Add/Edit calendar functionality coming to the iPod touch?

Come on, you expect us to believe someone on a forum thread saying that Steve Jobs emailed him directly to say that they'd be adding a feature to one of Apple's products? Well, if that's all it takes, we'll get to it next time. With the evidence being a screengrab of an email from "[e-mail]," David Jearly at the MacRumors forum claims to have definitive proof that the lack of user editing of calendars on the iPod touch is a "bug" that will be fixed in the next update. To us, the absence of an editing option is more than a simple bug, but if it's getting added, then who cares why it wasn't there in the first place. Of course, David Jearly's gonna get himself well and truly stuck in the dunce corner if this doesn't come to fruition.

[Thanks, David and Mike]

[lordofthedirectrix @ Oct 7th 2007 6:10AM]

Painfully fake :D

[Paul @ Oct 7th 2007 11:18AM]

So (assuming this is real), they copied iPhone software, which the calendar worked, and managed, in the transition, to break it...rriigghhtt.

Also in regards to the games, the point isn't to run the same old files, the point is to not screw over your customers, and give them credit for the previously purchased games, to redownload them.

[apeguero @ Oct 8th 2007 7:55AM]

Although I agree that it would've been nice to allow one to keep using the games previously purchased for the iPod 5/5.5G, I wouldn't be that upset about it. I kind of see it as two different systems. When you bought the game, it was meant for the 5/5.5G and the games are still there and playable right? Honestly, it would be really nice if Apple can somehow allow people to re-download the games they bought and install them to their new iPod Touch or even iPhone but I'm sure that somewhere in their long ass EULA it might say something that restricts the usage of these games to the 5/5.5G iPod.

[Mitch @ Oct 7th 2007 6:27AM]

If I send you guys an image about Steve Jobs, will you also publish that? What bs.

[suv4x4 @ Oct 7th 2007 6:40AM]

They used "?" in the end of the article title. This means it's ok for them to post stuff they're almost sure is wrong.

Don't you know anything about blogs and journalists :)

[suv4x4 @ Oct 7th 2007 6:34AM]

Now that this is out, suv4x4 is my secret nickname, I'm Steve Jobs.

And this email is totally fake.

[supermeerkat @ Oct 7th 2007 7:33AM]

No I'm Steve Jobs!

[Steve Butler @ Oct 7th 2007 7:46AM]

No I'M SPARTICUS! I mean Steve Jobs.

[underwhelm @ Oct 7th 2007 8:38AM]

I'm Brian, and so's my wife.

[supermeerkat @ Oct 7th 2007 8:33AM]

Is SPARTICUS any relation to SPARTACUS?

[Argot @ Oct 7th 2007 9:09AM]

Yes, it's SPARTACUS metrosexual brother from New York. He's working as a waiter but is really an actor. He's just in between gigs.

[Scooby03 @ Oct 7th 2007 9:20AM]

Would the real Steve Jobs please stand up?

[Josh @ Oct 7th 2007 11:23AM]

*stands up*

[michas_pi @ Oct 7th 2007 5:06PM]

*comes late to the party and frantically waves*

No, I am Spartacus!

[Dvd @ Oct 7th 2007 6:42AM]

Clearly fake. As you remember, Apple first advertised the edit/add calender feature for the iPod Touch before it was removed secretly. It was done without a doubt on purpose - not a bug.

[Snorre Milde @ Oct 7th 2007 8:59AM]

Actually, they did exactly the same when they discovered that the OS X "Home on iPod" feature wasn't going to be stable on the 1.8" iPod hard drives.

Now, I'm not claiming this email is legitimate - I'm just sayin'.

[Matt @ Oct 7th 2007 6:42AM]

I'll believe it when I see it.

[zionlion @ Oct 7th 2007 6:48AM]

I would suggest that if you feel strongly enough to post on the subject then could I suggest you contact Apple http://www.apple.com/feedback/ipodtouch.html and ask them to include Calendar editing and Notes.

Im not calling David a liar and cant imagine why anyone would go the the trouble of faking a email and posting for all to see, if this was the case then that person would need to check into a "special" hospital and get help.

[NG @ Oct 7th 2007 7:12AM]

why not? kids these days have enough time on their hands to do stuffs like this
besides.. how hard is it to fake a screenshot e-mail?

[yacoub @ Oct 7th 2007 8:27AM]

Here's what I wrote if anyone prefers copy/paste to thinking up their own wording:

subject: touch needs Notes and Calendar entry add/edit

feedback type: bug report

feedback:

These items were mysteriously removed from the firmware ported over from the iPhone. Please return these items so that the iPod touch can benefit from a fully-functional Calendar application and the Notes application. Thank you.

