event today to announce the new iPhone OS 3.0 firmware update. The new software adds many new features to the iPhone including:

  • Copy and Paste – at last! Speaks for itself.
  • Bluetooth Stereo (presumably A2DP) – allowing you to stream high quality audio between devices. This will be great for in car audio systems, no dongles required!
  • Bluetooth P2P – uses bonjour to automatically discover nearby phones, allowing peer-to-peer applications and (hopefully) file transfers.
  • Spotlight Search – search across mail, calendar and other 3rd party applications.
  • Tethering – allows the phone to be used as a modem for your laptop other computers.
  • Messages App – can now forward and delete individual messages. Supports MMS, and can send and receive files and contact cards.
  • Push Notifications – allows the phone to receive notifications over the air from a 3rd party’s server – e.g. useful for instant messaging.
  • Voice Memos – record audio notes.
  • Landscape Keyboard – rotated keyboard now works with most built-in apps.
  • Turn by Turn Directions – spoken directions available as part of the core location API.
  • 3rd Party Accessories – better support for interfacing with 3rd party accessories via bluetooth and the dock connector. The iPhone could be used to control other hardware.
  • In-App Purchases – extra content maybe purchased from within an app, e.g. e-books for a reader app (kindle), or extra levels for a game.

iphone-30-firmware

That’s pretty much everything I could have wanted in the new firmware – and more! The only extra thing I will be looking for in the next hardware version is video calling.