Chapter 13

Tracking with Maps, Compass, Stocks, and Weather

In This Chapter

Mapping your route with Maps

Course-setting with Compass

Getting quotes with Stocks

Watching the weather with Weather

In this chapter, we look at four of the iPhone’s Internet-enabled apps: Maps, Compass, Stocks, and Weather. We call them Internet-enabled because they display information collected over your Internet connection — whether Wi-Fi or wireless data network — in real time (or in the case of Stocks, near-real time).

Maps Are Where It’s At

A couple of years back, Apple jettisoned the Google-powered Maps app and replaced it with a version that was powered by Apple. The latest Apple-powered Maps app hasn’t changed much from the first rendition (in iOS 6) and still lets you quickly and easily

• Discover exactly where you are.
• Find nearby restaurants and businesses.
• Get turn-by-turn directions for driving or walking from any address to any other address.
• See real-time traffic information for most urban locations.

The biggest difference between the two apps is that the old Google-powered Maps app offered information about traveling via public transportation while the Apple-powered Maps app still lacks this useful feature.

The free Google Maps app is still available (in the iTunes App Store), and still includes directions for using public transportation in most cities.

Finding your current location with Maps

Let’s start with something supremely simple yet extremely useful: determining your current location. At the risk of sounding like self-help gurus, here’s how to find yourself: Tap the Maps icon and then tap the show current location icon, the little blue arrowhead shown in the margin and found in the lower-left corner of your screen.

When the phone’s GPS is used to find your location, a pulsating blue marker indicates your current location on the map. In addition, the Location Services indicator, an arrowhead, appears to the left of the battery indicator in the status bar, as shown in Figure 13-1.

If GPS is not being used because you’re out of the satellite’s sight line, a somewhat larger pale blue circle shows your approximate location. Either way, when you move around, the iPhone updates your location and adjusts the map so that the location indicator stays in the middle of the screen.

If you tap or drag the map, your iPhone continues to update your location but won’t recenter the marker, which means that the location indicator can move off the screen. Tap the show current location icon (in the lower-left corner) to move the current location marker back to the center.

When you tap the show current location icon, it turns dark blue (refer to Figure 13-1), which indicates that your current location is in the middle of the screen. If you tap, drag, rotate, or zoom the map (that is, do anything that moves the current location indicator from the center of the screen), the icon turns white with a blue outline. So, if the icon is all blue, your current location is currently in the middle of the screen; if the icon is white with a blue outline, your current location is anywhere except the middle of the screen.

Unless, that is, you’re using the hybrid or satellite view, in which case you’ll see gray instead of blue. You find out more about these views shortly.

Finding a person, place, or thing

To find a person, place, or thing with Maps, tap the search field at the top of the screen to display the keyboard. Now type what you’re looking for. You can search for addresses, zip codes, intersections, towns, landmarks, and businesses by category and by name, or combinations, such as New York, NY 10022; pizza 60611; or Auditorium Shores Austin TX.

If the letters you type match names in your Contacts list, the matching contacts appear in a list below the search field. Tap a name to see a map of that contact’s location. The Maps app is smart about it, too, displaying only the names of contacts who have a street address.

When you finish typing, tap Search. After a few seconds, a map appears. If you searched for a single location, it’s marked with a single pushpin. If you searched for a category (Pizza 60611, for example), you see multiple pushpins, one for each matching location (pizza joints in or close to the 60611 zip code), as shown in Figure 13-2.

The Maps app is adept at interpreting search terms and finding the right place. After you’ve used the app a few times, we’re sure you’ll be as addicted as we are.

Views, zooms, and pans

The preceding section talks about how to find just about anything with Maps. Now here’s a look at some ways you can use what you find. But first, let’s take a little detour and explore how to work with what’s on the Maps screen.

Three views are available at any time: standard (map), hybrid, and satellite. Refer to Figure 13-2 for a standard view; Figure 13-3 shows the satellite view. Select a view by first tapping the little i-in-a-circle in the lower-right corner of the screen. An overlay appears, revealing several buttons, as shown in Figure 13-4.

