All I want for MacWorld

This is getting to be old. It's the same old story. The iPhone is a great phone, and could be a great handheld computing device...but. So, all I want from MacWorld is not an iPhone Nano. It's not a new larger iPhone/iTouch Netbook. I want the things that should have been available on the iPhone when it first appeared.

Understand, I practically live on my iPhone. I can go for days without using my computer. I can track my personal and business email. I can research information on the Web, and I can take notes for later use. More often than not, I even write my blog posts on the iPhone (this is one of those exceptions). The point is that I use my iPhone a lot and I use it many times as a substitute for my laptop. With that background, here are my gripes.

After a year-and-a-half of clicking back-and-forth between applications trying to remember that 45-digit long URL, Apple give me Cut/Copy/Paste. It can't be that hard. People have applications in the AppStore with the feature enabled. It doesn't matter if you screw it up and have to redo it at a later date, just give me the damn function. My memory isn't what it used to be. Therefore, memorizing a piece of information and switching between applications and then typing is getting less productive the older I get. When I forward a message in email, I don't like to make the reader suffer through all the various forwards. As a result, doing so on the iPhone can literally take hours. It's a dumb feature to be missing and enough is enough.

Add Flash. I don't care if it's doggy, just give me the capability to view Flash content on the iPhone. Whether Steve Jobs likes it or not, Flash is a Web standard. I am finding that there are numerous Web sites that I do not have access to simply because the iPhone does not support Flash. As Adobe expands their Web application suite, this is only going to get worse. Add to this problem the fact that many sites are also now using Microsoft Silverlight and the problem gets worse. Quicktime is a Web standard; good for you Apple. However, Flash and Silverlight are also standards and the iPhone should also support them.

Bring Mobile Safari up to standard so it can be used with sites such as Google Apps. If this means an improved Java engine, so be it. While Apple may be protecting their installed base of iWork users and continuing to show appreciation for the Microsoft Office for Mac crowd, the fact is sites such as Google Apps are catching on and users want access to the presentation, word processing, and spreadsheet functions offered. Locking this capability out of the iPhone will only drive users to alternative platforms (such as the Google OS-based phones). Embrace the evolving Web and ride the wave. Otherwise, Apple may be left in the backwash of a missed wave, much as happened in the '80s.

While I would love to have the ability to rename photos on the iPhone (as has been on my gripe list for more than a year), at a minimum, let me at least pull up the image information. The information on date and time taken are available in the phone as that information is passed to iPhoto. Make it available directly on the phone for crying out loud. While you are at it, allow the photo application to capture GPS coordinates since that field is available.

Finally, Documents-To-Go, get your act together and release the package for the iPhone. I have heard rumors of this being done since the iPhone was released and I am still waiting. Is it copy/paste that's holding you up? If so, implement your own version.

What say you? While I don't mean this to be a infinite wish list, what are the absolute functions that you feel are needed to make the iPhone a true portable computing substitute?

iPhone: Two Month Check-up--Part II

iPhone: Two Month Check-up--Part II

In my last post I started my review of the iPhone having two month's use under my belt. The last post covered the first two applications on the top row: SMS and Calendar. This post will finish up the top row with my thoughts on the Photos and Camera applications.

Photos: First, let's look at the good. The photo albums are a great way to keep photos organized and works well on the iPhone. In like manner, the "Camera Roll" is a good way to categorize recent photos taken with the iPhone. After choosing an album, the thumbnails and the ability to "flick" through them makes it extremely easy to find the picture you are looking for. Finally, the presentation capability built into the iPhone is unmatched on any other smartphone.

Other nice features include the ability to "pinch" the image to resize it, the ability to rotate the phone for landscape images, and the ease with which the user can email an image (or upload to .mac if you have that service--which I don't).

All-in-all, the features available make the photos application powerful and easy to use. But there is also a lot missing that would be expected in a smartdevice in this class. First, I keep many photos on my phone. It would be nice to have access to the properties so I can see when a photo was taken and the file's name. Related to the photo's properties, it would be nice to be able to name a photo in the Camera Roll and assign it to an album--including the ability to create a new album. In turn, iTunes should be sophisticated enough to sort all this out and keep your photos in sync on the desktop.

Another feature available on other smartphone such as the Treo is the ability to attach multiple phones to a single email message. While the argument that single attachments are a performance issue with the EDGE network, it isn't on WiFi where I spend a lot of time.

Camera: it is really hard to criticize the iPhone's camera. Sure it could be a higher resolution, but realistically the 2 mega-pixel camera is more than adequate for photo assignments where I wouldn't have a higher resolution camera available. The color, contrast, and low-light capability are better than any camera I've seen on a phone. I even like the fact that the shutter does not close until you lift your finger from the camera button (as opposed to the typical camera which closes the shutter when you depress the button).

The big disadvantage, as mentioned in numerous reviews and blogs is the lack of a camcorder function. Originally, I did not think this was a big deal, but I never realized how often and how many videos I took with my old Treo. The lack of a camcorder is a major feature gap for the camera.

I will be publishing my thoughts on the second row applications in the near future. In the meantime, if you have comments or additional suggestions for Apple, please let me know.

Walter W. Casey, Ph.D.
Sent from my iPhone