It has technically
been available for three weeks today (and a few hours in the US, but who's counting?), although we're confident quite a few of you are still waiting to actually hold your very own iPhone 3G. Still, those that have braved the excruciatingly
long lines and got lucky with AT&T's apparently random
Direct Fulfillment approach surely have something to say. We've already confirmed that firmware 2.0 has some
serious issues that need dealt with, and aside from elaborating on those, what else would you have done differently with Apple's second handset? Would you have changed the overall design more dramatically? Finally included a user-removable battery? Used a casing material that wouldn't crack
for no good reason under pressure? There's still time for your input to be heard before firmware 2.1 arrives (ahem, Apple?) -- sound off below!
posted August 1st 2008 7:00PM
Speed dial.
Bluetooth file transfer between phones (not just iPhones).
Windows Vista
I'd put it on Verizon's network. ATT = suk
Make it available on by more carriers.
I would put the iPhone 3G on Verizon's network...
3g Iphone needs a larger speaker for louder volume, ringtone for received text messages, twin speakers for improved music sounds, unlocking for foreign sim cards.
International keyboard!
We have letters in the Finnish alphabet that we use frequently (Ä,Ö,Å). Now the Apple's "international" keyboard is a default US keyboard where by holding A or O you get ALL the possible umlauts for that character. We have only the two dots and a circle and they should be on the keyboard where they are on a regular qwerty keyboard (next to letters L and P). It's really annoying to type when you have to hold and select all the time (and you can't hold with one finger and select with another).
11 pages of comments? I guess there's a lot to change!
So, what would make me buy an iPhone?
Well really, I love each one of my iPods, and I love every one of my past phones. So if there was something that replaced both my iPod and phone without loss of functionality, then I would be happy.
There is no question that things need to change, the fact is that they do.
1) Network/contract problem, if you want to make something that has wide appeal, then do that. As a business, it is tremendously inefficient and bad strategy to immediately limit yourself to networks/contracts. Scrap the idea of locking the phone, do the smart thing, unlock it.
2) Give the thing A2DP, my phone has this, so should the iPhone.
3) Put a front mounted camera for video calling, make video calling happen, make the rear camera better quality, not necessarily mega pixels, because 2 mega pixels can be stunning if everything else is right.
4) Let there be tetherability! If I had a laptop, which I am going to soon, then I'd want to be able to use the internet, and having the technology there to connect to 3G but not being able to is just plain silly.
5) Improve Google Maps, so that it automatically tracks your position.
6) Improve battery life, weather it is a different display, better circuitry, more optimised software, better power management or just a bigger battery, do it, make it stand up to my phone.
7) Give it in 32 gigabytes, for gosh sakes, I have an 80 gigabyte iPod, how am I supposed to replace that with a meagre 16 gigabytes?
8) Give it a better back cover, anodised aluminium maybe.
9) Set music as ringtone.
10) Give it MMS, message fowarding etc. things that should have been there.
11) Open the software development kit, make everything free.
12) Resolve the charging problem.
13) Be more descriptive in your software updates.
14) Make the phone book faster.
There is great potential in the iPhone brand, but if Apple continues to play its cards so badly, then it will flounder.
Your post is a real "everything including the kitchen sink" kind of post, which isn't realistic or helpful. You basically want it to do everything in the known universe, and also have better battery life, and keep the same form factor. Try to keep your requests to things that are actually achievable in reality.
1. The other carriers had their chance to get the iPhone on their networks when Jobs was shopping the iPhone around to them all. They all turned him down except for AT&T. So if you want to blame somebody for the iPhone's exclusivity on AT&T, blame the CEOs of the other carriers. It's directly their fault.
3. You would clearly need to make the iPhone thicker to accommodate two cameras. This is also a feature that most people would not use. And by most people, I mean exactly that. Most people do not need or want 2 way video calling, and believe it or not, the iPhone is designed for "most people".
4. Developers are already making that work in software.
5. That's up to Google, not Apple.
6. The battery in the 3G iPhone is the best performing battery out of all 3G phones sold. No joke, every other 3G enabled phone has worse battery life. 3G takes a lot of power, that's all there is to it.