[Darnell @ Oct 7th 2007 11:57AM]

I've just submitted my request. Let's kick this petition into overdrive people!

[Up2Late @ Oct 7th 2007 3:52PM]

Good idea.

This was my comment (and yes, it's true):

I was excited about getting a touch as soon as it was released. However, this bewildering handicapping put such a sour taste in my mouth, that I've been looking for alternatives.

Then I find out my Keyspan docking station won't work with it either, due to another money grab by apple. Also my headphone jack tv out cables are rendered useless!?

I had been saving up, and was ready to buy a touch, nano, and mac mini (to get better syncing with the touch calendar), but I just can't support this type of behavior.

[scott @ Oct 7th 2007 6:51AM]

A four-year-old could have made this in microsoft paint.

[robert @ Oct 7th 2007 4:53PM]

Really?

[Paul @ Oct 7th 2007 6:54AM]

Taking out features is a bug? Then the iPod's are full of bugs, I guess.

[Josh @ Oct 7th 2007 11:24AM]

why don't we just call them windows ME and be done with it?

[Luke J @ Oct 7th 2007 6:54AM]

Calender? come on... once apple learns to add new functionality like "motion-sensor" playlists, where you "shake" the phone to shuffle through playlists, then they will start to make strides against iphone clones coming out of China. The iPod scroll wheel was probably one of the only original ideas, Apple came out with... if they can incorporate the "motion-sensor" into their iPhone,, they'd get more sale than they did but cutting the price of the iPhone by $200 or than sales from having some unlock a new version. This D99i does everything and more than the iPhone - takes cards and is slimmer... downside is their is not built-in memory. Check it:


http://www.chinagrabber.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1399

LJ

[easymac30 @ Oct 8th 2007 12:27PM]

Do you have any idea how many times they quote false specs in that website you provided? My personal favorite is
"16 million colors"....then scroll farther down to the specs list..."262,000 colours"

They list the tech specs like 5 times on that site, and they often don't match.

Looks suspect as all hell to me.

Sent from my iPhone

[DannyBoyUK @ Oct 7th 2007 7:05AM]

Just to be fair here, have any of you looked at the actual-size picture? It kinda looks genuine (or at the very least, not photoshopped).

It feels so good to be back on the moral high ground! Now to fall off again. Why on earth would the CEO of Apple send an email to this guy anyway?

[suv4x4 @ Oct 7th 2007 11:21AM]

"Just to be fair here, have any of you looked at the actual-size picture? It kinda looks genuine (or at the very least, not photoshopped)."

Yup, and the language seemed grammatically correct English. I believe Steve Jobs speaks English. It must be him!

Clarification: you don't need to "photoshop" an email snap, since it's fasr easier to just send yourself said email from any address you want (it's joke easy).

[Ian @ Oct 8th 2007 4:34AM]

Believe it or not, but Steve Jobs (or more likely some PA assigned to him) does respond to e-mails. I once e-mailed him a long time ago about various licensing issues that had been holding back the launch of iTunes Music Store in the UK at that time and was surprised to get a very long and very informative post back from his office, signed "Best, Steve". Now you may want to call me a faker on that one too, as some people around here don't believe anything they ever read, but I checked the mail and it definitely came from the Apple servers and was very in-depth about the issues (probably because I cc'd some friends of mine who were working in business affairs at one of the major labels at the time). I was very surprised to receive the mail.

As a result, I think this is genuine.

[bugmat @ Oct 7th 2007 7:22AM]

Fake. If that was a BUG what kind of half-@$$ programmers do they employ at Apple?! Even Windows ME had better programmers than that(low blow :D)!

[ture @ Oct 7th 2007 7:30AM]

E-mail [e-mail] is wrong, because this e-mail address is used by Human Resource division referred to the job opportunities.

[Annun @ Oct 7th 2007 7:36AM]

It says [e-mail], not [e-mail]. Still, sounds fake.

[Andreas @ Oct 7th 2007 7:51AM]

A couple of years ago I e-mailed Apple about something, can't recall what. I was guessing a couple of e-mail addresses wildly to reach Steve Jobs, and I reached another employee named Steve at Apple. He e-mailed me back and told me he was not THAT Steve, and that he couldn't answer my request, and that the address I was looking for was actually [e-mail], the same address as stated in this article. (Not [e-mail] without the "s".)

