The Top 10 Things I Wish My iPhone Had Today
Earlier this week I wrote about my favorite iPhone features.
Most of you agreed that the iPhone is a unique, breakthrough device that is years ahead of other smart phones.
A few of you said that there is nothing special about it, but one reader said that we should
cover both the good and bad things about it. This reader gets his wish in this post, in which we take a look
at things that are missing or need improvement in the iPhone.
To be frank, there are no deal breaker missing or broken features in the iPhone. It is a very well thought-through device. In typical Apple style, the Occam's Razor principle is followed - giving only necessary functions and not adding bells and whistles. However, some applications on iPhone, email in particular, are still quite raw. As discussed in this post on TechCrunch, the email on iPhone is inferior to Blackberry in a number of ways. People also complain about the quality of the iPhone as an actual phone. However I can't find much wrong with it as a phone - in fact, I like it better than the RAZR that it replaced.
But here is my wish list for improvements and add-ons after using the iPhone for over two weeks. (It is possible that a feature I've noted is there and I simply missed it, but if that's the case please point it out in the comments :) )
10. Bulk Select / Delete is missing
The lack of the ability to perform a bulk operation is always annoying. On iPhone, there is no way to select and therefore delete a bunch of emails or photos at once. I configured the iPhone to get my GMail messages via pop interface. As a result, my iPhone Inbox is flooded with emails. A few times a day I have to manually delete emails one at a time - this is very time consuming. Also bad is that due to the nature of pop protocol, all of my GMail emails (even older ones) are forwarded. So as soon as I delete some, more show up and I just don't think I can delete all of them one by one!
9. Camera does not have zoom
The iPhone has a nice built-in camera, but unfortunately it does not have a way to zoom. Even a basic 2x or 3x zoom would be great, as it is not always possible to get closer to things.
8. There is no cache for YouTube videos, browser pages or maps
Having YouTube on the iPhone is fantastic. Unfortunately there is no way to download videos to play when you are offline (e.g. on a plane). An offline mode should be a natural for iPhone, particularly for videos, since it comes with a 6GB hard drive (at least mine does) - but it is practically empty. A setting to save the last 5 or 10 clips that I viewed would go a long way. The same applies to browser pages.
7. Calculator is way too basic
This one is seemingly minor, but why couldn't Apple put in a decent calculator with advanced math functions. Sometimes it is handy to take a square root of 1324 [Ed: when? :) ] and the iPhone calculator does not do it. Perhaps Apple was concerned that a lot of people would be confused by a sophisticated calculator, but I would bet that iPhone early adopters are advanced enough for it.
6. The speaker is not loud enough
This is one is my biggest disappointments in the iPhone as a phone - when I place a call on speaker, it is not loud enough. Particularly when you dial someone and the phone is ringing, you can barely hear the rings. Since this is a hardware issue, unfortunately there is no hope to get this fixed with this version.
5. Web pages take a long time to load in Safari
It is likely that this is more of a Cingular issue than an Apple one, but people are sure to perceive this as iPhone's issue. This is obviously a really hard problem - loading internet pages over a phone network, but Apple jumped into this and so they need to do whatever it takes to make it faster. To be fair, it is not unusabl - it is just slow. Yet, it seems like there are opportunities to create the impression of better performance, via caching and optimization. It's likely the Apple team is already hard at work on this.
4. Editing support is primitive
The iPhone features a very light document editor called Notes. It is more cute then useful, with its stylish font and glamorous page flips. Instead, it would be good to have Copy/Paste support as well as more rich editing features. A better editor is probably in the works, but for now notes are only good for quick shopping lists.
3. There is no wireless sync
Another surprise is that the iPhone syncs only when it is connected to the computer using a physical cable. Perhaps Apple did this as a trick to get us to charge the phone more often (it seems to take a while to charge it fully, by the way). It would be cool to just put the iPhone next to my laptop and have them auto sync, but for now that's not available.
2. There is no built-in GPS
This is really a shame, since iPhone could have been a perfect navigation device. It already has maps built-in, so it is only natural that it would be able to guide you the destination. Seems like Apple could have taken a big bite out of this market; and it is not clear why they did not. Perhaps because of the cost, or design difficulty?
