Anyone else dying for new apps that DONT require close proximity to cell tower/wifi?

[scriptkitten]

i live in nyc and spend a lot of time in the subway. the fact that apple only wants to allow developers to create apps through safari is really frustrating. i can't USE safari in the subway! basically, i want more toys for my commute. the blackberry was really good for this. with offline RSS readers, games, etc etc.

also, living with no SMS outbox is really really frustrating because it means that i can't get back to all my friends' txt messages while out of network. i want them queued for when i re-emerge from the subway.

grrr.

other than this, i LOVE my iphone, but i feel like Apple didn't consider those of us who don't always have an edge signal.

 

[Sobe]

i live in nyc and spend a lot of time in the subway. the fact that apple only wants to allow developers to create apps through safari is really frustrating. i can't USE safari in the subway! basically, i want more toys for my commute. the blackberry was really good for this. with offline RSS readers, games, etc etc.

also, living with no SMS outbox is really really frustrating because it means that i can't get back to all my friends' txt messages while out of network. i want them queued for when i re-emerge from the subway.

grrr.

other than this, i LOVE my iphone, but i feel like Apple didn't consider those of us who don't always have an edge signal.

You mean like the ability to watch movies and TV shows on a widescreen hand held device?

Or have gigs of music and audiobooks and podcasts to listen to?

If that's not enough I really don't know what would be...

 

[boss1]

Anyone else dying for new apps that DONT require close proximity to cell tower/wifi?

/signed

I'm itching for downloadable apps that run on the client. not via web/wireless access.

 

[shk718]

Living in NYC as well and would definetly like some off line stuff - other than movies and music (its not so easy to hear music while riding in the subway). i'd love a book reader and an offline news reader - like avantgo.

i found you can sort of play that bejeweled game on the subway - if you load it before you get on it works even w/o a connection.

 

[scriptkitten]

You mean like the ability to watch movies and TV shows on a widescreen hand held device?

Or have gigs of music and audiobooks and podcasts to listen to?

If that's not enough I really don't know what would be...

have you ever owned a blackberry? sometimes i don't wanna listen to music or watch movies. sometimes i want to read some news feeds, que up some SMS messages, play soduko, play tetris, read documents, etc. i'm not asking for anymore more than what my 5 year old Palm pilot could do.

not all of us have network access all the time.

/signed

I'm itching for downloadable apps that run on the client. not via web/wireless access.

apple's gonna have to give in on this. i'm not buying their whole "security" angle. palm worked it out... blackberry worked it out... treo worked it out... its like building an italian sports car and telling us we can only drive it around the parking lot

Living in NYC as well and would definetly like some off line stuff - other than movies and music (its not so easy to hear music while riding in the subway). i'd love a book reader and an offline news reader - like avantgo.

i found you can sort of play that bejeweled game on the subway - if you load it before you get on it works even w/o a connection.

thanks for the tip!!!

 

[Sobe]

Living in NYC as well and would definetly like some off line stuff - other than movies and music (its not so easy to hear music while riding in the subway). i'd love a book reader and an offline news reader - like avantgo.

i found you can sort of play that bejeweled game on the subway - if you load it before you get on it works even w/o a connection.

how do noise cancelling work? or is that a bad idea in the subway for safety reasons...

 

[Roy Hobbs]

i live in nyc and spend a lot of time in the subway. the fact that apple only wants to allow developers to create apps through safari is really frustrating. i can't USE safari in the subway! basically, i want more toys for my commute. the blackberry was really good for this. with offline RSS readers, games, etc etc.

also, living with no SMS outbox is really really frustrating because it means that i can't get back to all my friends' txt messages while out of network. i want them queued for when i re-emerge from the subway.

grrr.

other than this, i LOVE my iphone, but i feel like Apple didn't consider those of us who don't always have an edge signal.

I totally agree, but my reasoning is different. I am tired of missing calls when I am using all the little nifty web apps.

 

[shk718]

how do noise cancelling work? or is that a bad idea in the subway for safety reasons...

they work pretty well - but their usually big - i have the Bose quiet comfort 3's - and you cant just roll them up and put them in your pocket - you have to carry them around. the good thing is, if you can understand the announcer, you can usually hear them. they usually let voices thru but get rid of most of the rumble.

the bad part about watching a movie on the subway is its easy to miss your stop if your not paying attention (learned from experience).

 

[Sobe]

i'm not asking for anymore more than what my 5 year old Palm pilot could do.

not all of us have network access all the time.