So.. while it's totally a 5 minute job to fake an e-mail screenshot, Steve Jobs is a person after all. He makes surprise exceptions sometimes about where to leak information. If he's referring to a bug it might point to iPhone and iPod Touch not using the same exact hardware and OSX version and there being different versions of iCal that at submission date didn't work as it should etc. And even if it's a fake e-mail, I believe it's just a matter of time before the iCal on touch will be full fledged..

[mark @ Oct 7th 2007 11:25AM]

Actually i have emailed that and had a response from executive relations about my mac.

[Jonathan @ Oct 7th 2007 7:40AM]

If this is legit (which seems doubtful), my guess would be that there isn't a bug, but this is back-channel damage control. Apple has taken a lot of flak for removing calendar editing in the touch. "It's a bug" is going to sound better to people than "We were transparently cynical and don't want any more bad press".

I imagine getting an e-mail from Steve Jobs is closer to "Relevant form responses compiled by an underling using an internal FAQ Steve OKed" rather than "Hi buddy, you're the best. Your pal, Steve Jobs".

[Sebastiaan Wildschut @ Oct 7th 2007 8:09AM]

Well if they also add the mail application on the next software update i'll buy one!!

[Leonard Nimrod @ Oct 7th 2007 9:37AM]

@ Everyone,

Just wait until Leopard comes out.

The iPhone was originally to be released alongside Leopard but that turned out to be too much for Apple to tackle at once. They had to make a decision and I think they made the right on with going with iPhone development as the iPhone will surely bring in more Mac users than Leopard will bring.

Yes, Apple's is still highly concerned with selling Macs. There are fundamental changes with the Calendar features between Tiger and Leopard (and though I can't think of any reason why you can edit with the iPhone and not the Touch) I have it on good authority [my authority] that Leopard will bring full Calender features to the Touch. We will also see Note syncing into Mail 3.0. It's built in and just waiting for Leopard to be unleashed.

There are also some other features that Apple plans to release for the iPhone/Touch with Leopard but I'm not at liberty to talk about them. Just be patient.

[Josh @ Oct 7th 2007 11:26AM]

Are you fo real?

[Leonard Nimrod @ Oct 7th 2007 11:29AM]

@ Josh,

What part(s) of my comment don't sound "fo real'?

[Razor @ Oct 7th 2007 8:44PM]

Leonard, I was thinking the same thing myself. You pretty much confirmed my thoughts.

Now if Leopard could some how open up 3G on the iPhone we'd be all set! ;-)

[sr @ Oct 7th 2007 10:41AM]

Not that it matters but the guy's name is David J Early. It's even visible from the tiny inset you provided.

[Chip @ Oct 7th 2007 10:41AM]

When you step back and think about this story, doesn't is crack you up? Calendar edit support? What?!
Apple should really concentrate on Exchange Push email, video taking, streaming audio Bluetooth and heck, better Bluetooth features in general. Editing calendar function is a drop in the bucket of needed items. I don't see the release of Leopard changing any of that.

[ASZ @ Oct 7th 2007 10:51AM]

Um...iPod touch, not iPhone. Like stated in the article headline.

[Mr. Jobs @ Oct 7th 2007 11:12AM]

Well, it seems halfway genuine after a quick Googly search. Apparently Apple replied with this address to someone using this email address. Huzzah for Google:

http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-162031.html

[tjfear @ Oct 7th 2007 11:33AM]

I've used that e-mail address before. It's a great way to skip the "lines" on the phone. I had problems with my MBP, e-mailed it, and within about 40 minutes I had an Apple Exec. talking to me and had my computer fixed right way.

Also, I wrote an e-mail to it about other stuff, and I had a reply that said "Best, Steve" at the end and then all the way at the bottom said it "Sent from my iPhone." There were a few e-mails back and forth, all them saying it was Steve.

So, I would say getting a response is legit, now what's actually inside could have been faked.

[Snitch @ Oct 7th 2007 12:41PM]

although its not strange to me becuase Steve jobs does sometimes email customers back but this just looks fake as hell he probabily answer one it a million of his emails, also it does not take a rocket scientist to know that events is coming to the ipod toch because its already says events when you open up the calendar it just dont have the + sign to let you add anything to it, so i guess its coming soon

[lolec @ Oct 7th 2007 1:04PM]

[e-mail] is an institutional email, of course its not steve answering. I have contacted that email a cuple of times for sponsoring, and I dont spect steve answering. You will recieve that same answer if you email any other @apple.com email I think.

Engadget should try asking, their voice is louder than ours.

[Ryan @ Oct 7th 2007 2:18PM]

I just sent in an e-mail asking, and got a reply! It's true... The edit feature is coming!!!