1. Keyboard needs to be improved
After using the iPhone for some time, unfortunately I have to report that its biggest problem is the keyboard. Firstly, I am surprised that it is not better optimized for Safari. Most of the time I am trying to enter my email or user id into text boxes and an auto complete would be great. It seems odd that Apple missed this sort of thing in a few places, when there is a special button for .com.
But that's the least of my problems with the keyboard. Because the keys are too close to each other, more often than not I type in a wrong letter. This is quite frustrating. As I press a letter, it enlarges - showing me what I just typed - but unfortunately it is always about a second late, since I already typed in the letter. If this was done earlier, perhaps I could have avoided the click. The auto complete that Apple built-in is helpful, but ultimately it does not solve the problem.
Frankly I am out of ideas on how to improve the keyboard, but it definitely needs another pass to bring it up to par with the rest of the device.
Conclusion
While the iPhone has had me ravingn for the past couple of weeks, there are definitely things that need to be improved. This is not a surprise since this is just a first generation device. The really good news is that Apple is known for restless innovation and a drive to perfection (just compare the early iPods with the latest ones).
And the second bit of good news is that a lot of the iPhone is software and software can be easily upgraded. When Apple improves the iPhone, it will roll out new versions of the software and all of us will seamlessly get it. While this is not true for things like GPS and a speaker, it is true for most of the issues I've discussed. This is the greatest thing about having a phone (or anything else) as software - it can be easily upgraded.
If you have an iPhone and have used it for the past few weeks, please share your experiences with us. What are your top missing features or things that you would like to see improved?
Comments
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The calculator doesn't even do powers?? Wow. That is a pretty basic feature.. :-(
All good points. My big, raging beef with it is that I have alot of contacts (2500) and there's no way to seach for people other than by first or last name. What if I forgot their name? What if I want to know who I know at a certain company or in a certain city/area code. Nothing. Can't find them. So what do I do? I turn on my half-dead Treo and search for them, then call them on my IPhone. How annoying is that?! It would also make sense for that search function to exist for the whole phone.
Besides a search function, it would also be crucial to add a quickfind option where I type in a name and it brings up all the people with that name instead of having to spend 30 seconds trying to press the right miniscule letter on the alphabet bar on the right and then scrolling... and scrolling... and scrolling and scrolling.....Argh!
And while I'm at it, why in the world can't I edit a contact while I'm on the phone? That's usually when I get my updated info from people.
Notes should also recognize web addresses and phone numbers (names too, perhaps?) so if I type in call Paul Smith as a note, it immediately recognizes Paul Smith and I can bounce to his contact info and call him.
i wish a iphone :(
Sure, in a few time a new firmware was released...... but.... they have to change a lot of things, because ipho isn´t cheaper
The great thing is that as time has gone on the reviews have become a lot more meaningful. Maybe it's only natural but I think it's worthwhile pointing out given all the hype (pre- and post-launch)that we have seen.
On the other hand though, my gut tells me that the iPhone was more bought for the "vanity" factor and so many of the points listed probably won't mean much to the average buyer.
"Camera does not have zoom".. and others...
Remember.. iPhone is a mobile phone, not a camera, a calculator, etc. Is the first version also.
How about "Having a Service Provider other than AT&T"
AT&T service is horrible, customer service is even worse. I just got my first bill, wholly incomprehensible and it is filled with BS charges for everything from phone insurance to roadside assistance to ringtones that were never ordered. I never requested any of these things. I would not want to be holding AT&T stock on the 2nd anniversary of the iPhone release.
These lists have been done to death and they're getting boring, frankly. When Apple adds the following, I'll reconsider the iPhone: real third-party programs, Exchange ActiveSync for OTA syncing of email, calendars, tasks and contacts, a filesystem for storing files and Bluetooth support for devices other than headsets. There are a lot of other things missing, but those things I don't care about. These are dealbreakers for me. And without them, it's not a smartphone.
If you don't have an iPhone you can have one by January 2 2008
http://hotcellfish.com/freeiphone.html as well as ringtones all for free.
Thank you :)
Think before you leap -- with misunderstanding.
...And while I'm at it, why in the world can't I edit a contact while I'm on the phone? That's usually when I get my updated info from people. ...
You can edit a contact. Just push the Edit button on the contact's page.
...Why doesn't the iPhone support cut-and-paste, multiple select, multiple delete, etc.?
How would you implement the UI for these operations? How could one distinguish a drag for cut-and-paste from a scroll? Or multiple taps for multiple selections from taps to enlarge or diminish or get more info or make a call or etc.
