To create a conference call, tap the “Add Call” icon while making a call.  This will put the first call on hold for the time being.

Once you have been connected on your second call, tap the “Merge Calls” icon.

The calls will now be merged onto one line and everyone will be able to hear each other.

This process can be repeated up to five times depending on your provider and carrier.

To drop a call, tap “Conference” and tap the “End Call” icon, then tap “End Call” again.

To talk privately with a call tap “Conference”, then tap “Private” next to the call you wish to select. Tap “Merge Calls” to resume to conference.

To add an incoming call tap “Hold Call” and “Answer”, then tap Merge Calls.

The Conference Call feature is great for travelers, business calls and any situation where you need to address more than one person at a time. It’s easy to use and one of the many great features of the new iPhone.

To bring any new iPhone 3G user up to speed on the tech specs, here is a quick rundown:

Dimensions: 115.5 (h) x 62.1 (w) x 12.3mm (d)
Screen size: 3.5 inches
Screen resolution: 320 x 480 at 163ppi
Input method: multi-touch
Operating system: OS X
Storage: 8GB or 16GB
GSM: Quad band connects to the 850, 900, 1800 and 1900 MHz bands and a Tri-band UMTS/HSDPA handset that works on the 850, 1900 and 2100 MHz bands.
Wireless: Wi-Fi (802.11b/g), Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and 3G
Camera: 2.0 mega pixels
Battery: integrated, non-replaceable lithium-ion battery that offers up to 5 hours talk time on 3G, 10 hours talk time on 2G, 300 hours on standby, 5 hours of 3G internet use (6 hours on Wi-Fi), 7 hours video playback and 24 hours audio playback – although in reality these figures are very rare to attain.

Functionality:
The iPhone offers a large 3.5-inch touch screen display designed specifically for use with bare fingertips (the touch screen relies on bare skin so there is no need for a stylus). To input the text, the iPhone uses a virtual QWERTY keyboard allowing the user to quickly and easily input text. The virtual keyboard has all the functions you hope for: automatic spell check, predictive text, dictionary, etc.

A key feature of the iPhone’s navigation and functionality is its intuitive scroll feature. Similar to the iPod’s Click Wheel, the movement allows you to quickly and easily move through the various menus.

Features:
The iPhone has so many features you can all but forget that you’ve actually got a device that’s main purpose is to act as a mobile phone. Apart from conferencing, call holding, call merging, caller ID, email and so on, it can do so much more.

The iPhone also includes a 2 mega pixel internal camera that allows you to capture and keep still images using the provided software and these can be transferred to your PC or Mac.

The most appealing feature of the iPhone is arguably its incorporation of its bigger brother, the iPod. Similar to the 5th generation of iPods, the iPhone can handle video playback as well as a music library.

Mobile Internet:
The iPhone also has online capabilities due to its built-in Wi-Fi technology. With the assistance of a wireless network, the iPhone can display full web pages using the Safari browser (as opposed to simplified WAP pages). Apart from browsing the internet, the iPhone is capable of sending and receiving email due to its HTML email application.

Operating System:
A slimmed down and optimised version of the popular Mac OS X operating system is used on the iPhone. It has the same core, but the implementation is quite different.

OS updates for the iPhone are downloaded and applied through iTunes in a similar way to the updates applied to the iPod. Like the OS X Dashboard, Apple has various widgets on its home screen that can be modified and selected on user preferences.

2.5G: the evolution of second generation mobile technology resulted in faster data transfer and allowed mobiles to begin surfing the internet, albeit at low, dial-up quality speeds.

3G: third generation mobile network technology that offers speeds fast enough for video calls, on-the-fly music downloads and TV streaming. It is fast becoming the norm for the Australian mobile network.

802.11: see Wi-Fi

AAC: stands for Advanced Audio Coding. This is an audio codec that delivers high quality sound with powerful technology. It allows for smaller files at a higher quality than formats like MP3. It also allows for DRM features to be included in the file and is the standard format for tracks downloaded from iTunes.

Bluetooth: a short-range radio-networking standard that allows devices to pair together to share data. It is commonly used to connect mobile phones with wireless headsets for hands free communication but is becoming increasingly common in computers and other devices like wireless mice and keyboards. It has a range of 10 metres and requires a code to be entered to link each device.