In all views, you can zoom to see either more or less of the map — or scroll (pan) to see what’s above, below, or to the left or right of what’s on the screen:

• To zoom out: Pinch the map or double-tap using two fingers. To zoom out even more, pinch or double-tap using two fingers again.

  Double-tapping with two fingers may be a new concept to you: Merely tap twice in rapid succession with two fingers rather than the usual one finger. That’s a total of four taps, input efficiently as two taps per finger.

• To zoom in: Unpinch the map or double-tap (the usual way — with just one finger) the spot you want to zoom in on. Unpinch or double-tap with one finger again to zoom in even more.

  An unpinch, sometimes called a spread, is the opposite of a pinch. Start with your thumb and a finger together and then spread them apart.

  You can also unpinch with two fingers or two thumbs, one from each hand, but you’ll probably find that a single-handed pinch and unpinch are handier.

• To rotate: Rotate two fingers on the screen. A compass appears in the upper-right corner of the screen to show the map’s orientation as you rotate.
• To scroll: Flick or drag up, down, left, or right with one finger.

Timesaving map tools: Favorites, Recents, and Contacts

The Maps app offers three tools that can save you from having to type the same locations over and over: Favorites, Recents, and Contacts. All three are represented by icons at the bottom of the Favorites screen.

So where’s the Favorites screen? Just tap in the search field, and then tap Favorites, which is the first item in the drop-down list that magically appears. The following sections give you the lowdown on these three timesavers.

Favorites

Favorites in the Maps app, like bookmarks in Safari, let you return to a location without typing a single character.

If you’ve used a previous version of Maps, you may be wondering what happened to bookmarks. What happened was that they have a new name: Bookmarks are now favorites in iOS 8. (Don’t ask us why; we’re as baffled as you are.)

Moving right along, if you’ve already searched for an address, you can make it a favorite by tapping the share icon in in the upper-right corner of the screen (and shown in the margin), and then tapping Add to Favorites.

You can also save a location as a favorite by dropping a pin (a temporary favorite) on the map. To drop a pin, press with one finger until a pin appears. To reposition a pin, drag it anywhere on the map. When you lift your finger, you’ll see an info balloon with the location of the pin (if Maps can figure it out). Tap the balloon and the Info screen for the dropped pin appears; tap the share icon and then tap Add to Favorites to save the location as a favorite.

Don’t forget that you can zoom by pinching or spreading or by tapping the map with one or two fingers.

After you add a location to Favorites, you can recall it at any time by first tapping in the search field, tapping Favorites in the list that appears, and then tapping the Favorites icon at the bottom of the screen (if Favorites isn’t already selected).

The first things you should mark as favorites are your home and work addresses. You’ll use these addresses all the time with Maps, so you might as well make them favorites now to avoid typing or tapping to find them over and over. Also create zip code favorites for your home, work, and other locations you frequently visit. Then when you want to find businesses near any of those locations, you can choose the zip code favorite and add what you’re looking for, such as 78729 pizza, 60611 gas station, or 90201 Starbucks.

To manage your favorites, first tap the Edit button in the top-left corner of the Favorites screen. Then

• To move a favorite up or down in the list: Drag the little icon with three gray bars that appears to the right of the favorite. Drag the icon upward to move the item higher in the list or downward to move the item lower in the list.
• To delete a favorite from the list: Tap the – icon to the left of the favorite’s name.

When you’re finished using Favorites, tap the Done button in the top-right corner to return to the map.

Recents

The Maps app automatically remembers every location you’ve searched for in its Recents list (unless you’ve cleared it, as described next). To see this list, tap in the search field, tap Favorites, and then tap the Recents icon at the bottom of the Favorites screen.

To clear the Recents list, tap the Clear button in the top-left corner of the screen, and then tap the Clear All Recents button. Sadly, removing a single entry is still not possible; clearing the Recents list is an all-or-nothing deal.

When you’re finished using the Recents list, tap the Done button in the top-right corner of the screen to return to the map.

