Understanding iCloud Control Panel for Windows

Apple launched iCloud Control Panel for Windows which enables synchronization with Microsoft Outlook.

iCloud Control Panel

Do not start using it before you understand how it works. It may cause loosing of your valuable contacts, calendar entries and mails, both in iCloud and your iPhone.

Why?

1. iCloud Control Panel for Windows creates new folders for you iCloud Contacts and Calendar separate from your default .PST file

2. To sync your Outlook Contacts and Calendar with iCloud you need to merge now separated folders. Until Apple come out with a tool for syncing – easiest way is to copy Outlook entries into iCloud folders.

3. Whatever you edit in Outlook iCloud folders or iPhone or www.iCloud.com it is automatically updated on each of these locations. Therefore – whatever you delete in one location it is gone forever in each other – instantaneously.

 

Understanding those 3 facts you can take actions to prevent loosing your data or to do syncing as easy as possible…

Moving data from iCloud folder to any other will cause your entries to be erased both in iCloud and iPhone. Therefore be cautions when using Drag and drop in Outlook.

Copying data from your previous Outlook folders to your iCloud can be easy if you setup list view for your entries.

 

Setting up list view in Contacts folder:

View All Contacts in Outlook

 

Setting up list view in Calendar folder:

View All Appointments in Outlook Calendar

 

Now you have to select items you want to copy (use standard CTRL+A, or CTRL+Click procedures to do so) and copy selected entries to clipboard:

Outlook Calendar Copy items

 

And at the end go to iCloud folder in Outlook and Paste (CTRL+V) selected entries into iCloud folder. It can be done both in Contacts and Calendar folder. Pasted entries will be automatically synchronized with iCloud and therefore with your iPhone/iPad.

iPhone Spotlight Search problem

If you’re using iPhone 4 or iPhone 4s on iOS 5 or iOS 5.0.1 your device might have strange Spotlight Search problem… No matter if your iPhone is brand new, unjailbroken or jailbroken…

Either Spotlight Search is not responding at all, or it is working intermittently – sometimes it does the search instantaneously as it is supposed to be, and the other time it takes minutes to display results.

Strange thing is that people who contacted technical support got answer that Apple stuff is not familiar with the problem.

And yes – there’s a temporary solution until the Apple fixes this in some of the next iOS updates.

The solution is to disable searching your mail.

Just go to the Settings > General > Spotlight Search and uncheck Mail.

 

 

Here’s a YouTube video that illustrates the problem (and the solution).

If someone found out better solution, please do not hesitate to post it as a comment.

Access your PC Desktop from iPhone/iPad

You want to access a Windows application from iPad without sitting by your desktop PC or notebook? Ever wanted to have control over your PC from bed using iPhone? Here’ simple how to access PC from iPhone or iPad.

Among several apps on this topic in iTunes, there’s app which is pretty useful and free, called Mocha Remote Desktop Lite:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/remote-desktop-lite-rdp/id288362576?mt=8
It allows you to control your Windows based PC via Local Area Network or via Internet. We’ll describe how to do it over WiFi in LAN in Windows 7, having in mind that most of the people has that configuration. Note that if your Windows is Home edition you won’t be able to do this.

No matter which remote desktop app you choose, you’ll have to configure your Windows first. Here’s quick instruction how to configure Remote Desktop for Windows 7:
For info on Windows XP follow this link

 

1. Right click on Computer in Start Menu and choose Properties

Windows 7 computer properties

 

 

2. Choose Remote Settings

Windows 7 remote settings

 

 

3. And then enable Remote Desktop by selecting Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop

Windows 7 allow remote desktop connection

Note: You need to have password for your Windows user. If the password is not set you can do it in Control Panel\User Accounts and Family Safety\User Accounts

 

When all in Windows 7 is set you can start Remote Desktop Lite – RDP on your iPhone/iPad and click Configure. You’ll get following screen where you fill in your info.

Mocha RDP config

If you don’t want to be asked for user/password each time enter it… And the main thing is PC Adress. If you’re on the local WiFi – PC address should be name of your computer with \ in front (for example: \Desktop)
For info on connecting your remote desktop over the public WiFi, EDGE or 3G data bearer over Internet go to official app help.

