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Ivan P

macrumors 68030
Original poster
Jan 17, 2008
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Suggested that a single thread should be created to document features that may not be known to new iPod Touch users, I have created a list of some of the ones more commonly posted about. Feel free to post ones not shown below and I will gladly add it to the list :)

FEATURES

- “DOUBLE TAP” MUSIC SHORTCUT; IN-APP – While running something outside of the Music application (for example, Safari), double tap the Home button to be given on-screen controls to pause, play, skip songs, change volume and be taken to the Music app. This also works when the iPod Touch is locked. UPDATE! This now also works when the iPod is in Cover Flow mode -- no need to any longer complain about the lack of volume/play controls in Cover Flow! UPDATE 2 It appears that doing this shortcut while in Cover Flow has once again, and for unknown reasons, been removed.

- “DOUBLE TAP” MUSIC SHORTCUT; LOCK SCREEN – If you are on the lock screen and want to quickly change tracks or adjust volume, simply double tap the home button and the music controls will appear underneath the date and time.

- LEOPARD-TYPE VOLUME SCREEN – Lock your iPod Touch and double tap the Home button. Now, slowly move the volume slider and at the same time double tap the Home button again. A brief image of a speaker and a volume indicator will appear on the screen. This usually appears when plugged into a Universal Dock, and the volume is changed via remote. UPDATE This appears normally when using the volume controls on a 2nd gen iPod touch to inform the user of the new volume level. The 1st gen, however, still exhibits this bug whenever you use the do the above directions.

- SLIDE TO MUSIC MENUS – Slide/flick your finger from left to right while viewing the “Now Playing” screen to be returned to the previous menu (performs the same function as the back arrow button).

- DELETE VIDEOS STRAIGHT FROM IPOD – When in the Videos app, quickly flick your finger from left to right and a “Delete” button will appear next to the video.

- SWIPE TO DELETE PODCASTS - When viewing the separate episodes of podcasts on your iPod, flick your finger from left to right and a "Delete" button will appear next to the selected podcast.

- SWIPE TO DELETE EMAILS - When browsing your emails list, swipe from left to right to bring up the "Delete" button (much in the same way to deleting videos straight from the iPod).

- VIEW LINK TITLE IN SAFARI – When holding down on a link in Safari, the title and URL of the linked page will appear so you can decide whether or not you want to visit it.

- EASILY FIND POSITION IN TEXT – If you are typing a sentence but realized you left a letter out or need to make an alteration, hold your finger over the text and a magnifying area will appear, easily allowing you to find where you want the cursor.

- DELETE MULTIPLE CHARACTERS/UNDO DELETE – While holding the delete button, slide your finger left to delete multiple characters. If you delete too many, drag your finger the other way to undo.

- CHARACTER ACCENTS – If you need to use a character accent while typing, hold down on a letter and after a moment the range of accents available for that particular character will appear.

- AUTO-PAUSE - The removal of the earphones from the jack will automatically pause your music. UPDATE this still applies to the 2nd gen iPod touch. However, if you are listening to music through the speaker and then insert headphones, it will NOT pause again - the music will continue playing, but will merely be changed to now play through the headphones as opposed to the speaker.

- RAPID-FLIPPING THROUGH CALENDAR - When viewing the calendar by month, select and hold down the arrows on either side of the month to flip through the months very fast; this allows you to check past and future dates that may be of importance.

- .?123 DRAG - If you only want to get a single character from the non-Alpha list. For example if you are need to type "A1", to type the "1" you can click the .?123 button and without lifting your finger go to the "1". After you lift your finger, the "1" will be typed and the keyboard will automatically revert back to the "ABC" mode without needing to click on the "ABC" button again.

- EDIT MUSIC LISTS - When in the Music app, select "More" (bottom right hand corner of the screen when not viewing Now Playing). In the top left hand corner an "Edit" button will appear (with a list including Genre, Compilations, Podcasts, etc appearing below). If you select "Edit", you can drag items (Artists, Albums, Playlists, Songs, Genre, Compilations, Composer, Podcasts, etc) and re-arrange them in a way similar to that of the Home screen.