7. The iPhone only has room for a single chip. 32GB chips are not widely available yet in bulk and for cheap enough that this is feasible for Apple to implement. You can be sure that when they are cheap enough and available enough, Apple will start using them. Your 80GB iPod has an actual hard drive, not a solid state chip.
8. Metal blocks wireless signals. The reason the back is plastic on the 3G iPhone is because of all the new signals it can send and receive, i.e. 3G and GPS. If you look at the original iPhone, there is a black plastic strip near the bottom on the back. That was for the cell antenna.
9. You can already use whatever music you want as a ringtone, there are multiple ways you can do it, all free.
10. MMS is outdated. You have a full featured email client on the iPhone, and you can attach pictures to email, and email is just data and doesn't incur extra charges like MMS would. Also, everybody has email - not everybody has MMS.
11. So anybody can make total crapware or even viruses? No thanks.
12. What charging problem? Mine charges just fine.
14. Mine is actually pretty fast. Not sure what you're referring to with this one.
"There is great potential in the iPhone brand, but if Apple continues to play its cards so badly, then it will flounder."
Oh, please. They sold a million of them in the first three days of release, is that your idea of "floundering"? If you believe the iPhone is somehow going to fail at this point, you need a stiff dose of reality.
2. Metal blocks wireless signals. The reason the back is plastic on the 3G iPhone is because of all the new signals it can send and receive, i.e. 3G and GPS. If you look at the original iPhone, there is a black plastic strip near the bottom on the back. That was for the cell antenna.
3. The battery in the 3G iPhone is the best performing battery out of all 3G phones sold. No joke, every other 3G enabled phone has worse battery life. 3G takes a lot of power, that's all there is to it.
Self Destruct Button.
We do not want this thing to fall in the hands of Martian lifeforms.
battery sucks!
copy & paste NOW
I don't have the 3G version but seeing the two are very similar here are my suggestions for fixes:
1.) Flash for camera
2.) Video Recording
3.) ADOBE FLASH (seeing that half the internet if not more uses it)
4.) Heard some people talking aobut IM, use JiveTalk, however it would be cool that when you are in your inboxes on the phone the IM will turn on
5.) Universal Inbox, primarily MSN
6.) Safari fix (maybe Mozilla is creating an app?)
7.) For those who have 3G-ability to use it as a modem to your computer since blackberry's can for only $5 more a month (prices are subject to area you live in but last I checked that was the min price)
8.) I probably wouldn't use it but copy/paste feature does sound tantilizing
9.) Much, Much, Much, Much, better battery life, I used multi applicaitons on the phone and i have to charge the dang thing at least once a day, be nice if they can improve that ohh, let's twice as much?
10.) Removable battery, because lets be honest, batteries will die and shelling out the money for a new phone (heard that was cheaper than replacing the battery?) is ridiculus.
Those are the 10 things I would want to see changed, again I don't have a 3G so the physical aspects like the cracking and the dock I really can't atest to but if they are major problems then I would have 12 things to fix on here.
See, this is the problem I'm seeing with a lot of your requests. You want features that would require using way more battery power, and then you say you want better battery life at the same time. Do you see how those two things can't co-exist?
Adobe Flash is extremely processor intensive, and would drain your battery like you wouldn't believe. Are you sure you want it?
As far as the iPhone's battery life as it is, it's the best battery life of any 3G phone sold. That's right, every other 3G phone has worse battery life than the iPhone. 3G takes a lot of power, that's all there is to it. What you're asking for is unrealistic, at least for now.
A removable battery would require completely redesigning the iPhone and making it considerably thicker and heavier. Don't count on that happening.
I know what you mean, I always complain about battery life and how we always need more. This thread is about improvements. Don't mean it have to be realistic.
And yes, I would love to see Adobe Flash Player. And yes I would use it. And yes I know the consequences of that. Thing is, I hate how Apple always says interent in your hand when half of the internet sites are adobe flash and you cant view them.
Again, i know how unrealistic everything is on this, but hey, they asked for improvements.
