Even though most of the items on my list of suggestions for the iPhone have probably already been mentioned, it may be worthwhile to list them anyway in case someone, like Apple, is monitoring this forum and trying to gauge the demand for particular features.
Here's my list of suggestions for improvements in no particular order whatsoever:
- Provide landscape support for any app that uses a keyboard. My accuracy on the Safari landscape keyboard is nearly flawless because of its bigger size but not nearly as good in keyboard portrait mode.
- Improve the Calculator app by adding scientific or other modes as well as more precision for the basic calculator. And, for God's sake, tone down those ridiculously GIGANTIC numerals.
- This is a biggy: Add a Back button somewhere to return you to the last screen you were on, whatever it was (provided it makes sense to do so in a particular context).
- Display an on-screen indicator in the area near the signal strength as to whether you are currently in ring or silent mode.
- Allow Bluetooth syncing (even though I'd probably rarely use this since I normally sync at the same time that I'm recharging the battery).
- Provide Copy/Cut/Paste functionality similar to any other operating system.
- Allow multiple emails to be deleted at the same time through multi-select or some other method.
- Make it easier to check your email from multiple accounts without having to wind your way back to the email accounts screen then choosing a different email account.
- Provide more options for your email accounts like Mail on a Mac such as how long to keep email on the server, etc.
- Add a Home button to Safari.
- Allow custom ringtones to be created--preferably without having to pay for them through iTunes as has been rumored.
- Provide voice dialing (even though I'd rarely use this I realize that it's important to a lot of people).
- Install a few games.
- Add an option to Safari to render pages as if it were a tiny web browser so that I'm not forced to zoom in to view every web page in the world.
- Port Flash to the iPhone but please give us an option to easily turn it off or on because 75% or more of Flash files are just plain annoying.
- Add a very secure, highly encrypted username/password application to keep track of usernames and passwords since most of us have numerous accounts to keep track of.
- Provide a lot more information about recent calls.
- Allow the Home screen to be customized much as the Dock is on a Mac.
- PLEASE let me change the font in the Notes app because the current one that you are forced to use sucks big time.
- Display the current conditions (or reasonably recent conditions) on the icon for the Weather widget. Apple already displays the current date on the Calendar app icon so it must not be that hard to do.
- Similarly, display the current time on the icon for the Clock app.
- Add junk mail filtering to the Mail app.
Great list. I've called both Apple and at&t to lodge formal complaints about several things. I suggest everyone else do the same; as this is big business, this is what they hear. Apple makes it easy (
www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html). Please feel free to copy anything I've listed below, and I doubt rjacksonb would mind if you copied his list.
Here's what I sent Apple:
First of all, I really enjoy using the device. For the most part it is very pleasurable. I purchased two devices, for my wife and myself. With that said, the following is a brief list of complaints I have that I (and, probably, many others) would like to see fixed ASAP:
-Compatibility with iPod chargers has not been superb. Some work, some do not, and on some the iPhone registers that it is charging but in fact does not take on any new charge.
-Compatibility with car charger/playback accessories. I have a Belkin charger that sporadically charges the phone (as mentioned above), but never uses the line out feature. Shouldnt we be able to play back our music over the car stereo?
-The lack of MMS support is extremely disappointing. The phone needs to support MMS. Period.
a. It is absolutely absurd that we must send and receive pictures by email. Full MMS support in both directions is necessary.
b. When we do receive a MMS at&t directs us to a link (viewmymessage.com) with a complex message ID and password which is blocked on the EDGE network. We can only get to it via WiFi. And when we finally do get to the link, it is a Flash picture and we cant see it, or even download it from a computer. Again, absurd.
c. We should be able to save received picture, whether it be via email or via MMS, to the phone memory and later transfer those pictures to a computer.
-The phone should be accessible as a removable hard drive, as the iPod does when its connected to the computer.
-The phone should fully support Microsoft Activesync. Its just necessary for users of all groups and ages. Exchange is becoming ubiquitous.
-IMAP support should include the ability to subscribe to folders, and check all of the folders periodically. Currently, the only automatically updating folder is the inbox. Any subfolders do not update unless they are selected.
-The Bluetooth should be accessible as a modem for peripheral devices.
-When syncing with Outlook contacts, all of the addresses and numbers should register in the device. Currently several of the numbers do not display for those of my contacts with multiple numbers.
-The Safari browser should support both JAVA and Flash (including streaming video). This browser should be as fully functional of a browser as any other. There is no reason to cripple it.
-The quality of the voicemail messages that are sent to the phone could be a bit better. This is a server/compression issue, not an iPhone issue.
-While text messaging we should be able to send one message to multiple recipients.
-Searching the contact list should be made easier by displaying a number-pad/keyboard option similar to the one utilized when generating a new email. (I believe this is called Spotlight.)
-The ability to open more email attached file types. For example, mp3 files should play in the iPod portion, wmv files should play as video, wma should play as audio, mp4 (H.264 and otherwise) should play as video, others should be supported too. We know the device is capable of handling these formats.
-Playback of youtube.com videos should be supported. By this I mean all youtube videos. Not just those converted to H.264 already (a predetermined list). We should be able to use a fully functional browser to surf to youtube or google video and watch the video via the built in player.
Lets be honest, Apple Computer is not sacrificing anything by giving the end user more flexibility in using their devices. I hope that we see these changes take place very soon. Thanks for your forward looking attitude!