- KEEP HORIZONTAL POSITION WHILE SCROLLING VERTICALLY IN SAFARI - While in Safari and you are zoomed in on a column to read, while you scroll through it, you might accidentally scroll from left to right, obscuring some of the text. To avoid this, simply scroll as you would, but keep your finger on the very edge of the screen. That way, even if your finger moves to the left and right, the screen will only scroll up and down. This works in landscape mode as well. (Demo video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPsJ1lwuCPI)

- RETURN TO FIRST HOME SCREEN WHILE BROWSING APPS - If you are browsing your apps and wish to return to the first Home screen, simply press the Home button like you would if you were in the app itself. An animation will appear of the iPod flicking past your other Home screens back to the first Home page.

Only available with 1.1.3 and above with the January Software Update (also included in 2.0)

- MOVE ICONS ON YOUR HOME SCREEN - Press and hold any icon on the Home screen and after several seconds they will begin to wiggle; webclips will have a small (x) button to delete them. Press and drag any icon to a desired Home screen or area (you can have up to nine Home screens). You can also have four items in the dock.
- To edit: Drag one icon out of the dock and replace with the desired application.
- Press the Home button to lock the icons in their new positions.

- VIEW LYRICS - If you have added lyrics to your music via iTunes, when on the Now Playing screen, tap the album artwork once to view these lyrics on your iPod.

2.0 Only Features
The following features are only available after buying and upgrading to the 2.0 iPod touch firmware. This update retains the features already mentioned above.

- SCREENSHOTS - To take a screenshot of what is currently being displayed on the iPod, hold down the "Home" button, and while doing so quickly press the "Wake/Sleep" button. The screen will momentarily flash white (much like a Mac when using Photo Booth), and a capture of the screen will be saved to your Photos app.

- GENIUS - To make a Genius playlist on your iPod touch, tap the album artwork on the Now Playing screen to bring up the scrubber/repeat/shuffle controls. You will see the Genius logo directly under the centre of the track scrubber; tapping it will automatically create your Genius playlist (NOTE: you must have Genius enabled in iTunes).

3.0 Only features

- SCRUBBER SPEED - When using the track scrubber, slide your finger down the album artwork to modify the speed at which you forward through the track.

- SHAKE TO SHUFFLE - When activated, shake the iPod while in the music app to shuffle your playlist. This also works if you double-tap the home button while you're on the lock screen and whenever you have the music controls up on the screen.

- ACCESS SPOTLIGHT - When on the home screen, pressing the Home button once will take you to your first page of apps. Pressing it again will take you to the search screen in Spotlight.

- MUSIC SEARCH CONTROLS - When you open a certain field (eg. Artist, Album, Songs, Playlists, etc) in Music, moving the page up will reveal a search box which you can use to find a certain song/album/etc quickly.

- HOME BUTTON SHORTCUTS - Going Settings -> General -> Home allows you to set what opens when you double tap the Home button. These include opening music controls, opening spotlight, or going to the homepage.

- BLUETOOTH - 2G touch only. Pair your iPod with bluetooth stereo headsets and play games against people nearby.

- VOICE NOTES - 2G touch only. If you have a pair of headphones that support a microphone ora microphone that connects to the 3.5mm jack, you can record voice notes.

__________________

FAQ

What is the dock?
The dock is the bottom area of the Home screen on the iPod Touch and iPhone, that by default houses the Music, Videos, Photos and iTunes icons. In firmware 1.1.1 and 1.1.2 the dock was like that of OS X Leopard, with the icons sitting on a reflective "glass" surface; with firmware 1.1.3 and above the dock has become a silver "mesh" like that of the iPhone.

