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Free flashlight is already on iPhone 4!

1

179202

Cancelled
Original poster
Apr 14, 2008
939
217
Crazy suggestion, but all these 'flashlight' apps in development really annoy me. Anyone that thinks spending money on an app is a good idea, try this (you'll find there is already a free one built in!).

Try this: Launch the camera, flip it to video and turn the flash on. It acts as a flash light.

For those who want a flashlight for those occasional moments, this will be a fine solution (battery drain wouldn't be an issue if it's only in occasional use for a few minutes). For those looking to replace their maglites with the iPhone 4 LED flash, a paid app that doesn't use the camera would be more suitable.
 
179202 said:
Crazy suggestion, but all these 'flashlight' apps in development really annoy me. Anyone that thinks spending money on an app is a good idea, try this (you'll find there is already a free one built in!).

Try this: Launch the camera, flip it to video and turn the flash on. It acts as a flash light.
Click to expand...

The amount of battery that the camera (especially combined with the screen) drains makes this a ridiculous idea.
 
That requires 3 steps. People want to activate the cameras flash light instantly with one button press. And I'm sure these Apps may have more options such as turning on the flash AND making the screen white. (for even more light)
 
Daveoc64 said:
The amount of battery that the camera (especially combined with the screen) drains makes this a ridiculous idea.
Click to expand...

Lol. how is it 'ridiculous'? Would you run the flashlight for more than a minute or two anyway?! Maybe it's not ideal if you were lost and didn't have a torch on you but for every day, normal use, paying anything at all for a flash light app when this is already in the phone is a truly 'ridiculous' idea.
 
Until there is another alternative it isn't a terrible idea. Even if you don't want to pay for a flashlight App and use the camera as your flashlight it is fine.

It may drain the battery but how often are you in a situation where you have to use a flashlight so often that battery life is an issue... If your answer to that question is "ALL THE TIME" then a paid app is probably for you.. Otherwise for the extremely occasional walk down a poorly lit walkway or to find your keys under the couch it isn't a bad idea.
 
jakeacc said:
That requires 3 steps. People want to activate the cameras flash light instantly with one button press. And I'm sure these Apps may have more options such as turning on the flash AND making the screen white. (for even more light)
Click to expand...

Some people are willing to pay 99p for the convenience of skipping those 3 steps. I'm just stating what I thought was obvious for the people a little more savvy and against paying money for something your phone already does.
 
It does beg the question of why Apple didn't include a tiny utility app to perform this function included in the OS... It seems simple and obvious enough.
 
I'm just hoping the creators of Morse-It will be able to utilize the flashlight to send morse code, and even go so far as capturing morse code with the camera.
 
Captainobvvious said:
Until there is another alternative it isn't a terrible idea. Even if you don't want to pay for a flashlight App and use the camera as your flashlight it is fine.

It may drain the battery but how often are you in a situation where you have to use a flashlight so often that battery life is an issue... If your answer to that question is "ALL THE TIME" then a paid app is probably for you.. Otherwise for the extremely occasional walk down a poorly lit walkway or to find your keys under the couch it isn't a bad idea.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that Captainobvvious (the brilliance of you siding with me on something I referred to as 'obvious' isn't lost on me! lol). They should have really included something like this is the OS but hey, they kind of did, there's just not a short cut to it. It only takes 3 seconds to activate and really isn't very inconvenient at all.

Let's hope that a lot of people realise this instead of filling the pockets of app 'developers' who only know enough code to put a 59p app out to do this (it's the 'white screen flashlight' app thing all over again!
 
BeyondtheTech said:
I'm just hoping the creators of Morse-It will be able to utilize the flashlight to send morse code, and even go so far as capturing morse code with the camera.
Click to expand...

Now see, that's an added functionality worth paying a little something for and shows thought behind it instead of just providing a short cut for something included in the phone anyway.
 
I wish someone could make the led flash every so often when a message is missed like a notification led on other phones.
 
on my 3G iphone, I use the free Flashlight App (white screen) every night. When I turn off the lights in my living room, it's pretty pitch black, and use it to make my way to my bedroom. Comes in handy. I only use it for a minute or two each day, but its the only App besides Mail that I've used every day since i've purchased it.

Once I get my iPhone4 (my "preorder" wont arrive until next month - sheesh), if there is a free app that uses my external flash light, i'd def get it. If not, my current Flashlight App is fine.

Opening the camera app, going to Video mode, enabling flash is way too many steps for a few seconds of light on my walk to my bed.
 
179202 said:
Some people are willing to pay 99p for the convenience of skipping those 3 steps. I'm just stating what I thought was obvious for the people a little more savvy and against paying money for something your phone already does.
Click to expand...

Damn. and here I was thinking I WAS savvy.
 
Daveoc64 said:
The amount of battery that the camera (especially combined with the screen) drains makes this a ridiculous idea.
Click to expand...
No, NOT a rediculous idea. Quite a good idea actually. When I saw this thread, I immediately deleted the flashlight app.

As far as batter drain, non-issue. I only use the flashlight on the phone for a few seconds while I find my keys or something.
 
I would be concerned with the longevity of using the flash as a flash light. It's purpose was not meant to be on for extended periods of time even though it is an LED. I would think using it for that purpose would end it's life much quicker.

Then again, what do I know?
shrug.gif
 
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