iPhone: The Missing Manual, 2nd Edition

In the Box

Inside the minimalist box, you get the iPhone, its earbud/mike cord, and:

• The charging/syncing cable. When you connect your iPhone to your computer using this white USB cable, it simultaneously syncs and charges. (See Chapter 13.) The original iPhone came with a white desktop dock, which you could use instead. (The same cable plugged into that dock instead of straight into the iPhone.)

• The AC adapter. When you're traveling without a computer, though, you can plug the dock's USB cable into the included two-prong outlet adapter, so you can charge the iPhone directly from a wall socket. The one that comes with the iPhone 3G is especially tiny and compact.

  Note

  You may have noticed one standard cellphone feature that's not here: the battery compartment door.

  The battery isn't user-replaceable. It's rechargeable, of course—it charges whenever it's in the white dock or connected via the USB cable—but after 300 or 400 charges, it will start to hold less juice. Eventually, you'll have to pay Apple to install a new battery (Warranty and Repair). (Apple says that the added bulk of a protective plastic battery compartment, a removable door and latch, and battery retaining springs would have meant a much smaller battery—or a much thicker iPhone.).

• Finger Tips. Cute name for a cute fold-out leaflet of iPhone basics.

• A screen cloth. This little pseudo-suede cloth wipes the grease off the screen, although your clothing does just as well.

• A SIM eject pin. The iPhone 3G comes with a tiny, laser-cut, stainless silver tool that you can push into the SIM hole shown on Sleep Switch (On/Off). (Missed yours? It's attached to the black cardboard of the inner box "shelf.") Apple couldn't stand the thought of your using some ugly bent paper clip to pry out that card.

What you won't find in the box (because it wouldn't fit) is a CD containing the iTunes software. You're expected to have a copy of that on your computer already. In fact, you must have iTunes to use the iPhone (Chapter 13).

If you don't have iTunes on your computer, you can download it from www.apple.com/itunes.