Tap a name or number to call from Contacts, a website, a map, or a text message. Or activate Voice Control and speak a name or number to make a call.

Visual Voicemail shows you a list of your messages, so you can play them in any order. Easily rewind to any point in a message, in case you missed something.

Contacts on iPhone is more than just a list of names and numbers. Tap a contact's address and iPhone automatically launches the Maps application so you can get directions. Add photos as part of your contact information and see your friends' faces every time they call. Scroll through Contacts with a flick, or search to find a specific name fast.

With iPhone, you can do more than one thing at a time. While you’re on a call, you can check your Calendar, do a quick Google search, even send an MMS message. Or you can switch between calls, merge calls, or add up to five callers to create an instant conference call.

Contacts sync via iTunes each time you connect iPhone to your Mac or PC. To keep them in sync wirelessly and automatically, sign up for a MobileMe account. If you use iPhone at work, get push contacts from your company directory via Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync.

Browse and download ringtones from the iTunes Store on your iPhone. Then assign ringtones to people in your contacts list, so you always know when your mother, your best friend, or your boss is calling.

Flick to scroll through songs, artists, albums, and playlists. Flick through music by album artwork with Cover Flow. Shake iPhone to shuffle songs. And don’t worry about missing a call. The music pauses when iPhone rings, and a pinch of your headset microphone answers the call.

Shop the iTunes Store right on iPhone and choose from millions of songs you can download via Wi-Fi or your cellular network. Even download movies and TV shows.

Watch video on the 3.5-inch widescreen display. Just tap to bring up video controls whenever you need them.

Say you’re listening to a song and you want to hear other tracks like it. The Genius feature finds songs that go great together and makes a Genius playlist for you. You can even generate a Genius playlist from Voice Control. Just ask iPhone to "play more songs like this." Or try Genius Mixes and you don’t even have to choose a song. iTunes automatically creates multiple mixes based on what’s in your music library.

On Safari, you see the real web — not a stripped-down mobile version — whether you’re connecting via Wi-Fi, 3G, or EDGE. iPhone always connects you to the fastest network available.

Zoom in and out of websites with a double tap or a pinch. For a larger view, rotate iPhone 90 degrees to landscape. The web page rotates and fills the screen.

Save and sync bookmarks.

When you bookmark sites on iPhone, those bookmarks sync with your Mac or PC.

Put your favorite sites on your Home screen.

If you check a website frequently, iPhone can create a Home screen icon for it — a web clip. That way your favorite sites are always just a tap away.

iPhone works with popular email providers — including MobileMe, Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, Hotmail, and AOL — and most industry-standard IMAP or POP mail systems. Add multiple accounts and move between them easily.

Want a personal email account that pushes email to your iPhone automatically? Sign up for a free trial of MobileMe.

The intelligent, software-based keyboard predicts and corrects as you type. Rotate it to landscape when you need more room. And it offers a remarkably simple way to cut, copy, and paste text.

Receive and respond fast with push email that arrives on your iPhone automatically. iPhone supports Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync for use in Enterprise.

iPhone supports rich HTML email, so images appear inline with text. And you see email attachments like Microsoft Office documents or PDFs in their original format.

Search your email by subject, sender, and recipient. Even search for messages and contacts that aren’t on your iPhone. Search can find them on your remote email server.

If you run across an email address on a web page or map, tap it and iPhone opens a preaddressed email for you. If someone emails you a phone number, tap it to call.

A tap of the camera toggle switches from photo to video. Then you’re ready to record 30-fps VGA video — perfect for posting on the web — in portrait or widescreen landscape.

No need to wait until you’re at your computer to start editing your mobile movies. Trim your footage right on iPhone. Just drag to select start and end points on a filmstrip.

