July 25, 2011
In iOS 4 apps keep running when you open them, and there's an easy way to move among them as you work. Double-click the Home button to produce a scrolling list at the bottom of the screen showing all the running apps, starting on the left with the one most recently used. Scroll through the list as necessary and tap the app you want to switch to. This makes moving back and forth among your mail, calendar, and contacts satisfyingly simple, likewise moving between the book you're reading and changing the music playing through your nearby AirPlay speakers. To remove apps from the scrolling lists, press and hold one till they all start jiggling, then tap the X on ones you want to remove. (You'll need to restart them the next time you want to use them.)
If you scroll left when you first bring up the scrolling list you'll go directly to your music player controls -- play/pause, forward, and back on iPhone and iPod touch (and a control for locking and unlocking the screen in portrait orientation), and on the iPad, play/pause, forward, and back, plus volume, mute, and AirPlay controls.
July 18, 2011
Use the iPod app on iPhone, and iPad, and the Music app on iPod touch to create playlists directly on your devices, and then edit them there as well. On the iPhone and iPod touch, begin by tapping the Playlists tab on the bottom left, and then Add Playlist just below Genius Playlist at the top of the list. On the iPad tap the Add button (which has a plus sign) on the bottom left. In either case name your playlist, then use the Add button to add the songs you want. You can use the tabs -- Songs, Artists, Albums, Genres, Composers -- to navigate your library, and the Add All Songs or Albums option at the top of the lists you'll likely see. (If you've already navigated down a list, scroll down to see the Add All option if it's available.) When you've added all you want, use the Done button on the top left.
You can also edit playlists you've created on a device. On the iPhone and iPod touch, tap the playlist, then tap the Edit button on the top at the left and use the minus buttons on the left to remove songs, or the Delete button on the top right to remove the whole playlist (this will not delete any songs from your device). The Clear button removes all the songs from the playlist but not the playlist itself. To add songs to the playlist, tap the Add button on the top right and proceed as you did when you created the list. Tap Done at the top when you're finished. On the iPad, tap the playlist you want to edit and then the Songs tab on the bottom left. Use the Edit button that will appear on the top right and the minus buttons to remove songs or the whole playlist. To add songs tap the Add Songs button next to Done on the top. Tap Done when you're finished.
July 11, 2011
You can download previously purchased music, books, and apps to your devices or computer -- regardless of which one you used to buy it -- with iTunes in the Cloud beta. In iTunes 10.3, you'll find a new Purchased link in the Quick Links section of the iTunes Store. Click it to access the Purchased page, where you can navigate among your music, app, and book purchases. On the right, you'll see a tab that lets you choose between All, which displays your complete purchase history for that category, and Not In My Library, which lets you find items you've purchased but don't have in your computer's library. Click the iCloud Download button next to each item to download them one by one, or click the iCloud Download All button at the bottom.
On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch (using iOS 4.3.3 or later), you'll see a new Purchased tab on the bottom right in iTunes and iBookstore. In the App Store, you'll find it on the bottom right on the iPad and under Update on the iPhone and iPod touch. In iTunes, tapping Purchased produces a scrolling list sorted by Artist with a Recent Purchases section at the top. To look quickly for songs and albums you've recently bought (up to 50) but didn't automatically download to the device you're holding, tap Not On This (Device) at the top and then Recent Purchases. Use the iCloud Download button or tap Download All to download what you want.
July 5, 2011
iTunes Festival brings you 31 consecutive nights of live music from the Roundhouse in London, and you can view it all for free on your computer, iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. To tune in, just click the iTunes Festival banner on the main iTunes Store page on your computer, or download the free iTunes Festival London 2011 app from the App Store. You can navigate the calendar of artists and watch them perform live each night (BST time). On iOS devices, the Gigs tab in the app displays the calendar and the Live tab shows the current concert or the countdown to the next one. Additionally, you can use AirPlay to watch on your television with your Apple TV. Don't worry if you miss a live show -- on-demand streams of most concerts will be available for a limited time after the performances, and you can also download and own concert EPs.
