What the iPhone Doesnt Got

Posted on 09 Oct 2008 19:10:24 by John Slater
So as i'm sure you are aware i take a very keen interest in the Apple iPhone and because of this very amusing fact i go to extensive lengths to find faults with the thing.

In this article i will discuss what the iPhone needs to at least bring it to a level where it can compete with the cheaper phones which have these features by default. I have even gone to an extra stage and made mockups of how the features may look on the iPhone and also gone into crazy-mode where i stress how easy these features are to create yet Apple ignores it.

#1 Video Recording
Basic feature. I have seen £20 phones with pretty decent video recording abilities and it is the feature of choice for most people because it means they can record there friends happy-slapping people in the street.

What i find excessively annoying about the lack of a video recorder is that Jailbroken iPhones, even Jailbroken 2.0 iPhones, can have a video recording by downloading a simple app which works very well with no clear signs of impossibility. In other words Apple has no excuse for neglecting this feature, yet they toy with my feelings and leave it out in every update.

How...
This feature is certainly possible as i mentioned in the above paragraph and only requires the phone to take low resolution pictures with its built in camera, record the sound from the mic and then after recording just compress it. Why...
I need this because i want to film stuff on my phone, i don't need a reason because it's a standard feature with the majority of phones, and when the iPhone costs £99 and a £30 contract at the low end then i expect a frikin' video camera. Hell i wouldn't mind if Apple opened the SDK up a little bit and allowed developers to create one.

Uses...
I want to be able to record video quickly no matter where i am, just like i can take a picture anywhere, but i mainly want to be able to record video to share on Facebook, YouTube and Here just by uploading them via Third Party Apps.

#2 Bluetooth File Transfer
I know the iPhone has Bluetooth but what the hell use is it if i can only pair with a headset. The majority of people like to send pictures, videos and sounds over Bluetooth to there close by friends, i can't do this, i have to respond by saying "My £170 iPhone doesn't have that ability". No one should have to go through that.

How...
Just open the Bluetooth a little, include it has part of the SDK and allow files to be sent over Bluetooth, i would love to share my pictures with people without having to e-mail. I would love to be able to accept a transfer request for pictures or videos and it save them to my Camera roll or a separate album.

Uses...
Well sharing files is the way of the world in the current age and would certainly make the iPhone more appealing. There are no security issues that can be caused by this that other Third Party Apps haven't already created.

#3 MMS
The iPhone is great in the fact people can e-mail Photos to friends, by some people only read there e-mails once a week or less and carry around there phones. Plus i receive a lot of MMS' and can't read them.

How...
I have seen this done time and time again with the Jailbroken apps which clearly means it is possible. MMS uses a really simple system, a gateway that can be accessed by GSM, EDGE or 3G (even WiFi) and then your currier deals with it and sends it to the appropriate person.

There is no excuse for not having this. Once again this is something the really cheap phones have. The iPhone even has unlimited data (in the UK) which means MMS messages will be free (unless o2 limits this) so all the more reason to add an app.

#4 Turn by Turn GPS
Now i have heard a lot of mish-mash about this feature so excuse me if i'm inaccurate. Apparently Apple has some weird contract with Google which means that Turn by Turn cannot be included.

Even more annoying than that is that TomTom (or was it Garmen) have showcased some Sat-Nav software which is working fine on the iPhone First Generation (with a GPS addon) which means it is certainly possible with the built in one. Why...
Another great selling point for the iPhone would be "Built in TomTom software" which would make it a really cheap option for a Sat-Nav and would also mean you would have it with your all the time.

Why Not...
Well the iPhone doesn't have any sense of direction because of its lack of compass however it would be very easy to overcome this by setting up a system where it will calculate your route first, then when you start to move it can judge your direction of travel. Not rocket science.

Also the contract thing.

#5 Message Tones and Ringtones
I'm very annoyed that Apple decided to do this, but even more annoyed that 1 year after they announced it they haven't bothered to drop it, clearly it is making no money.

I'm talking about Ringtones. Last year Apple released a new iTunes feature that allowed Ringtones to be made from SOME tracks (for a price) and then placed on the iPhone as a ringtone. From what i can tell this hasn't even been done on the UK iTunes store and is clearly making no money because it is easy to make ringtones in Garage Band.

I'm also talking about the lack of custom message tones, the standard tones are crap to put it simply. CRAP. Apple need to allow custom messages tones, message tone assignments and also make it free. Even the cheap phones can do this.

#6 Power Save Mode & 3G on/off shortcut
No matter what Apple say about the iPhone battery life it is very poor and you can only get the best mileage out of it by turning everything off. This is fine by me, but they don't make it easy, you have to dip in and out of features to do it.

How...
Have 1 button on the settings page that says "Power Save" that i can slide to switch on or off. When i slide it to on it turns of 3G, Screen Brightness and switches on Auto-Lock and turns off Fetch for e-mail. Then when i turn it off it remembers all of my settings from before.

Why...
Would help me get better mileage out of my phone and wouldn't mean i have to charge every night if i want it to last the full day.

I also wouldn't mind a button on the same page for 3G, at the moment you need to go into Settings -- General -- Network -- and then from here slide it to on or off. 3G is the biggest cause of battery suckage and allowing me to switch it on and off when i need it, easily too, would be brilliant.

#7 Photo Albums
Once you take a photo with the built in camera it is stuck in the "Camera Roll" album. I wouldn't mind being able to pickup a photo and move it to a new or existing folder without having to re-sync, download, create album in iPhoto and then sync again.

#8 Flash
One feature that all the geeks have been moaning about since the first generation came out is the lack of FLASH. People just want flash. Apple says that Flash just wouldn't run well on the iPhone, but according to Adobe's tests it works fine.

Adobe has publicly said Flash is ready to go on the iPhone but it needs Apple's approval. So now we play the waiting game.

Summary
The iPhone rocks ass but lacks some key features, features that will turn people away from the iPhone, features that would take very little time and features that would make life much easier for thousands if not millions of people's life's.

Missing
If i have missed any features that are required on the iPhone then write me up and we will go about adding them to the article with credit to you and your website of course.

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