Say you’re in the middle of a text message conversation when you see something video-worthy. Tap the camera icon in Messages to record on the fly and send it to your buddy via MMS. Or select video from the Camera Roll and let iPhone add it to a new email message, ready to send. Publishing to a MobileMe Gallery or to YouTube is also just a tap away. And iTunes syncs all the video you shoot on iPhone 3GS back to your Mac or PC.

iPhone snaps shots with a tap then saves them in the Camera Roll, where they’re easy to enjoy. Rotate iPhone to see a photo in landscape. Zoom in or out with a pinch or a double-tap. Turn any photo into your iPhone wallpaper. iPhone even geotags your photos with information about where they were taken.

Select photos you want to email and iPhone opens a new message for you. Send photos via MMS, too. Or post everything directly to your MobileMe Gallery where friends and family can browse and download them.

Autofocus keeps things sharp, and a macro lens takes great close-ups. But you can also tap the iPhone display to selectively focus on anything in the picture — a face in the background, for example.

iPhone uses iTunes to sync the photos you have in iPhoto on a Mac or in Adobe Photoshop Elements and Adobe Photoshop Album on a PC. All the photos on your computer sync to your iPhone, so you can look at them — and share them — anywhere you go.

Use your voice to make a call.

Voice Control can find anybody in your contacts list. Simply say a name to make a call. Or say a phone number. iPhone repeats your voice commands to confirm them, then dials away.

Use your voice to play music.

Voice Control knows the music in your iPod, too. Ask your iPhone what song is playing (and hear it answer). Tell it to play your favorite album. Even have it play more songs like the one you’re listening to.

Voice Control features support for the following languages:

Messages appear on your iPhone as an ongoing conversation, so it’s easy to pick up where you left off. You can even forward one or more messages to others.

The intelligent keyboard predicts and suggests words as you type. It also features a built-in dictionary and even learns words you use often.

Take a photo or shoot some video, then send it via Messages. You can also send audio recordings from Voice Memos, contact information from Contacts, and locations from Maps.

iPhone 3GS finds your location quickly and accurately via GPS, Wi-Fi, and cellular towers. Drop a pin to mark your location or share it with others via email or MMS.

View a list of turn-by-turn directions or follow a highlighted map route and track your progress with GPS. Specify if you’d like walking or driving directions, or see what time the next train or bus leaves with public transit directions.

A built-in digital compass rotates maps to always match the direction you’re facing. You can also use the compass on its own.¹

Maps on iPhone shows you live traffic information, indicating traffic speed along your route in easy-to-read green, red, and yellow highlights.

Find locations by address or by keyword: Search for “coffee” to see every cafe near you. When you find what you’re looking for, tap the phone number to call, tap the web address to open the website in Safari, or add it to Contacts for future reference

Maps on iPhone lets you switch between map view, satellite view, hybrid view, and street view. And you can always double-tap or pinch to zoom in and out on a map.

The iPhone keyboard accelerates your typing because it tracks what you type, then suggests words, corrects spelling, and inserts punctuation for you. It even learns the words you use most often. The trick is to just type away and trust the intelligence of the keyboard.

iPhone tracks what you type and compares it with its built-in dictionary, so it can suggest — or correct — words as you type.

To edit as you type, touch and hold to bring up the magnifying glass, then place the cursor exactly where you want it.

iPhone adds apostrophes in words like “can’t” and “let’s.” It also inserts a period at the end of sentences, then capitalizes the next word for you.

iPhone enlarges each key you tap, so you get visual feedback as you type.

Tap the screen to quickly cut, copy, or paste. You can even copy and paste images and content from the web.

No need for complicated keystrokes to add special characters. Tap the 123 button to switch to a numerical keyboard.

While the tiny physical keys on other mobile phones stay fixed in place, iPhone adapts its keys and layout for different applications.

The keyboard gives you application-specific shortcuts. View more domains in Safari by tapping and holding the .com key. And the @ key appears when you’re sending email.

Why type in dates and times when a quick flick does it all? A time wheel appears when you’re in the Calendar application.

Numbers aren’t squeezed next to letters on tiny keys. iPhone gives you a traditional phone keypad when you need it.

The iPhone software keyboard is adaptable, allowing you to switch between more than 40 international layouts. iPhone also features sophisticated character recognition software that lets you draw a Chinese character with your finger and tap to choose the matching result.