Maybe that's the problem, you got an iPhone when you apparently wanted a 5 year old palm pilot or a blackberry.

 

[defeated]

You mean like the ability to watch movies and TV shows on a widescreen hand held device?

Or have gigs of music and audiobooks and podcasts to listen to?

If that's not enough I really don't know what would be...

a RPG game would be fun

Maybe that's the problem, you got an iPhone when you apparently wanted a 5 year old palm pilot or a blackberry.

Does that passive aggressive solve any real problem?

 

[sigamy]

I totally agree with you. Avantgo was a great app for the Palm. As you said, there are times you don't have a connection or you simply don't want to wait for the slower Edge speeds.

We are already using sync to move items from the computer to the phone. Apple needs to add a few more options here for syncing news, RSS, more document types, etc.

I also want a secure digital wallet type app for storing account numbers and passwords directly on the iPhone. Games, a to-do list, and eBook readers would be great too.

There is one tip that can help you get more documents on the iPhone. From a print dialog in Mac OS X, click the PDF button and then "Send PDF to iPhoto" you can then sync this to the iPhone's photo app. This is better than sending a doc via email because the images will be local. I did this with a powerpoint presentation and it worked great.

On the positive side of the EDGE/Web apps front, I used OneList last night at home to create a small shopping list. I wasn't sure if I'd get a connection in my small local grocery but I did. The app worked great--much to my surprise.

Now that being said, there really is no reason I need a network connection to tick a few items off of a shopping list. This really should be a local app. Here's to hoping Apple opens the device by MacWorld.

 

[mcdj]

They're definitely gonna have to give in. The ability to play one measly game (and a knockoff at that) offline, and only by pre-loading it, is really kinda sad and pathetic for a $600 phone, especially coming from a company like Apple.

The security thing must be a ruse. Apple has touted the security of OSX for years, but now you can't play a game on a device that supposedly runs OSX because of security concerns? I think they just ran out time before June 29th and chalked it up to security.

It's perfect really, because if/when they do open up to developers, SJ can say "We've been working day and night to make the iPhone secure, and we did it! Presenting iPhone iApps!" Everyone will cheer, more iPhones will be sold, we'll all get that warm fuzzy feeling and there will probably be lemonade.

 

[defeated]

sign, web based internet apps eventurally won't cut it, less flexible, too much limitation, i mean, iPhone OS has already been hacked, what's the point keep locking it?
being secure != totally closed, thats coward, lacking of technical confidance, IMO

 

[diamond.g]

They're definitely gonna have to give in. The ability to play one measly game (and a knockoff at that) offline, and only by pre-loading it, is really kinda sad and pathetic for a $600 phone, especially coming from a company like Apple.

The security thing must be a ruse. Apple has touted the security of OSX for years, but now you can't play a game on a device that supposedly runs OSX because of security concerns? I think they just ran out time before June 29th and chalked it up to security.

It's perfect really, because if/when they do open up to developers, SJ can say "We've been working day and night to make the iPhone secure, and we did it! Presenting iPhone iApps!" Everyone will cheer, more iPhones will be sold, we'll all get that warm fuzzy feeling and there will probably be lemonade.

The security thing isn't a ruse. If you follow the iPhone hacking thread you would know that all the currents apps on the iPhone run as root. As a matter of a fact they (the hackers) have gotten the password for root and some other account. I would imagine Apple is in the process of changing the way the apps run (ie not as root) and will then allow apps to be developed for the phone.

Note: running as root even on a phone is the most retarded thing ever. I still can't figure out why Apple would do such a thing. All it takes is one piece of malware and pretty much any and every iPhone would be owned...

 

[marksman]

It is funny that people say why doesn't the iPhone do things a 5 year old palm could do. I might ask why a big city like New York can't do the same thing as some 1 horse Podunk town in Texas can do? It is a wireless world. Perhaps it is time you find a real place to live.

 

[defeated]

Note: running as root even on a phone is the most retarded thing ever. I still can't figure out why Apple would do such a thing.

It is indeed beyond my understanding, I guess its technical laziness, apple think its closed, so it didn't bother with these.

A good example of open=more secure, at least in this case.

come on, would luv to play some RPG on iPhone.

It is a wireless world. Perhaps it is time you find a real place to

LOL, wireless world? Im sure there is a different world out there where people are working hard (computer industry or not) without wireless, and guess what, we can't live without them.

 

[kdarling]

Maybe that's the problem, you got an iPhone when you apparently wanted a 5 year old palm pilot or a blackberry.

