Learn how to teach Siri about your mother, father, brother, sister, spouse, fiancé, and so on, so you can reference relationships in voice commands instead of contact names.
How to teach Siri who your mother, father, wife, or friends and family are
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Apple patent suggests whether best to call or text
While in the middle of being told Apple is washed-up, a has-been being overtaken by Android, comes a patent which reminds us the company actually has some good ideas left.
Take, for instance, those annoying calls which seem to arrive in the middle of dinner. The gear heads at Apple also find them annoying and created a way to put you in control of who calls you when and whether a text might suffice. Particularly when you have a mouth of spaghetti.
The granted patent describes a "system for facilitating contacting people using electronic devices."
Instead of taking the usual path most technology firms selling smartphones would follow - creating multiple ways to blast messages to you - Apple goes for a more zen-like approach, realizing that understanding when not to make a call could make for the ultimate smartphone...
Facebook begins rolling out free Messenger VoIP feature to the US
Earlier this month, we told you that Facebook had added a free VoIP calling feature to its Messenger app in Canada. It was clearly a test, to ensure that the social network's servers could handle the added bandwidth. And apparently the tests went well.
Today, many users, including us, have noticed that Facebook has quietly started rolling out the VoIP feature to the US version of its Messenger app. It comes by way of a new 'Free Call' button, which will allow you to telephone your FB contacts for free...
Test finds that Sprint iPhone 5 has the best call quality
According to Apple, the iPhone 5 has much better call quality than its predecessor thanks to its new wideband audio technology. Unfortunately, no US carrier supports this feature yet.
This means that call quality on your iPhone 5 still greatly depends on your location and who your service provider is. And according to a new report, Sprint is the one to beat in this category...
RingerX VIP Now Available on Cydia
[tube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gL4hO0zvYGM[/tube]
A couple of days ago we provided you with an in-depth preview of RingerX VIP, the jailbreak tweak that lends fine grain control over your iPhone's vibrate and ringing behaviors. It's now available for download on Cydia's BigBoss repo. If you haven't seen our preview, be sure to check it out.
RingerX VIP: Control Ringer and Vibrate Behavior for Calls and Messages
Don't you just hate it when you miss an important call because you forgot to turn your iPhone's mute switch off? Or what about that one annoying person that always calls at 3 in the morning? Wouldn't it be nice if you could forever silence their calls?
With RingerX VIP, all of these scenarios feature easy solutions.
This is a jailbreak tweak for those who require fine grained control over how various contacts are treated whenever they call you or message you...
Add Calling and Messaging Shortcuts to Your Home Screen with QuickContact
The current trend of finding ways to get icons on an iOS device's Home screen with the intent of creating shortcuts for actions is nothing new. It was originally one of the big jailbreak advantages, and now it's back. This time, you don't need to jailbreak anything.
QuickContact is the latest in a long line of apps that offer the user a way to create shortcuts on the Home screen, and now sending SMS messages and making phone calls are the order of the day.
The best part about this is the fact it's not actually an app at all, but rather a web app.
iPhone Owners Complaining of Mysterious Mute Bug on Outbound Calls
Apple launched its latest handset, the iPhone 4S, in October of last year. And while the company seems to have corrected the infamous antenna problem, the device has still had its fair share of issues.
From its poor battery life — which is more than likely iOS 5 related — to its Sprint data speed troubles, users have had multiple complaints regarding the handset. And now it looks like we can add another problem to the list...
Apple’s Latest Patent Victory: In-Call Multitasking
Apple is having quite the week, especially considering we are just a few short days away from Christmas. First, the lawyers Apple keeps in a Cupertino basement successfully got the ITC to ban HTC's handsets due to a patent infringement, and now the company has been granted yet another patent to beat the competition with.
The patent awarded is for a "portable electronic device with graphical user interface supporting application switching." That may sound extremely wide-reaching, but we are told that things get a little more specific than that, should Apple actually decide to wield this particular club.
What the patent boils down to is the ability to multitask during a call, something the iPhone was praised for back in the day...
Does Your iPhone 4S Audio Echo During a Call?
Battery life isn't the only complaint about Apple's newest smartphone. Customers are reporting an issue with the device's audio echoing during a voice call.
An Apple discussion thread is alive and kicking with hundreds of disgruntled iPhone 4S users that are complaining about an audio echo on the other end of the call when talking on the phone via an Apple hands-free headset.
And we thought that no one used a smartphone to actually call people anymore...
HiddenCalllog: Keep Prying Eyes Out of Your Call History
Want to keep nosey people out of your call history? Then this simple, yet effective jailbreak tweak entitled HiddenCalllog, might be just what the doctor ordered.
HiddenCalllog makes it easy to quickly disguise yourself as one who has absolutely no friends that care to call you, ever.
Great for keeping nosey folks out of your call log, perhaps not so great in various other situations...
FunnyCaller: Customize Caller ID for Incoming Calls
If you've had an iPhone (or any smartphone) over the last few years, chances are you've seen Caller ID spoofing. Basically, it's an app that will change your outbound Caller ID information when making a phone call.
But most of the apps for the iPhone are sketchy, and usually require money after the first few calls. Luckily, infamous jailbreak developer moeseth has created a similar tweak to help feed your inner prankster...