What is the "lock" screen?
The lock screen is the initial screen that is viewed when the Home or Wake/Sleep buttons are pressed to activate the screen; it displays either album artwork or your default wallpaper, the time, as well as a "slide to unlock" button.

What is the "Home" screen?
The Home screen can be accessed by the pressing the Home button (the black, circular button at the bottom of iPod Touch). It features a black background, a dock, and the icons to the applications available on the iPod.

What is "Cover Flow"?
Turn your iPod on it's side (so it sits horizontally) and see the visuals on your iPod adjusted to suit it's new position. Cover Flow allows you to flick through your albums and select tracks, as well as pause and start playback.

1.0? 2.0? What is this?
Any iPod firmware that begins with "1." were free updates for any iPod touch owner, and were released between October 2007 and July 2008. In July 2008, firmware 2.0 was released for a fee of $9.95USD, and includes new features such as the App Store, which allows for the installing of third party applications.

Home? Sleep/Wake? What are these?
The Home button is the circular button below the screen, and is the only button on the front of the iPod touch. On the face of the button is a white square. It's function is to return the user to the Home screen, to wake the iPod from sleep, and to perform shortcuts (such as the double-tap music shortcut).
The Sleep/Wake button is situated on the top, right-hand side of the iPod (when looking at it from the front). The function of this button is to, when tapped, but the iPod to sleep and, when held down for several seconds, to give the user the option to power off the iPod.
Both the Home and Sleep/Wake buttons can be pressed at the same time to take a screenshot.

How do I reset my iPod touch?
If, for some reason, your iPod touch has frozen or appears to not be performing to the best of it's standards, hold down both the Home and Sleep/Wake buttons until the screen turns off and the Apple logo then appears.

How do I power off my iPod touch?
To power off your iPod touch, hold down the Sleep/Wake button until a red slider appears at the top of the screen, saying "Slide to power off". Use the slider to turn your iPod off.

__________________

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND GENERATION IPOD TOUCH

Wi Fi receiver
- The Wi Fi receiver on the first generation iPod touch is situated in the upper left-hand corner of the backplate, and is very square-shaped.
- The receiver on the second generation touch is more of an oval shape and is situated between the upper left-hand corner and the center of the backplate.

Backplate
- The backplate on the first gen touch is rather flat, and curves only at the edges.
- The backplate on the second gen touch is tapered; it's thicker at the middle and curves around to become thinner at the edges (much like the iPhone 3G).

Thickness
- Contrary to what some people say, the second gen touch is actually 0.5mm thicker than the first gen.

Bezel
- The first gen touch has a black aluminum bezel around the screen.
- The second gen touch has a chrome bezel, like the iPhone, which is in fact a continuation of the chrome backplate that curves around to "hug" the screen.

Volume controls
- The first gen touch features no external volume controls.
- The second gen touch has volume controls on the left-hand side of the device (when looking at it from the front).

Packaging
- The first gen touch comes in a black box. "iPod touch", the Apple logo and the device's capacity are embossed on the sides. The front of the box shows the iPod touch playing music (usually the box will display either a Macy Gray or John Lennon song playing).
- The second gen touch comes in a clear plastic box, like the iPod nano and shuffle. Over the iPod is a sticker which shows the default look of the Home screen.

MISCELLANEOUS
- The second gen touch has an inbuilt speaker. The first gen does not.
- The second gen touch has Nike+iPod support, whilst the first gen does not.
- The second gen supports audio recording and headphones with a microphone and volume controls.
 

MorleyD

macrumors newbie
Apr 16, 2008
6
0
NY
Many thanks Ivan! I mean, MANY thanks. I think everyone new to their iPod Touch will benefit from your post and this thread as it develops. Your efforts, and the efforts of everyone else are very much appreciated.
 

mzd

macrumors 6502a
Jul 25, 2005
951
41
Wisconsin
great thread! especially since i have an iPod touch question this morning anyway. so a while back (i think 4g) Apple added the following feature to iPods - unplugging the headphones would pause the music. is this still the case with the touch?
if so, that would be pretty sweet and help make up for the lack of physical buttons. you can always just unplug the jack if you need to pause quickly without fumbling in a pocket, looking down at the screen to unlock, and finally pause.
 