Contacts

Maps and contacts go together like peanut butter and jelly. For example, if you want to see a map of a contact’s street address, just type the first few letters of the contact’s name in the search field at the top of the screen. Now tap the contact’s name, and a pushpin will drop on her house (on the map, of course).

If you have multiple addresses for a contact, you’ll see multiple entries — one for each address — in the list.

Another way to select a location to display on the map is by scrolling through your Contacts list as follows:

1. Tap the search field at the top of the screen.
2. Tap Favorites.
3. Tap Contacts at the bottom of the screen.
4. Tap the Contacts search field and type the first few characters of the contact’s name.

After you find a location by typing an address in Maps, you can add that location to one of your contacts or create a contact with a location you’ve found. To do either, tap the location’s pushpin on the map, and then tap its info balloon (shown for Pizzaria Due in Figures 13-2 and 13-3) to display its Info screen, as shown in Figure 13-5, left. Now scroll to the bottom of the Info screen and tap the Create New Contact or Add to Existing Contact button, as shown in Figure 13-5, right.

You can work with contacts in three ways. The first way is to tap the Contacts icon in the Extras folder on the second page of Home screen icons. (Swipe from right to left on the Home screen to see this second page.) The second way is to tap the Phone icon on your Home screen, and then tap the Contacts icon on the Phone screen’s dock. Finally, you can use the Contacts screen right inside the Maps app, as described in the next section.

When you’re finished using the Contacts list, tap the Done button in the top-right corner of the screen to return to the map.

Smart map tricks

The Maps app has more tricks up its sleeve. This section lists a few nifty features that you may find useful.

Get route maps and driving directions

You can get route maps and driving directions to any location from any other location in a couple of ways.

If a pushpin is already on the screen, tap the pushpin and then tap the info balloon with the name of the location. This action displays the item’s Info screen. Now tap the Directions to Here or Directions from Here button to get directions to or from that location, respectively.

The second method applies when you’re looking at a map screen. Follow these steps:

1. Tap the directions icon (shown in the margin) to the left of the search field.

   The Start and End fields appear at the top of the screen with the Start field displaying your current location. If you need directions from somewhere other than your current location, type a destination in the Start field or choose one from your Favorites, Contacts, or Recents list.

2. Type a destination in the End field or select a destination from your Favorites, Contacts, or Recents list.

   If you want to swap the starting and ending locations, tap the little swirly arrow icon to the left of the Start and End fields. If you need to change the start or end location, tap the Cancel button in the top-left corner and try again.

   When start and end locations are correct, tap the Route button in the top-right corner of the screen and the route map appears.

   Weird but true: If you type the end location, you’ll have to tap the Route button to proceed, but if you select the end location (from your Favorites, Contacts, or Recents list), you won’t see a Route button and thus won’t have to tap it before you proceed.

3. If Maps suggests several routes, select one by tapping its light blue line or balloon.

   In Figure 13-6, the 46-minute route is selected.

   Tap the little i-in-a-circle in the lower-right corner of the map you’re viewing and then tap the Show Traffic button to help you decide which route will be most expedient.

4. Tap the Start button at the bottom of the screen to receive turn-by-turn driving directions, as shown in Figure 13-7.

   To see the next step in the directions, swipe the instructions near the top of the screen from right to left; to see the preceding step, swipe from left to right.

5. When you’re finished with the step-by-step directions, tap the End button in the top-left corner to return to the regular map screen.

Visual step-by-step directions work well, but you will also hear audible turn-by-turn directions similar to what you’d find on a dedicated GPS device. You know, where some friendly male or female voice states instructions such as “turn right on Main Street.”

Get walking directions

For step-by-step directions for walking, tap the Walk button before tapping the Start button. Walking directions generally look a lot like driving directions except for your travel time. For example, driving time in Figure 13-6 is approximately 46 minutes; walking time (not shown) is estimated at 9 hours and 21 minutes.

Get 3D views

The Maps app also offers cool three-dimensional views for most metropolitan areas, as shown on the right in Figures 13-8 and 13-9.

When 3D is enabled, you navigate and zoom as described earlier in the chapter. To change the camera angle, you drag up or down on the screen with two fingers.