Note: By default Windows policy only one user can be logged at a time with same username, therefore when you log in from your iOS device, you’ll be logged out from your desktop PC and vice versa.

GSMArena Battery Life Test [combined]

Famous cell phones website GSMArena.com is doing heavy battery life tests on some of the top class smartphones.

So far they’ve tested several phones, and we’re trying to combine and compare the results.

Here are cumulative charts for tested phones:

  • Nokia N9
  • Apple iPhone 4s
  • Samsung Galaxy Note N7000
  • Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro
  • Samsung Galaxy S II (the last phone tested so its charts are green)

 

 

Nokia N9 got cumulative score of 39, which means that it needs to be charged every 39 hours if you use 1 hour of each of tested features every day (3G Talk, Web Browsing, Video Playback).

 

 

Sony Ericsson Xperia Pro has good stand-by, but poor video playback performance so it only got an endurance rating of 37.

 

 

Samsung Galaxy Note N7000 is very good if you’re making 3G voice calls, but it is poor in web surfing. This gives it cumulative endurance score of 39, which is same as one of Nokia N9.

 

 

Samsung Galaxy S II will give you 40 hours of battery power if you use it 1 hour a day for 3G calls, web surfing and video playback, which is not bad at all, but still far from iPhone 4s impressive score of 45.

 

 

Apple iPhone 4s is the overall winner of those tests – it has battery endurance score 45. Having in mind that the phone was tested with iOS 5.0.1 which still doesn’t have all of the battery life problems solved. With new iOS update difference in battery life between iPhone 4s and competitors can get even bigger.

Nokia E5 firmware update 081.004

Nokia E5 firmware update is available. So far it is available through PC/OVI Suite via USB cable, not OTA (over the air) by typing *#0000# on your phone.

It is still unknown complete list of updates, but people report:

  • better battery life
  • application performance improvements
  • new and improved function
  • the latest versions of Nokia apps and services
  • faster and more stable browser and more…

Official release notes and firmware version history should be available soon at the Nokia official software update page

iOS 5.0.2 Expectations

It is expected that new iOS update to version 5.0.2 will finally fix all the remaining iPhone battery problems.

The battery is designed for approximately 200 hours. Depending on network configuration and time can also go down rapidly. It is currently being feverishly worked to reduce consumption by Siri, GPS and telephone network. Some data are hardware redundant, ie, too many settings to access the hardware. The device runs energy, if the hardware it requires.

If all goes as planned the iPhone will last longer with 5.0.2. The stated goal is 40 hours standby with 10 hours of use. This is 2x longer than HTC Desire HD, HTC Sensation, Sony Ericsson Arc S or Samsung Galaxy S2. Depending on the network it can also move the numbers down. For example: Someone is sitting in the basement and has no 3G reception and the network has an attenuation of 50%, then the device will search for better network coverage and that works on battery power. Thus, say a user: “the update was great,” because he lives next to a converter, or “my battery life has shortened” because he lives in a poorly developed area or in this area with great variation in the net signal.

There will be also a major update in Spring 2012. to iOS 5.1 which will bring voice commands to Siri. More to come…

Ultimate iPhone battery life tip – 100% working

If nothing helps and your iPhone battery still lasts just several hours, here’s the ultimate tip, the final trick, something which is product of long experience, leaked well kept secret from Apple laboratory…

Follow this tip and your iPhone battery can last more than 4 days!

