iPhone Improvements

It has been almost 4 months since the iPhone was introduced. In that time, Apple has had the opportunity to experience the requests, complaints, outrage, and lawsuits of an opinionated, activist--but evidently severely loyal customer base. Across the multitude of papercuts that Apple has managed to inflict by its omissions of feature and function in the iPhone, what are the key ones that could make many of these complaints go away?

Well first, their announcement of an SDK has certainly quieted a mass of customers and hackers alike. By offering the SDK, iPhone now has an avenue for legitimate third-party applications. This capability should address the issues related to push email, alternate email clients, games, chat, and other applications that are already available through the hacker community.

However, my highest priority would be Flash capability. I never realized how pervasive Flash is used on Web sites until I started using the iPhone to cruise the World Wide Web. For sites that embed Flash as part of their site, the lack of Flash represents an inconvenience. However, for a number of sites, the lack of Flash means the site is not accessible. If iPhone is going to be an Internet access device as Steve Jobs described it when the iPhone was introduced, then Apple must provide Flash. It doesn't matter whether Flash is a Web standard, whether it is consistent with Web 2.0, or whether it is something Apple dislikes. The fact is Flash is a de facto standard on the Web. If iPhone is going to truly be an Internet access device, Flash is a requirement.

In the same way, the iPhone needs true Java support. If I am going to be able to use the iPhone on the go, use it as a substitute for a PC to browse and use Web content, then I am going to require access and use of www.TheDailyShow.com (Flash required), Google Docs and Spreadsheets (Java/AJAX required), and the ability to successfully enter text seen in an image to validate I am a legitimate user (never has worked).

Most of the rest will take care of itself (who knows, the third-party providers may provide resolution to these papercuts). The key for Apple is that when competitive products start providing these capabilities, Apple is going to be competitively disadvantaged. When that happens, Apple will find that providing those capabilities will not be enough to regain those customers. The clock is ticking and is now at 4 months. By the end of the year, I would predict that it will be too late. Does this mean iPhone will be a long-term failure? No, but it will mean iPhone will be relegated to a small percentage of the market--as what happened with the Mac. As seen with the Mac, market share can be regained, but it is a very slow, tedious process.

Bug: Dead Earphone & Microphone

I don't intend this blog to be a list of iPhone bugs, but since the 1.1.1. update, there are a number to report. This one involves the iPhone's built-in earphone and microphone. I noticed it for the first time yesterday, but had continuing problems with it all day. Evidently, it was caused when the external earphones (or in my case, the cable to my car's speaker system) was removed when the phone was playing a podcast.

The result was that when I attempted to place a phone call the built-in earphone and microphone were dead. The called person got the call, but they did not hear anyone on the other end and I could not hear anyone on the iPhone. In addition, the built-in speakers were dead when in the iPod an YouTube applications. Turning the phone off and back on did not help. Indeed, the only way I could get any sound out of the phone was when placing a call, I put the phone in speakerphone mode--the external speakers and the microphone both worked. When the speakerphone button was pressed again, the built-in earphone and microphone were both dead.

I think I have resolved the problem. What I did was to insert the Apple earbuds. When I made a call, both the earbuds and the microphone were live. I then removed the earbuds from the phone while the call was live. Both the built-in earphone and microphone were live. Subsequent calls indicate that the phone is now working correctly.

Has anyone else seen this issue?

iPhone Bug: Time Change

Being a "24" type guy and a veteran, I have always preferred to have my time set to a 24-hour clock instead of the traditional 12-hour AM and PM format. The iPhone, like many other cell phones provides a setting that allows the user to switch between these two settings. It is found under "Settings," "General," "Date and Time," and the setting "24-Hour Time." That's the good news.

The bad news is that since the update 1.1.1, I've notice that the time on my iPhone will revert to the 12-hour format after syncing through iTunes. The odd thing is, it doesn't occur every time I sync, but rather intermittently. It seems that I can go two or three syncs, and then it resets. I also only notice it when I turn the phone on in the morning. Therefore it could be a combination of syncing and cycling through a battery charge when the phone is off.

Has anyone else noticed this irritating little bug?