Compression: makes files smaller so they can be downloaded or copied faster. It involves selectively removing parts of the file that aren’t always seen or heard by the human body.

Cover Flow: a feature designed by Apple that allows users to browse their music files by cycling through the album art. Since its introduction in iTunes it has been implemented in Macs and now into the iPhone and iPod to browse music and video files.

Dock: a standard 30-pin connector cradle designed to hold an iPod or iPhone while it synchronises with a computer and recharges the battery.

Digital Rights Management: or DRM, a kind of data that is embedded into a multimedia file that controls the way the file is used. Its main purpose is to stop the file being shared for free online. The primary aim of DRM is to prevent copyright infringement. Apple’s version of DRM is known as FairPlay.

EDGE: an acronym for Exchange Data rates for GSM Evolution. It is a network technology that offers faster data transfer speeds than 2.5G phones but not as fast as 3G. It can be found on US iPhones as well as those in the US and Europe. In Australia, only Telstra supports EDGE, although their emphasis is on the 3G network.

Encoding: is the process of converting an analogue data source into a digital form and generally involves compressing the file to reduce its size. There are other ways of encoding that don’t involve compromising quality.

Exchange: a server-based email software application from Microsoft that allows for web-based logins. Exchange will also allow for messages to be sent and received from mobile devices and is particularly popular for businesses.

Firmware: software built into a device that controls its functionality. Like an operating system of a computer, firmware allows companies to upgrade the functionality of a device without having to modify its existing hardware. The iPhone receives its firmware updates through iTunes.

GPS: an acronym for Global Positioning System. It uses a network of 24 satellites orbiting earth to triangulate a specific position anywhere in the world. The technology works on the fact that no matter where a person is in the world, there should be a direct line between them and three of the satellites. The iPhone uses data from mobile phone towers to make the process faster.

IMAP: stands for Internet Message Access Protocol – a server-based email client that allows for multiple devices to access the same email information. By being hosted on a server, all email messages are accessible from any device at any time, making it ideal for use on the iPhone.

Mega Pixel: the unit of measurement used to define the quality of digital photography. One megapixel is one million pixels and the higher the number, the more detailed the image is likely to be and the larger the file size of each photo.

MP3: the audio track format that is encoded using the Motion Picture Expert Group codec 2 (Mpeg-2), level 3. The most common form of audio compression, it is playable on most portable audio players including the iPhone.

Playlist: a list of video and audio files that are scheduled to play together. Playlists for iPhone can be created in iTunes and will be synchronised with your iPhone along with your video and music collection.

Podcast: pre-recorded video or audio shows that are distributed online for playback on portable devices like the iPhone and iPod. Thought of as the ‘radio show of the 21st century’, they enable listeners to enjoy programs at their leisure. Video podcasts are often called vodcasts.

POP3: stands for Post Office Protocol 3 – the most prominent method for email delivery. It is used by most ISPs and online mail programs.

Push Email: a technology that allows emails to be sent or “pushed” from a central server to a mobile phone immediately after the email has been received. It is the technology that has made the BlackBerry so successful and is available on the iPhone through Yahoo! Mail.

Rip: the act of digitally encoding music from a CD or video from a DVD into a file made for computer playback or on a portable device such as the iPhone.

SMTP: an acronym for Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, the default method for sending email from an email program. Messages are composed in email applications rather than using online services such as IMAP or Exchange.

Sync: short for synchronise, referring to the act of sharing data between a mobile device and a computer by means of either a wired or wireless connection so the information on both devices is the same. Information shared usually consists of contacts, appointments and multimedia files.

Wi-Fi: used to describe wireless networking and generally refers to the 802.11a/b/g/n standards. The iPhone supports 802.11b/g standards.

Wireless Access Point: a hardware device that connects to a broadband connection and creates a wireless network, also acting as a broadband modem. This enables those with mobile internet devices (such as the iPhone) to connect to the internet wirelessly.

WMA: an audio format called Windows Media Audio. This audio codec was created by Microsoft and offers similar compression and DRM-enabled features to AAC. Although incompatible with the iPhone, most non-Apple branded audio players will accept it.