on one phone call, you hear a beep in your ear indicating someone else is calling
in. You can tap the Flash key on your phone—if you know which one it
is—to answer the second call while you put the first one on hold.
Some people don’t use Call Waiting because it’s rude to both callers. Others
don’t use it because they have no idea what the Flash key is.
On the iPhone, when a second call comes in, the phone rings (and/or vibrates)
as usual, and the screen displays the name or number of the caller, just as it
always does. Buttons on the screen offer you three choices:
Ignore. The incoming call goes straight to voicemail. Your first caller has
no idea that anything’s happened.
Hold Call + Answer. This button gives you the traditional Call Waiting
effect. You say, “Can you hold on a sec? I’ve got another call” to the first
caller. The iPhone puts her on hold, and you connect to the second caller.
At this point, you can jump back and forth between the two calls, or you
can merge them into a conference call, just as described on page 36.
End Call + Answer. Tapping this button hangs up on the first call and
takes the second one.
If Call Waiting seems a bit disruptive all the way around, you can turn it off;
When Call Waiting is turned off, incoming calls go straight to
voicemail when you’re on the phone.