Congrats, Sobe. I think you just won the "cranky old guy who thinks people should be happy with what they have" crown. And I thought I was bad at times!

 

[kdarling]

Note: running as root even on a phone is the most retarded thing ever. I still can't figure out why Apple would do such a thing.

Well, ya hafta figure how the thing probably came about. True story from many years ago:

We had a $20,000 realtime server that had hundreds of $600 client boxes attached. Just for fun, I ported the realtime OS to one of the clients and had it run a dozen other clients. Then I made the mistake of showing it off to a VP. Next thing you know, it's a product... an inexpensive "mini server" version for small companies. It really wasn't ready, but executives don't care about details.

So one possibility is that a programmer at Apple ported OSX to someone else's smartphone platform just as an R&D exercise. Then he showed it off with a couple of sample cobbled-up apps. He probably even said, "But you know, it's all running as root, and we need to fix that." Next thing you know, it's a product being rushed to market...

If not that, something very close to that scenario. Funny how laymen think that there's some mysteriously powerful and intelligent methodology that checks products before they're released. Run away! Run away!

 

[Sobe]

Congrats, Sobe. I think you just won the "cranky old guy who thinks people should be happy with what they have" crown. And I thought I was bad at times!

It's actually more the illogic than the attitude that makes me respond.

You buy a multimedia powerhouse in a tiny package, then you complain you can't get a game of sodoku or tic-tac-toe or pong.

How about dropping a quarter in the stand and pick up a newspaper?

 

[kdarling]

How about dropping a quarter in the stand and pick up a newspaper?

*chuckling*

Well, sure. But when someone just paid $600+ for a breakthrough device advertised to show the whole NY Times newspaper via the the real internet, then....

 

[Sobe]

*chuckling*

Well, sure. But when someone just paid $600+ for a breakthrough device advertised to show the whole NY Times newspaper via the the real internet, then....

touche but I don't recall underground access to it being a selling point.

 

[marksman]

I don't know, this thread keeps coming back to NY being a bad place to live.

 

[kdarling]

I don't know, this thread keeps coming back to NY being a bad place to live.

What do you mean? How can an overcrowded island with six million people (all of them wearing black so they won't stand out) be a bad place to live?

Naw, it keeps coming back to people wanting apps that don't require a connection. And not just the ones that Apple will be giving or selling.

Man, I'd love to be a fly in Jobs' office. He's got to be kicking the walls, because he doesn't want to give in. I foresee some sort of compromise, with saved web pages but still perhaps no or very limited local data storage.

What do others think?

 

[sigamy]

Man, I'd love to be a fly in Jobs' office. He's got to be kicking the walls, because he doesn't want to give in. I foresee some sort of compromise, with saved web pages but still perhaps no or very limited local data storage.

What do others think?

I don't think it is Jobs or Apple alone, that is limiting the 3rd party development. I'm not sure how it is done with Palm, Windows Mobile and Blackberry as I haven't followed the traditional smartphone marketplace. But I do know that for "regular" phones the cell providers tightly control what gets on the handsets.

Last year I purchased a decent camera phone from Verizon. It was a $99 phone that was capabile of viewing video via VCAST, playing Madden 3D and tons of other games. So there was some power there. I was shocked to find there was no simple small database app for the phone. I thought I'd be able to download a shareware app and install it on the phone. Nope. No chance. I learned that Verizon tightly controls the developer community and controls certification for all applications that go on the handsets.

One of the reasons for this is the cell providers fears of the first mobile phone virus. They are scared to death of something getting on their network and causing havoc. Jobs mentioned this in so many words a few times. You don't want a third party app to crash and cause your phone to no longer work. More importantly, AT&T doesn't want some malware destroying their network or using it to send millions of spam or whatever.

AT&T and Apple need to develop a new certification process for iPhone OS apps. This is the first time this OS has been used on a phone. Once they pin down the SDK, the testing and certification process, then we will see apps. I'd bet the first few apps we see are games, similar to the iPod.

I'm sure there are other reasons but this one can't be overlooked. We just need to be paitent. Third party apps will come and they will be awesome.

 

[tmiw]

When will developers realize that the old way of development is going to go away like the dodo? Apple got it right by insisting developers only develop Web applications--AJAX is the future of software. Hopefully, this will spur AT&T to improve their EDGE coverage, completely eliminating the need for binary applications.

But really, I agree. A real API would have been nice. Perhaps Apple only imparted such knowledge upon the development houses that are in its inner circle?