Get traffic info in real time

You can find out the traffic conditions for whatever map you’re viewing by tapping the i-in-a-circle in the lower-right corner and then tapping the Show Traffic button. When you do this, major roadways are color-coded to inform you of the current traffic speed, as shown in Figure 13-10.

Here’s the key to those colors:

• Green: More than 50 miles per hour
• Orange: 25 to 50 miles per hour
• Red: Under 25 miles per hour
• Gray: No data available at this time

Traffic info isn’t available in every location, but the only way to find out is to give it a try. You may have to zoom in to see the color codes; if they don’t appear, assume that traffic information doesn’t work for that particular location.

Do more on the Info screen

If a location balloon has a little > to the right of the location name (refer to Figure 13-2), you can tap the balloon to see the Info screen.

As we explain earlier in this chapter, you can get directions to or from that location, add the location to your bookmarks or contacts, or create a contact from it. But wait! There’s more. From a location’s Info screen, you can

• Tap the phone number to call the location.
• Tap the email address to launch the Mail app and send an email to the location.
• Tap the URL to launch Safari and view the location’s website.

Find your direction

Here’s one last cool map trick: Tap the current location icon (in the lower-left corner of the Maps app) two times and the blue marker grows a little blue cone that indicates the direction you’re facing, as shown in Figure 13-11.

Also note that when the map is in what we like to call “compass mode,” the current location icon in the lower-left corner grows a little blue tip (as shown in the margin), to let you know that you’re using compass mode.

If you rotate to face a different direction while Maps is in compass mode, the map rotates in real time. So the map always displays the direction you’re currently facing, even if you’ve moved around a bit, which is pretty darn cool.

Contemplating the Compass

Speaking of compasses, your iPhone includes a Compass app, which works like a magnetic needle compass. Launch the Compass app by tapping its icon in the Extras folder on the second Home screen.

You may be instructed to wave your phone about a bit to calibrate it, but then you’ll see the direction you’re facing on the screen, as shown in Figure 13-12.

Here’s a bonus in the Compass app: It’s also a bubble level. Note the small gray circle with a + sign in the middle? That’s the bubble. Tilt your iPhone and the bubble moves around on the screen; when your phone is absolutely level, the little + inside the bubble lines up with the bigger + that runs from W to E and N to S.

Taking Stock with Stocks

Stocks is another Internet-enabled app on your iPhone. It’s kind of a one-trick pony, but if you need its trick — information about specific stocks — it’s a winner.

Every time you open the Stocks app by tapping its icon, it displays the latest price for your stocks, with two provisos:

• The quotes are provided in near-real time.
• The quotes are updated only if your iPhone can connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi or a wireless data network.

So tap that Stocks icon and take a peek. The first time you open Stocks, you see information for a group of default stocks, funds, and indexes. You can’t see them all on the screen at once, so flick upward to scroll down.

Your stocks also appear by default in Notification Center (when you swipe down from the top edge on any screen). If you don’t see any stocks, tap the Today tab at the top of the screen and then scroll to the bottom of Notification Center and tap the Edit button. Now tap the + (plus sign) in a green circle next to Stocks to enable it in Notification Center; tap the – (minus sign) in a red circle to disable it.

Adding and deleting stocks, funds, and indexes

Your chance of owning the exact group of stocks, funds, and indexes displayed on the screen is slim, so this section shows you how to add your own stocks, funds, or indexes and delete any or all default ones.

Here’s how to add a stock, a fund, or an index:

1. In the bottom-right corner of the initial Stocks screen, tap the info icon (shown in the margin).
2. In the top-left corner of the Stocks screen, tap the + icon.
3. Type the stock symbol or the name of the company, index, or fund.
4. Tap the Search button.

   The Stocks app finds the company or companies that match your search request.

5. Tap the stock, fund, or index that you want to add.
6. Repeat Steps 4 and 5 until you’ve finished adding stocks, funds, and indexes.
7. Tap the Done button in the top-right corner.

