iPhone 4 Accessories

Apple iPhone - iPhone 4 Questions

I just bought an iPhone 4 a couple of weeks ago & I have a few questions.

1. When I bought it the guy in the store said I could get a phone directory on it. Does anyone know how to do this?

2. I was looking for a docking thing for it that has speakers so I can play my I phone music at home or on my deck. Does anyone know of a reasonably priced half decent one that allows you to put your iPhone on it without taking it out of the case?

3. Can you get some type of adapter that you can plug into your car so that you can play your iPhone music in your vehicle? I used to have this for my iPod.

I was also looking for a case with a clip on it or armband so I can use my iPhone on the treadmill. I ordered one & it was discontinued so I have now ordered another one from Future Shop & hope it will be what I want when it comes. This type of thing is extremely hard to find.

If anyone can help by answering my questions I would appreciate it.

iPhone Accessories
There are hundreds if not thousands of accessories for the iPhone 4. Without you giving some specifics as to what you are looking for, it is hard to make suggestions, other than to tell you to Google "iPhone 4 accessories" or such, or look at the Apple Store site.

If the car adapter uses a 30-pin connector, then you may need to get a adapter for it. Start by looking at Scosche adapter to get an idea. Or upgrade the car adapter. The power through the 30-pin connector is different for the older iDevices that used FW for carging and syncing. In my case it was easy to upgrade the cord for my car adapter.

On my night stand I use the Apple Universal Dock, and the acoustics are such that it slightly amplifies the volume, otherwise do a search, there are tons of them out there.

Directory, yeah, one such is enter dexknows.com in Safari or other web browser. OR Google, Bing or a hundred other apps, for specific or general searches.

The "power through the 30-pin connector" is the only thing that was not obvious or you could not have easily started searching for on your own.

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1. Directory: By this, I assume you mean a phone directory. I simply use my web browser and either search Google or go to WhitePages.com.

2. "Docking thing" with speakers: You have hundreds of choices, ranging from $10 to almost $1000. I can recommend docking speakers from iHome and inMotion, both available on Amazon. Target, WalMart, Best Buy, and Staples also sell similar accessories.

3. Car usage: Anything that worked ith your iPod may also work with your iPhone. Cars have different connection capacities. If you have an AUX jack, simply run a cable (available online or at Radio Shack for less than $10) from your iPhone's headset jack to the AUX jack.

4. Armband/clip cases: Again, you have loads of choices. Search on Amazon for "iPhone 4 case armband".

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I have seen armbands pretty cheap on eBay too.

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Be VERY careful about buying an iHome dock. I bought my daughter one for her iPod touch, and it doesn't work for her 3Gs. I tried to buy one that works for the 3Gs, and it didn't, it just worked for the 3G. I imagine the same debacle applies to the iPhone 4 - it takes a while for iHome to catch up with the new models, and even when they do, there is a lot of inventory left of the older ones that they will try to unload. The packaging does NOT make it clear what it is compatible with!!!

As to the iHome itself, BEWARE if you want a halfway decent radio to go along with the iPod capability!

If you leave the iPhone plugged up, there is so much interference from it you won't get hardly any radio stations.

If you are in a city 20 miles or less from major FM stations, it will probably work. But in that case do NOT unwrap the FM antenna wire! If you do you will get images all over the dial, and any rimshots you were after will probably be covered up by an image of a local station. BAD design - it would take one of my ceramic filter mods to fix the problem, which is hardly worth it.

AM has NO internal antenna, only a small connector on the back for one of those woefully inadequate little loops. I don't even know if the little loop is supplied with the iHome. Without it - no AM at all. My daughter either didn't keep the loop or it wasn't supplied. I put a decent loop on there, and found out the selectivity is broad as a barn door, which means you will get stations mixed together. Again - badly in need of a narrower ceramic filter. Sensitivity was amazing, however, with a decent sized loop.

Bottom line for iHome:

--- You better cross check the model number in advance for compatibility.

--- Don't buy it for the radio unless you are ready for some major hardware hacking to make it adequate.

--- Don't throw away the little loop or AM will be disabled.


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I have a Sony dream machine that has incredible sound and charges the phone. None of the other speakers I have has this sound for a small unit (not even prior dream machines).