Cut, copy, and paste words.

Quickly cut, copy, and paste words with a tap. You can also copy content from the web, then paste it into an email or text message.

Copy and paste photos and videos.

Copy multiple photos and paste them into an email or an MMS. Copy videos you’ve shot. Or copy images from the web to send and share.

If you make a mistake, just shake your iPhone to undo.

Search across your iPhone.

Flick to the left of the main Home screen to open Spotlight and search your iPhone. Tap to go directly to a contact, play a song, open a calendar event, and more.

Search the server

If the contact or email message you’re looking for isn’t on your iPhone, you can continue your search on the server. Search responds with all the results so you can display them on your iPhone.

Search across applications.

Search names in Contacts. Search subject, sender, and recipient in Mail. Search calendar events by subject, location, or attendees. Search all text in Notes. Search for albums, artists, or song titles in the iPod application.

Record memos (or any audio).

Record ideas, reminders, meetings, class lectures, notes — any audio you want — using the built-in iPhone microphone, your headset, or an external mic accessory. Voice Memos records even when you’re using your iPhone to do things like check email or surf the web.

Edit memos.

You can trim recorded memos right on iPhone. That way, you only keep what you need most.

Manage memos.

Keep all your memos organized by choosing labels from a predefined list or by creating your own custom labels.

Share memos.

Send memos to your friends and colleagues via email. Or attach them to an MMS message.* Memos you record on iPhone sync back to your Mac or PC via iTunes, so you can share them later.

Built-in Accessibility

Accessibility comes standard on iPhone 3GS. From closed captioning to TTY support, Apple builds accessibility right into the iPhone operating system. And innovative new features on iPhone 3GS take accessibility a step further, right out of the box.

VoiceOver

In addition to Voice Control, iPhone 3GS features VoiceOver, the world’s first gesture-based screen reader. Instead of memorizing keyboard commands or pressing tiny arrow keys, you simply touch the screen to hear a description of the item under your finger, then double-tap, drag, or flick to control iPhone. VoiceOver speaks 21 languages and works with all of the applications built into iPhone 3GS.

VoiceOver also features a virtual control called the rotor. Turning the rotor — by rotating two fingers on the screen as if you were turning a dial — changes the way VoiceOver moves through a document based on a setting you choose. For example, a flick up or down might move through text word by word or character by character, perfect for proofreading or editing text

Zoom

Zoom on iPhone lets you magnify the entire screen of any application. Zoom up to 5 times normal size and move left, right, up, and down to view any portion of the screen close up. Zoom works everywhere, including the Home, Unlock, and Spotlight screens, and with every application. Even those you purchase from the App store.

White on Black

If you need or prefer higher contrast, iPhone 3GS lets you change the display to white on black. Use the White on Black feature in any application, as well as the Home, Unlock, and Spotlight screens, and with Zoom and VoiceOver.

Mono Audio

If your hearing is limited in one ear, tap a checkbox to route both right- and left-channel audio into both earbuds, so you can hear both channels in either ear.

Share the connection.

With Internet tethering on iPhone, you don’t need a Wi-Fi hotspot to surf the web from your computer. Now you can share the 3G connection on your iPhone with your Mac notebook or PC laptop and connect to the Internet anywhere. When your iPhone is tethered, you can still send and receive data and make phone calls.

Connect via USB.

You can also use the USB cable included with your iPhone to enable Internet tethering — and charge your iPhone at the same time. Connect your iPhone to your computer via USB and select the iPhone USB network service as your network connection. All the necessary software is automatically installed using iTunes.

Connect wirelessly.

Wirelessly tether your computer to your iPhone using Bluetooth and you can stay cable-free. Just pair your iPhone with your Bluetooth-equipped computer, then select the iPhone Bluetooth PAN service as your network connection.

Browse apps.

Browse apps by category, do a keyword search, or take a look at staff picks. The App Store on iPhone works over cellular networks and Wi-Fi.

Download apps.

Find an app you like? Read the description and user reviews. Flick through a few screen shots. Then download the app wirelessly to your iPhone from anywhere, and start using it right away.