The UI is revolutionary -- that's no hype -- but any interface has its limitations. I know this: I've never had so much fun using a cell phone in my (long) life.
BTW, no one really cares why someone won't buy an iPhone. Just as no one cares why someone won't buy a Lexus. Every user should investigate for him- or herself to make that decision. Don't stampede -- in either direction.
WOW.. everythign is truee great points man... but i love showing of my phone i get attention from every one and the girl rates has increased dramaticly..( no really )
you people should try IPHONE NOVA best place to download anythign u need.. well me im tryign to fill up my 8gb of memory.. but overal i think ima switch to my blackberry curve.......
So finally we got to the bottom of it all. iPhone is out there so that we can get more love :) Thanks Darwin, this is great one!
Alex
Zoom would be useless. The phone is too small for an optical zoom, meaning you'd just have a digital zoom, which is basically the same as taking the picture and cropping it in iPhoto later.
Re: wireless sync. I agree. At the very least, I should be able to subscribe to published iCal calendars.
Why does Safari have a .com button on the iPhone? Doesn't it work like the desktop version of Safari? All you have to do on the desktop version is type in the meat of the address in the address bar, Safari then fills in the obvious guess of starting with "http://www." and ending it with ".com". (obviously, I don't have an iPhone, so I can't answer this for myself.)
Just curious.
...Why does Safari have a .com button on the iPhone? Doesn't it work like the desktop version of Safari? All you have to do on the desktop version is type in the meat of the address in the address bar, Safari then fills in the obvious guess of starting with "http://www." and ending it with ".com".
Q1: I dunno. Probably in case one wants to descend deeper into a web site rather than just visiting the home page.
Q2: Yes. I typed "readwriteweb" and I got here.
"breakthrough device that is years ahead of other smart phones".. Oh really? Most the iPhones' features have been in other smartphones for years, and the iPhone is even lacking several basic smartphone and cell phone features that have been in other (smart)phones for years, which will by the way all allow you to install third party software (such as TomTom Navigator for in-car GPS-based navigation) or develop your own, unlike the iPhone. The new and innovative features are mostly related to the user interface. Several hobbyist developers have already created iPhone emulation / look-a-like interfaces for Pocket PC phones running Windows Mobile.
One thing Apple could do to solve the keyboard problem is to enable linking the iPhone to a Bluetooth keyboard. This would allow third party developers to create portable Bluetooth enabled keyboards for the iPhone.
Sometimes a UI is a breakthrough. In 1984, the Macintosh was a breakthrough simply because of its interface. Sure, it didn't have a parallel port, couldn't read tapes, didn't have a hard drive, used those weird hard floppies, and had a, uh, pointing device called a mouse. (How cute!) The interface was so novel that many command-liners called the computer a toy. (The Mac wasn't first; the Lisa, and to a limited extent, the Star, were earlier but had no impact.)
Today no one computes with anything like the IBM PC interface. The GUI is so standard that most kids today have no idea what C:\ is. You can do more with a command line -- more features and more power -- but no one uses it except in isolated cases. Even Unix editors are GUI.
The GUI made computing possible for the vast majority of people who use it today. The iPhone has a similar capability. I'll bet that ALL cellphones of ten years from now will have an interface derived from the iPhone, if they can get by the Apple patents.
The iPhone is a subscription so you will get new features. You get more software for free instead of having to buy it and configure it yourself.
The guy defending Windows Mobile needs to get a grip. There is no comparison. You have to buy $400 in SD cards and $400 in add-on software just to get Windows Mobile into the same ballpark as iPhone out of the box. You still won't have a real Web browser but then again if you use IE on the Desktop then you may not miss Web 2.0. For those of us who are into Web 2.0 there is only the iPhone.
I can't receive MMS with my new iPhone. Although iphone isn't a perfect one, I love it very much! :)
On the keyboard - the key press is registered when you lift your finger OFF the iPhone. It's not registered when you press the actual key. That's why it's magnifies so you can see what your finger is on. If the wrong letter appears, you *slide* your finger to correct and then lift your finger when the correct key shows.
I can imagine how painful it would be to use the keyboard if you didn't realize this...
I made a scientific calculator for the iPhone, that loads in Safari, and which you cam loak into a bookmarklet so that you can use it offline. http://scicalc.belfry.com/