1. Copy/Paste
2. Ability to add a phone number/address to a new/existing contact when you click on it (in addition to dialing or viewing on a map)
3. Don't move icons after updating apps -- keep the existing ordering
4. Undo
5. WiFi printing (and/or print to PDF and automatically save the PDFs to the MobileMe documents folder)
6. Tethering
7. Flash support
8. Better Safari stability
9. Video chat
10. Video camera
11. Autofill form data (and detect form field type for easier input -- the way address book works for phone/email).
i really wish i could change my email and sms notification sounds with my ringtones. why do they only let you use te stupid pre loaded ones???
I LOVE my iPhone and nothing else out there even comes close. But if I were in charge, someone would have to improve these weaknesses:
- WHITE CRAPTASTIC EARBUDS on a glossy black and chrome premium phone? Why?!! Ditto the white charger & USB adapter.
- DIRECT PRINTING for photos and documents via bluetooth or a cable connection or PictBridge or ???. Hey Apple, it's a premium media phone, and you're also trying to get into the business market.
- TETHERING!!!! Even if you have to cap it, in a pinch it's handy for businessfolk.
- CUT & PASTE -- kinda goes without saying, but 95% of us have said it
- VOICE DIALING and/or real speed dialing
- BETTER BATTERY LIFE!!!
- A 2-tier plan for those who have no access to 3G or are willing to live without (but that's an ATT thing)
- ENABLE MORE BLUETOOTH PROTOCOLS that allow useful tasks, like typing on a portable keyboard
Door to Door GPS driving directions w/ voice commands (preferable UK English female accent)
Flash Support but apparently us web designers should really create a flash check as a backup option for a html/css rollovers for iphones and other mobile devices. ya just can't make everyone happy sometimes.
the iPhone is a breakthrough device! I can't wait to have the internet at my fingertips while on the road.
BUILT IN VOIP!! BUILT IN VOIP!! BUILT IN VOIP!!
Longer battery life, copy and paste, mms, to do list where are you?
Battery life man, it's soooooo bad.
I'd like FM radio - for those times when you just want to catch the news, or you've got bored of your music collection.
The only thing stopping me from switching to the iPhone is AT&T. I am considering buying and unlocking a first generation iPhone. Whatever happened to it being illegal for carriers to refuse to unlock a phone upon request?
1. Battery life sucks... less then a few hours when using apps wtf????
it takes half the day to recharge and only a few hours to run it down... what the hell batterys are you using???...
2. Make the software more smoother.. chunky movement all over when you start adding music and apps and so forth...
3. Did i mention the battery life sucks so hard, you have to recharge every day...
ps. to all that dont own one yet....
Its an insanly crap phone dont get it......
Nokia n series ftw...
Put Steve jobs head in a vice and squeeze some of the arrogance out of him. Tip making everyone that brought the first one not want to bother with either ATT and the all encompassing god of apple that seem to be really good at telling us how we live. I have tried the new phone a few times and quite frankly 2.5 times faster than totally useless is well , a joke. the first generation phone is just as fast and would be even better if it were not for ATT and there prehistoric network. Its a shame the USA does not have an advanced ant tried 3G network like Europe or the 4.5mb/s that they get in Japan. No here we are meant to get excited about close to dial up speed. Yippee. Go ATT let all your Applites get sick of your terrible network. In fact its really quite a good synergy. Steve Jobs endless arrogance and the ATT network more bars in more places. (then read the disclaimer- Based on total world coverage) Now that's what we call in advertising miss direction.
Being able to set MP3s as ringtones and SMS alerts without having to mess about with conversions and jailbreaking!
I think that the iPhone should have MMS capabilities and that Apple should allow TomTom to make an application.
who needs games from the appstore just play online www.ipfun.org
I mean http://www.ipfun.org
Voice activation, camera capable of recording video, capable of watching t.v. and radio programs.
I use it for business. and there are 3 MAJOR disadvantages over blackberry That I ave notice so for. I would net recommend an iPhone over a black berry for a business user until these things are changed.
