Download files from email

Joevan

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So, I do like the iPhone4, but I can't see why this issue is so difficult.
I received an email with an audio file attached. It's very small, like a 5 sec sound clip. However, I can't seem to find ANYWAY to save this to my phone.
Not only that, I have read that you also cannot save any other files, unless it's a pic.

Am I missing something here? It seems odd to leave a vital function out of the OS.
 

kiolbasa1

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That is probably the only thing that bugs me about the iPhone. There is no built in document application, you'll need to go to the market and search until you find one that you like. I found a PDF downloader that was free and it gets the job done. If you need to download docs in Excel, Word, etc...than I suggest biting the bullet and purchasing documents to go.
 

ImStrapped

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Yea just like Alex said you'll have to find a separate app that will allow you to do that, kind of lame but considering the amount of apps there are out there it's ok.
 

Brickman

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Docs To Go and QuickOffice are the two best for saving email attachments. I use these two for work on my iP4. Very handy and very easy to do! You will need to spring for the full version of both to get the best results.

I am not sure about audio Files. i have never tried that. You could always use EverNote or DropBox. They are both free!
 

ulnek

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wait, so iphone has no built in file opener? things attached to emails and stuff i transfer from my computer to the iphone i won't be able to open? o_O

can i even transfer files (pictures, video, audio, pdf, word, etc) between the iphone and my computer?

i'm trying to decide if i want to switch and it never even occured to me that a phone might not be able to do that. :(
 

anon4705295

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wait, so iphone has no built in file opener? things attached to emails and stuff i transfer from my computer to the iphone i won't be able to open? o_O

can i even transfer files (pictures, video, audio, pdf, word, etc) between the iphone and my computer?

i'm trying to decide if i want to switch and it never even occured to me that a phone might not be able to do that. :(

The phone can OPEN the files, it just can't SAVE them. You can play audio files, look at the picture, and read the documents in the email, but you can't actually save them to the phone. This is where third party apps come in. I highly suggest Evernote, it works WONDERFULLY AND syncs between your phone and your computer wirelessly, all for free. It essentially acts as a Downloads folder, but also does so much more.

GoodReader is great for PDFs, allowing you to mark them up and save them again as a PDF.

You can MOST DEFINITELY transfer the files back and forth, BUT you're going to need third party apps to do it. I actually don't mind at all because the apps can do so many cool things that it works out really well :)

Definitely don't let this stop you from getting an iPhone, because trust me, it's not a big deal at all. Once you get apps you like, you almost forget that it's not part of the native iOS. Again, I highly suggest Evernote. The app is freaking amazing.
 
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shinbone

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The phone can OPEN the files, it just can't SAVE them. You can play audio files, look at the picture, and read the documents in the email, but you can't actually save them to the phone. This is where third party apps come in. I highly suggest Evernote, it works WONDERFULLY AND syncs between your phone and your computer wirelessly, all for free. It essentially acts as a Downloads folder, but also does so much more.

GoodReader is great for PDFs, allowing you to mark them up and save them again as a PDF.

You can MOST DEFINITELY transfer the files back and forth, BUT you're going to need third party apps to do it. I actually don't mind at all because the apps can do so many cool things that it works out really well :)

Definitely don't let this stop you from getting an iPhone, because trust me, it's not a big deal at all. Once you get apps you like, you almost forget that it's not part of the native iOS. Again, I highly suggest Evernote. The app is freaking amazing.

^^ Very well explained ^^
 

TiNuts

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i think this is a big deal. The iphone is one of the most expensive phones out there, but out of the box this thing does little more than a motorola razr (besides media, but that's not why I got it). Then you have to pay extra for a third party app that just about every other, if not every other, smartphone does natively.

And they wonder why it's called a toy.
 

danimal1968

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i think this is a big deal. The iphone is one of the most expensive phones out there, but out of the box this thing does little more than a motorola razr (besides media, but that's not why I got it). Then you have to pay extra for a third party app that just about every other, if not every other, smartphone does natively.

And they wonder why it's called a toy.

As others have posted, a lot of the third party apps that you can use are free.

My blackberry couldn't even open pdf files most of the time.
 

shimojunk

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Welcome to iOS. For all the great native features of the phone, there's a lot of basic things that iOS can't do that most other smartphones can.

I'm pretty sure why features like downloading files, notifications, true multitasking are missing is Jobs and Apple don't want problems like viruses, sluggishness affecting the iOS. Basically they want to idiot proof the phone for the general audience.

This might be a bad example, but look at my old BB Curve 8330. That thing was a workhorse but after awhile it had all sorts of issues, like memory leaks, battery pulls, hour glassing, the browser stopped working, I would get random pop up error messages. I can guarantee a lot of those issues are for me, the user, to blame.
 

anon4705295

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TiNuts, I think you're overreacting a bit. Security is the reason it won't save files. It'll let you open them because for most users (at least, for the target audience the iPhone was originally built for) that's all the user wants. Downloading things presents a whole slew of new problems. Now that it's becoming a business phone, I'm sure Apple is going to do something about this in the future, though.

And let's be realistic. How many times do we download apps because they do something better than Apple's default? A lot. The apps by Apple are a starting point, and you go from them into bigger and better things that suit your particular needs. A default downloads app would be subpar to the plethora of options found in the App Store. Plus, the other apps let you do various other things that you specifically want them to do, letting you get one app for your needs versus several.

Try to think of it this way and I'm sure you'll forget your disappointment in Apple not having a specific app for it.

And I dunno if the complaints of crashing are for Evernote, but it's never crashed on me, and I'm a power user.
 
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tourstagefan

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TiNuts, I think you're overreacting a bit. Security is the reason it won't save files. It'll let you open them because for most users (at least, for the target audience the iPhone was originally built for) that's all the user wants. Downloading things presents a whole slew of new problems. Now that it's becoming a business phone, I'm sure Apple is going to do something about this in the future, though.

And let's be realistic. How many times do we download apps because they do something better than Apple's default? A lot. The apps by Apple are a starting point, and you go from them into bigger and better things that suit your particular needs. A default downloads app would be subpar to the plethora of options found in the App Store. Plus, the other apps let you do various other things that you specifically want them to do, letting you get one app for your needs versus several.

Try to think of it this way and I'm sure you'll forget your disappointment in Apple not having a specific app for it.

And I dunno if the complaints of crashing are for Evernote, but it's never crashed on me, and I'm a power user.

+1. Well put!
 

ulnek

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oh ok so evernote will allow downloads. so once downloaded to evernote i can open and play/view the files? it won't give me the "i can't play that" message?
 

bab2010

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oh ok so evernote will allow downloads. so once downloaded to evernote i can open and play/view the files? it won't give me the "i can't play that" message?

Before u save the file to evernote, try to play the file or open the document, if your iphone is able to play the file or the document then, evernote will surely play it or open after saving it there. Notice that there are some videos and doc files that your phone might not be able to open until you install a 3rd party app on your phone, for multimedia files, you can download VLC and save your multumedia file from your mail box to your VLC instead of saving it to evernote, the same goes to documents, you can purchase doctogo or quick office and savein there any doc your phone will not natively open. I see evernote able to handle most file anyway. Bonne chance a toi.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Icyhot1966

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And every other smartphone is not as user friendly, performs over the long haul, is as sexy, has a great camera, music player, etc as the iPhone. So if downloading files directly to your phone natively is THAT important to you, go get you something substandard, i.e. an Android.

Have a great day!!