And here’s how to delete a stock (the steps for deleting a fund or an index are the same):

1. In the bottom-right corner of the initial Stocks screen, tap the info icon.
2. Tap the – icon, which is to the left of the stock’s name.
3. Tap the Delete button that appears to the right of the stock’s name.
4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until you’ve deleted all unwanted stocks.
5. Tap the Done button.

That’s all there is to adding and deleting stocks.

To change the order of the list, tap the info icon, and then tap the icon to the right of the stock’s name (and shown in the margin). Drag the icon up or down to its new place in the list.

Details, details, details

To see the details for an item, tap its name to select it and the lower portion of the screen will offer additional information. Note the three small dots above the words Market Closed near the bottom of the screen. These dots tell you that three screens of information are available, all shown in Figure 13-13. To switch between these three screens, simply swipe to the left or the right on the lower part of the screen.

To look up additional information about a stock at Yahoo.com, first tap the stock’s name to select it, and then tap the Yahoo! icon, in the lower-left corner of the screen. Safari launches and displays the Yahoo.com finance page for that stock.

Charting a course

Referring to Figure 13-13, note the chart at the bottom of the middle image. At the top of the chart, you see a bunch of numbers and letters, namely 1D, 1W, 1M, 3M, 6M, 1Y, and 2Y. They stand for 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years, respectively. Tap one of them and the chart is updated to reflect that period of time. (In Figure 13-13, 6M is selected.)

That feature is sweet but here’s an even sweeter one: If you rotate your iPhone 90 degrees, the chart appears in full-screen, as shown in Figure 13-14. You can do the following three cool things with full-screen charts:

• Touch any point in time to see the value for that day.
• Use two fingers to touch any two points in time to see the difference in values between those two days, as shown in Figure 13-14.
• Swipe left or right to see the chart for another stock, fund, or index.

By default, the Stocks app displays the change in a stock’s price in dollars. You can instead see the change expressed as a percentage or as the stock’s market capitalization. Simply tap the number next to any stock (green numbers are positive; red numbers are negative) to toggle the display for all stocks from dollar change to percent change to market cap. For example, if your stocks, funds, and indexes are currently displayed as dollars, tapping any one of them switches them all to percent — and tapping again switches them to market cap.

Another method requires more steps: Tap the info icon in the bottom-right corner of the initial Stocks screen. Then tap the Percentage, Price, or Mkt Cap button at the bottom of the screen. The values are then displayed in the manner you chose. Tap the Done button in the top-right corner when you’re finished.

Weather Watching

Weather is a simple app that provides you with the current weather forecast for the city or cities of your choice. By default, you see a five-day forecast at the bottom of the screen, as shown in Figure 13-15, with the hourly forecast above.

Swipe the hourly forecast left or right to display earlier or later hours.

To add a city, first tap the info icon in the bottom-right corner (and shown in the margin) to display the Info screen. Next, tap the + icon in the lower-right corner; type a city, a zip code, or an airport location; and then tap the Search button in the bottom-right corner of the screen. Finally, tap the name of the found city. Add as many cities as you want this way.

To delete a city, tap the info icon. Tap the red – icon to the left of the city’s name, and then tap the Delete button that appears to the right of its name.

You can also choose between Fahrenheit and Celsius by first tapping the info icon and then tapping either the °C or °F button below the list of cities.

When you’re finished, tap any city to view its current weather.

If you’ve added one or more cities to Weather, you can switch between them by flicking your finger across the screen to the left or the right.

See the Location Services arrow and two little dots centered at the bottom of the screen in Figure 13-15? The white Location Services arrow means you’re currently viewing local weather; the two dots denote the two other cities you’ve added to the list as just described.

Last, but not least, to see even more detailed weather information about a city, tap the Weather Channel button in the lower-left corner of the screen. Safari launches and the Weather.com page appears with the current city’s forecast onscreen.

One last thing: If you’ve been bitten by the weather bug, check out the App Store, which offers more free and inexpensive weather apps than we could count. Our favorites include WeatherBug, AccuWeather, NOAA Weather Radar, and the Weather Channel, as well as Yahoo! Weather, to name a few. There’s no reason not to try them all and keep the one (or more) you like best.