Stay up to date.

iPhone tells you whenever an application update is available, so you’ll always have the latest, greatest versions of your favorite apps.

Get recommendations.

If you’re looking for a few new apps, try Genius recommendations for apps. Just tap the Genius button to see a list of apps you might like based on apps you’ve already downloaded.

Buy on the fly.

Access the iTunes Store over cellular or Wi-Fi networks. Then browse millions of songs or shop for movies, movie rentals, TV shows, music videos, audiobooks, podcasts, ringtones — even college lectures from iTunes U. Downloads start instantly.

Sync it back.

When you connect iPhone to your computer, the music and video you bought syncs to your iTunes library. And if you’ve only partially downloaded something, your computer completes the download automatically.

Go back to your Home screens.

Even if you’re in the middle of a call, you can get to any app easily by pressing the Home button. Press it once to get back to the last Home screen you were on. Press it again to get back to your main Home screen.

Arrange apps any way you want.

Arrange the icons on your Home screen any way you want. Even move them to another Home screen. Organize apps right on iPhone, or organize them on iTunes and sync your screens back to iPhone. You can create up to 11 Home screens and browse them with a flick.

Add websites to your Home screens.

If you check the same websites every day, create web clips that let you access them directly from your Home screens with a single tap.

Calendar

Calendar works with Yahoo!, Google, Microsoft Outlook, iCal, MobileMe, and Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync for Enterprise to bring everything together. Add events with a few taps. Set alerts to remind you. Subscribe to calendars for things like national holidays and sports schedules.

Stocks

Stocks on iPhone shows you charts, financial details, and headline news for any stock you choose. Rotate iPhone to see even more detailed information.

Nike + iPod

iPhone includes built-in Nike + iPod support. Just slip the Nike + iPod Sensor (available separately) into your Nike+ shoe and start your workout.

Weather

Check the weather around the world or in your hometown. Add the cities you want, then flick back and forth to get six-day forecasts for each.

Notes

Use Notes on iPhone to write yourself a quick note and keep important information on hand. Send notes to yourself or others via email and sync them back to your Mac or PC.

YouTube

Watch YouTube videos wherever you are. Log in to your YouTube account to save and sync bookmarks and rate your favorites. Find a video you like? Tap to share it with a friend.

Calculator

The iPhone Calculator is two calculators in one. Rotate it to landscape to transform it from basic to scientific.

Parental Controls

Decide what kids can and can’t access on iPhone. Set restrictions for Safari, YouTube, iTunes, the App Store, Camera, and location services.

Stereo Bluetooth

Enjoy music and other audio wirelessly. Pair your iPhone with compatible Bluetooth stereo headphones.

Automatic Wi-Fi Login

No need to remember every Wi-Fi password, every time. Log in to a Wi-Fi hotspot and iPhone automatically logs you in the next time you connect.

Encryption

iPhone 3GS offers highly secure hardware encryption that enables instantaneous remote wipe. You can even encrypt your iTunes backups.

GPS (Global Positioning System) technology uses information from earth-orbiting satellites to find locations. A-GPS (Assisted GPS) on iPhone 3GS goes a step further, finding the closest satellites to more quickly identify your position. If you’re not within a clear line of sight to a GPS satellite, iPhone finds you via Wi-Fi. If you’re not in range of a Wi-Fi hotspot, iPhone finds you using cellular towers. The size of a location circle tells you how accurately iPhone is able to calculate that location: The smaller the circle, the more accurate the location. iPhone also offers a built-in digital compass that automatically repositions maps to match the direction you’re facing.

3G technology gives iPhone fast access to the Internet and email over cellular networks around the world. With support for 7.2Mbps HSDPA, iPhone 3GS also makes it possible to do more in more places: Surf the web, download email, get directions, and watch video — even while you’re on a call. Since iPhone seamlessly switches between EDGE, faster 3G, and even faster Wi-Fi, you always get the fastest connection available. You can even share your Internet connection with your laptop via Internet tethering.