NavList:

Lu, you wrote:
" One of those "cities" is UTC. Yea!"

It wasn't available in earlier years on the iPhone, and it isn't available on most Android phones (though I haven't seen the newest version). If you have a device that does not allow UTC as an option, it probably does allow "Accra, Ghana". Accra uses UTC for its civil time since it is only 12 miles west of the prime meridian, and it uses it year-round since it is only 330 miles north of the equator.

What you will find generally is that the "standard apps" on the phone are considered consumer items by Apple. There is a certain logic to this. The clock should be as simple to use as, well, a clock! It should not require any help files or explanation. It just works. And for the most part, that's true of Smartphones and other related hand-held computers these days. The amusing part is that there are certain extremely basic features of these devices which are not explained anywhere. You have to be shown. The classic on the iPhone/iPad is the "home button". I have seen this many times at non-Apple electronics stores: someone new to Apple products will start playing with an iPad, get a few levels deep into some software, and then realize there's no way out! Unless someone physically hits the home button, they're stuck and they probably won't buy. Also, these devices, since they push the limits of compact computing technology, crash much more often than "real" computers and need to be physically reset once in a while (I would say once a week is a good idea). If you know more electronic devices, you can probably guess that you press and hold the power button for five seconds. Otherwise, it never turns off; it just sleeps.

The only "consumer app" on the iPhone/iPad and also on other Smartphones that really needs one small piece of built-in advice is the magnetic compass. On iOS, when the compass becomes de-calibrated, they put up a nice little diagram explaining that you have to move your device around in a figure-eight pattern "like a toy car going around a track" as some advice web sites put it. Most consumers hate this because it doesn't "just work", and because they get embarrassed waving the device around in such an odd fashion.

If you have not already, you will soon discover that the real joy comes from third-party apps. Explore the app store, get advice from friends. There are thousands of excellent apps that do amazing things and take full advantage of the device's full suite of sensors. There's GPS, WiFi-based positioning (more accurate than GPS in urban settings), 3d accelerometers, a digital gyroscope in the more recent models, a microphone, a light-intensity sensor, a camera,... did I leave anything out? There are lots and lots of apps that will display the sort of nav-fashion data that you're looking for. Try searching the app store on "UTC" for example. Also orienteering and surveying apps often have useful features. I now have two sources of accurate time which keep me happy. One uses network time updated once every second. And another displays time of last GPS fix updated once a second (which means it's one second behind the current time).

Suppose you STILL want some details on using a built-in app. Rather than visiting the Apple store, you can usually get the advice you need just by plain language Googling (and asking Siri would probably work, too, but I don't have that feature yet). For example, try Googling "How do I calibrate my iPhone compass in my car?"

-FER

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