Use your iPhone less
There is a real life, a life without iPhone in your hand… :)

iPhone Longer Battery Life Tips & Tricks

Not even that iPhone battery life is getting shorter with every newer model, it’s that even new iOS updates are draining your battery (Apple admitted battery life issues with iOS 5 which are solved in iOS 5.0.1 update)

You can do something to make your iPhone battery lasts longer following these tips:

Reset Network Settings
Tap on “Settings” > Reset > Reset Network Settings

Disable Bluetooth
Settings > General > Bluetooth > “OFF”

Disable Notifications & Apps in Notification Center
Settings > Notifications > Turn OFF for anything you don’t need

Disable iCloud
Settings > General > iCloud > Turn everything to OFF

Disable Location Services
Settings > Location Services > Disable selectively for services you don’t use

Disable Time Zone Adjustment
Tap on “Settings” > “Location Services” > ‘System Services’ > Setting Time Zone to OFF

Disable Ping
Settings > General > Restrictions > Enable Restrictions > Ping > OFF

Disable Diagnostic & Usage Reports
Tap on “Settings” > General > About > Diagnostic & Usage > Don’t Send

Delete eMail Accounts, Reset Network Settings, Re-add eMail Accounts
Delete your email accounts by going to “Settings” > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Account Name > Delete Account
Now Reset Network Settings in “Settings > Reset > Reset Network Settings
Reboot the iOS device
Re-add email accounts back in “Settings” > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Add Account

 

Ultimate iPhone battery life tip – 100% working:
Follow this link…

iOS 5.0.1 Released

 

iOS 5.0.1 has been released to the public, the update addresses the battery problems that were associated with iOS 5 and the iPhone 4S and other iPhones running newest iOS 5. It also brings multitasking gestures to the iPad 1 and resolves several other bugs and issues. The update comes as build 9A405 and is highly recommended for all iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users running the newest iOS.

 

Download and Update to iOS 5.0.1

There are several ways to get iOS 5.0.1:

  • Download through Over-the-Air update by tapping on
    “Settings” > “General” > “Software Update” and then tapping on “Download and Install”
  • Download from iTunes: launch iTunes and you will get an update notification

If you’d rather download and install the firmware yourself and you know how to use IPSW files, use the links below.

iPhone 4S
iPhone 4 GSM (AT&T)
iPhone 4 CDMA (Verizon)
iPhone 3GS
iPod touch 4th generation
iPod touch 3rd generation
iPad 1
iPad 2 Wi-Fi
iPad 2 GSM (AT&T)
iPad 2 CDMA (Verizon)

Main release notes are:
- Fixes bugs affecting battery life
- Adds Multitasking Gestures for original iPad
- Resolves bugs with Documents in the Cloud
- Improves voice recognition for Australian users using dictation

 

The iOS 5.0.1 update apparently didn’t resolve every battery issue after all, and some iPhone and iPad users continue to report issues after the update.

The good news is that Apple is aware of the battery issues, and has provided AllThingsD with the following statement:

“The recent iOS software update addressed many of the battery issues that some customers experienced on their iOS 5 devices. We continue to investigate a few remaining issues.”

If you continue to have battery life problems with the iPhone or iOS 5 in general here are some tips & tricks for better battery life on your iPhone.

Use your Nokia as external GPS receiver

You have Nokia phone with built in GPS.
You have a notebook or a tablet with no GPS.
How can you use your Nokia as external GPS receiver?

It is simple using software called Symarctic ExtGPS

The price of the software is only €1.00 and you can find it here:

http://store.ovi.com/content/214223

ExtGPS Screenshot 1

 

Symartic ExtGPS is a application that allows you to use your Nokia S60 3rd Edition mobile phone as an external USB or Bluetooth GPS receiver for PC or Macintosh. It transmits GPS location information in NMEA format to a connected computer. You can use it with Google Earth, Google Maps and other applications that require positioning.

This utility can connect to any Windows 7/XP, Mac OSX or Linux based computer/laptop and share the built-in GPS module of your S60 device with it. Therefore, you don’t need to purchase a separate GPS receiver for use with your desktop computer or while traveling with your laptop. Very suitable for civil engineering and similar jobs.

To use your Nokia like external GPS receiver via USB connection to your notebook, tablet or desktop computer:

  • connect your Nokia via USB in PC Suite mode
  • start ExtGPS and accept both security dialogs (for positioning and connectivity)

ExtGPS Screenshot 2

Instructions how to use it via Bluetooth connection are here

Supported phones: Nokia E51, Nokia E51, Nokia E71, Nokia E72, Nokia E5, Nokia E6, Nokia E7…

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