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.