Data detectors in the calendar. I can not go into a meeting notes on and call the number attached. I have to write it down, switch to the phone and dial it manually.
an 'x' in the phone number should pause foe 3 seconds and continue. so to dial 5551212 x 1234 will call the number wait 3 seconds then dial the extension.
the button on the headset is hangup, not mute. To mute, you have to press the button on the screen. that means taking it out of my pocket. on conference calls, you need to stay muted most of the time, espc when you are in a noisy place like an airport. so, click to mute, hold or 2 seconds to hang up.
and a bonus issue: double tapping the home button should be configurable. I would like it to open a voice dialer so I can call somebody while driving without looking at the screen.
I can't believe no-one has asked for
rotate the screen in email. I receive many emails with html content. You need to rotate to wide screen just like web browsing.
Need to change the notification noises - the canned ones are too quiet.
They stole a couple of good ideas from BB and then didn't implement them right: double space and smart text. I should be able to edit my smart text dictionary!
The included Google Map is useless - vitually no options at all. This is not a google problem. It works great on BB.
Have you guys ever shop around and seen what the chinese electronic market look like?
If not go ahead and do it now, we alays think inside the box so we can not go far for better chances, the chinese electronic market is about to choak the US Cell phone companies whom thought they can keep a customer in exchange of their CDMA hand sets,"I don't think so they can do that after FCC have passed regulation in around 2006 or begnning of 2007,
Cell phone companies are required to unlock their hand sets up on purchase, but some carriers like AT&T still give you pre-conditions to do that, you should use them as a providers atleast for 90 days before they will unlock the phone you paid full price for.
What about the unlocked doubble SIM GSM phone which is very similar to the iPhone and cost only $65.00 per set? is AT&T and some other phone companies have full rights to take them out of the market?
I don't think so, Phone service providers are pushing so hard not to improve their coverage or to come out with better plan but to build mountains off a dollar, bad news chinese are behind them they should do some thing now.
My watch phone, my doubble SIM GSM phone and my fixed GSM terminal cost me about $400.00, compaire that to a single iPhone and all the brearocracy and sabotages of our wireless service providers.
Copy and paste for sure - and longer battery life. I feel a dick walking around with a battery packed jammed up the bottom of the iphone - just to get a full day out of it. My blackberry pearl got 3 days playing music and writing emails all day. Seriously apple, great toy but until you sort the baterry life and cut and paste out its not a corporate tool.
Hmm...what I would do is put on a proper camera on there(3.2 or 5 megapixel) video recording,copy/passte,actual turn by turn driving software,a2dp,introduce safari to something called flash,better battery life,improve the screen resolution and up the ppi from 160 to 200 and MAKE IT AVAILABLE INTERNATIONALLY!!!!!!! and improve the freaking 3g connection!!!!!
FLIP IPHONE
MAKE IT FLIP!!!
PLEASE FLIP IT!!! (With optional Star Trek Original Communicator Flip sounds)
well thats another contract that needs renewed.. my cell / mobile.
although all my acquaitences in the UK & US media have told me how dire the new iphone bells & whistles 3g is (in the uk it's on O2.. not a great network) i fancied getting one anyway as i have worked with macs for the past 17 years (ahh the old LC2's..) and i like toys as i am a big kid.. i didnt expect it to run final cut studio, shake & after effects in the background or work as a logic based multitracking system.. but after the arduous task of sprending 10 seconds on google and thus reading all these reviews.. im quite shocked at just how shit they sound.. in 17 years only had 1 ipod go up it & a g4 powerbook hard disk fuck up long after warranty (dont go for the 3 year mac plan thing as its a con on apples part)... so macs are ok i guess in my book.
All i wanted was email forwarding.. 3g to work.. gps would be cool when im to drunk to read my london a-z and copy / paste (as they are selling it as a mini computer thing.. are they not???)... to re quote lennon.. "life is what happens between tring to get your new iphone to work"..
so glad i read all this as my contract would have cost me about £1000 a year (thats half the price of a gibson les paul.. or a new powerbook) for an ipod touch 16 gig and a shit 10 quid phone...
think ill get another blackberry again then and keep the good old ipod for tunes and films and if i ever get lucky enough to meet kylie manoge while on the piss in chelsea ill just have to use her phone to take her pic and forward it to me... oh shit.. hope she hasnt got the new iphone then...