Draythor

macrumors 6502
Sep 12, 2006
427
0
Exeter University, UK
I suggest that this is added to the original post, for ease of viewing.

MOVE ICONS ON YOUR HOME SCREEN: (requires iPod touch with January Software Upgrade)
Press and hold on any icon on your home screen after several seconds all the icons will begin to wiggle and webclips will have a small (x) button to delete them.
press and drag any icon to a desired home screen or area.
You can have up to 4 icons in the dock.
To edit:
Drag one icon out of the dock and replace with desired application.
Press the home button to lock the icons in their new positions.
 

MorleyD

macrumors newbie
Apr 16, 2008
6
0
NY
Draythor, do you mean we can change the position of the icons and also add icons on the unit. I am just a bit unclear what you mean by "the dock." Is that the same as the menu screen that comes up? Unfortunately, I am not yet familiar with all of the terminology. Thanks.
 

MultiFinder17

macrumors 68030
Jan 8, 2008
2,721
2,042
Tampa, Florida
In the calendar app, if you hold down one of the arrows that switches months, it'll switch through the months very quickly. Handy for peering into the past or the future :)
 

4DThinker

macrumors 68020
Mar 15, 2008
2,033
2
Use a left or right swipe across an email in your list to get the DELETE button to pop up.

4D
 

eldridge

macrumors newbie
Feb 1, 2008
4
0
- DELETE MULTIPLE CHARACTERS/UNDO DELETE – While holding the delete button, slide your finger left to delete multiple characters. If you delete too many, drag your finger the other way to undo.

I can't get this one to work. Can you please elaborate. Are you running something specific when you do this or should it work in any text edit?

Thanks.

Also, another tip that I learned here was to do the ".?123 - drag" if you only want to get a single character from the non-Alpha list. For example if you are need to type "A1", to type the "1" you can click the .?123 button and without lifting your finger go to the "1". After you lift your finger, the "1" will be typed and the keyboard will automatically revert back to the "ABC" mode without needing to click on the "ABC" button again.
 

Nitromaster

macrumors 6502
Jan 7, 2007
334
0
Ireland.
You can move the icons for 'Songs' 'Artists' etc around on the music app.
Click More and then select 'Edit'

Found this out myself yesterday, also works on the Youtube app.

Draythor, do you mean we can change the position of the icons and also add icons on the unit. I am just a bit unclear what you mean by "the dock." Is that the same as the menu screen that comes up? Unfortunately, I am not yet familiar with all of the terminology. Thanks.

You can change the icons around on the menu screen, the dock is the 4 icons at the bottom.

great thread! especially since i have an iPod touch question this morning anyway. so a while back (i think 4g) Apple added the following feature to iPods - unplugging the headphones would pause the music. is this still the case with the touch?

Yep :)
 

Ivan P

macrumors 68030
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Jan 17, 2008
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Updated with the new tips, as well as an "FAQ" that explains some things mentioned within these tips.
 

Ivan P

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Jan 17, 2008
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I can't get this one to work. Can you please elaborate. Are you running something specific when you do this or should it work in any text edit?

Thanks.

I found this one in another topic, and is the only one I've never actually tried on my Touch (and at the moment I can't as it's getting serviced)...if other people report that they can't get it to work either then I'll gladly remove it from the list.
 

Ivan P

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Jan 17, 2008
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Update for 2.0?

I am aware that this is a rather large bump, but maybe we could revive this thread for 2.0 features?

