iPhone Hacks

Chapter 10. APPLICATION HACKS

The iPhone has shown us more clever things to do with a smartphone than ever before.

It seems like the whole world has finally realized a couple of things:

1. Mobile phones are computers.

2. You can never install enough programs on your computer.

This brief chapter provides a grab bag of hacks that weren’t included in earlier chapters, but we felt just had to be included. From music, measurement, and media management to the conspicuously missing ability to cut and paste, and even a BitTorrent client, we round out the capabilities of the iPhone with an eye to the future.

Create Music with the iPhone and iPod touch

A variety of programs lets you create and play music on your iPhone.

The iPhone is many things to many people, and for many it is a musical instrument. Its multitouch screen allows for multiple notes to be played at the same time in a number of simulated instruments—guitars, bass, piano—as well as a real ocarina-inspired wind instrument.

In this hack, we show you a brief sampling of some of the clever musical tools available in the App Store.

The Basics: Silly Instruments

The novelty of the iPhone’s accelerometer wears off after a while, but not until you’ve had the opportunity to try out a silly instrument like iMaracas (Figure 10-1).

Figure 10-1. iMaracas

Although it’s fun, the musical quality of iMaracas probably won’t lure you into spending more on other music ...