And, if any very nice moderators or admins stumble in, make it a sticky topic to prevent overflow of "OMG NEW FEATURE!" topics ;)
 

4DThinker

macrumors 68020
Mar 15, 2008
2,033
2
2.0 feature: Screen capture. Press home and power button at the same time to put an image of the current screen into your photo folder.
 

sam10685

macrumors 68000
Feb 2, 2006
1,763
1
Portland, OR
Excellent post! I don't know if this is the right thread but is there a way in the facebook and AIM application to sign out so you can sign into another screen name? I looked verywhere...
 

PMB

macrumors 65816
Nov 7, 2007
1,045
0
New York
Auto update coverflow, go into coverflow, dubble press home button, and voila, updating coverflow!
 

DarkHeraldMage

macrumors 6502a
Oct 5, 2007
878
0
Fort Worth, TX
- EDIT MUSIC LISTS - When in the Music app, select "More" (bottom right hand corner of the screen when not viewing Now Playing). In the top left hand corner an "Edit" button will appear (with a list including Genre, Compilations, Podcasts, etc appearing below). If you select "Edit", you can drag items (Artists, Albums, Playlists, Songs, Genre, Compilations, Composer, Podcasts, etc) and re-arrange them in a way similar to that of the Home screen.

Does it allow you to display by Album Artist? I'm getting my iPod touch this Friday and I'm holding onto hope that this is possible. It's infuriating to have to browse through artist in iTunes when that's what the album artist field was created for (compilations). Or is that just me? When I have a track that features another artist, I put that in the artist field, not the track (example: Rihanna ft. Maroon 5). It just makes sense. But to keep the CD grouped together since it shows multiple artists, you can set the album artist as Rihanna and it will still show up together.

So what drives me crazy is when burning an mp3/data CD in iTunes or when browsing artist, as far as I know there isn't a way to only view album artist fields. For someone who has thousands of CDs in iTunes, it vastly increases the list of artists when every single ft. track is listed individually. Please someone - provide me with a ray of hope! lol
 

Ivan P

macrumors 68030
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Jan 17, 2008
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Excellent post! I don't know if this is the right thread but is there a way in the facebook and AIM application to sign out so you can sign into another screen name? I looked verywhere...

There doesn't seem to be a way to do it with Facebook, however I believe they released an update to the AIM app that now allows you to sign out easily.

Does it allow you to display by Album Artist? I'm getting my iPod touch this Friday and I'm holding onto hope that this is possible. It's infuriating to have to browse through artist in iTunes when that's what the album artist field was created for (compilations). Or is that just me? When I have a track that features another artist, I put that in the artist field, not the track (example: Rihanna ft. Maroon 5). It just makes sense. But to keep the CD grouped together since it shows multiple artists, you can set the album artist as Rihanna and it will still show up together.

So what drives me crazy is when burning an mp3/data CD in iTunes or when browsing artist, as far as I know there isn't a way to only view album artist fields. For someone who has thousands of CDs in iTunes, it vastly increases the list of artists when every single ft. track is listed individually. Please someone - provide me with a ray of hope! lol

No Album Artists as far as I can tell, sorry.

Also, first post updated with some new tips.
 

Ivan P

macrumors 68030
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Jan 17, 2008
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I know this is a bump...

Honestly, if a mod comes across this could it possibly be stickied? In the last couple hours alone I've come across at least two threads where people ask if others know about features that have been listed in this thread for a very long time.
 

Master Debater

macrumors member
Jul 30, 2008
95
0
Here's another tip that could possibly be added into your list:

While in Safari and you are zoomed in on a column to read, while you scroll through it, you might accidentally scroll from left to right, obscuring some of the text. To avoid this, simply scroll as you would, but keep your finger on the very edge of the screen. That way, even if your finger moves to the left and right, the screen will only scroll up and down. This works in landscape mode as well.

Here's a video to clarify and demonstrate what I said:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPsJ1lwuCPI
 

zero.fx

macrumors member
Nov 19, 2008
31
0
London
yehhhh thanks that was pretty useful to know some of the short cuts, just got mine 2 days ago its really awesome toy
 
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