Hey guys,
I wrote these two notes to express my thoughts on the rumored new features of the 09 iPhone.
Features I want to see:
"Top 5 Hardware and Software Features the 2009 iPhone Should Have"
The iPhone has become one of the best phones ever created, outselling the RAZR, having sold over 13 million since it's launch in June of 2007. Now that the iPhone 3G has been out for 6 months, people are looking for the next major update to have some new features in both the Hardware itself and the Operating System. Here are 5 features the new iPhone should have:
1. Better camera, more megapixels, flash and video recording
The current camera on the iPhone is mediocre at best-2MP on a smartphone is nothing great It should have at least a 3.2MP or better, with Flash, Zoom and Video recording, (which I have had on every one of my free cell phones)
2. Tethering
Around the first week of the App Store, a great little app called "Netshare" enabled free tethering, using the iPhone as a 3G modem. Apparently, free tethering doesn't roll with AT&T, as it was pulled that same day. So allow tethering on the iPhone, preferably free.
3. Copy and Paste
Copy and paste needs to be on the iPhone, as a native feature. A smartphone needs to be able to do almost everything a laptop can do, which includes copying text from emails into Notes and so forth.
4. Flash
Apple and Adobe need to play nice. Adobe currently holds the license to distribute Flash players from Macromedia, As of now, Apple has decided to not have a Flash player on the iPhone, assuming Embedded is fine, (Youtube). Without this feature, the iPhone cannot play Hulu.com videos, load flashed-based websites, or play a video that is not its native Quicktime format or Embedded video.
5. MMS Messaging
The iPhone needs to be able to send Pictures, Video and Audio via text messaging. Not everybody has a data plan for their cell phone, so emailing a picture is not always possible. Adding MMS would be huge for those with a regular cell phone, wishing to upgrade to the iPhone without losing any features of their old phone.
5.5 Increased Storage
Hey, Apple did 5.5 with the iPod video, why can't I? Anyways, a big downside to the iPhone is its limited 16GB of internal storage. The iPod Touch has 32GB, because it has two slots for NAND chips, while the iPhone only has one (the other is used for communication electronics). So it would have to be one 32GB NAND Chip, which was announced late last year, and should be shipping sometime near the end of the First Quarter of this year. So look for a 32GB iPhone this summer and 64GB Touch in September hopefully.
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Features I do not want to see:
Top 5 Features the 2009 iPhone Should NOT Have
Here are 5 features people want on the iPhone, which I think are either not necessary or would make the phone cheap, right up there with the Dare or Storm. OK, here we go, and don't think I'm hating on those who want it to have features similar to a Windows-based smartphone, OK Fine, I am. Anyways, Here goes:
1. Bluetooth
Right now, the iPhone has Bluetooth, but only for a Bluetooth headset, no file transfers. The iPhone is a revolutionary device, having technology way beyond Bluetooth, (which is maxed out at 33 feet). It does not need to have Bluetooth Contacts syncing or file transfers. MobileMe syncs Contacts, Safari bookmarks and Calenders over WIFI or even 3G and Edge, so anywhere in the world, not even close to a computer, it will sync all that, and file transfers over BT? Nope, it has Wifi, eventually Apple will use Wifi for syncing that and maybe even Music and Pictures. Bluetooth is such a small and almost useless feature on a phone, for anything beyond Headsets that is. Moving on...
2. Front Facing Camera
Not every iPhone user is a 13 year middle schooler taking thousands of useless pictures of themselves for Myspace and Facebook. It's got a camera on the back, use that for taking pictures of other people or landscapes, You don't need a camera on the front to take a picture of yourself. That is why there are mirrors. Consult your local restroom. OK, but a front facing camera can be used for other things, like Skype or iChat AV video conferencing. Ahh! look at the word Video in that last sentence. When Apple puts a Video Recorder in the camera, call me and we'll take about Video conferencing. But as of now, a front facing camera is pointless.
3. Haptic Feedback
Oh gosh, Haptic Feedback, which makes a small vibration when you touch the screen, appearing as if your touching a real button. Nope, I don't want my phone vibrating every time I touch the thing. That is just gay, it's on the LG Voyager and many other phones on the market. Check out the Voyager and tell me its not gay. Plus, in order to make a vibration, the phone must power a motor, which would use up battery, which it needs as much as it can get. And now, my personal favorite:
4. Removable Battery
Come on people! A removable battery would add so much more physical size to the iPhone. Look at the new 17" Unibody MBP. Once they made the battery internal, they saved so much room for more cells, hence longer battery life. If you add a removable battery, it would either add so much more physical size it would be fat, ugly and no longer sleek or have to compromise battery size to incorporate the mechanisms for the latch, hinge and structure, it would lose so much battery run time.. The iPod has been out for over 7 years, it does not have a removable battery, and nobody has bitched about that before. Plus, the 3G's battery is not soldered in, so anybody with a little electronic experience could pop it open and replace it themselves.
5. FM Transmitter
OK, an FM Transmitter is probably the most useless feature to put on the iPhone. Right now I have the iHeartRadio app and I have my choice of over 100 Radio stations, I don't have to worry about reception, driving and getting put of the band range, etc. Apple has never done a Radio Transmitter in an iPod or iPhone, exempt for the Radio Remote. It is a feature that would make the iPhone seem cheap. Google cheap MP3 player and you will find dozens of little players that have between 1GB and 8GB of storage and cost under $75, all of em have FM transmitters. See what I mean about Apple staying out of the Cheap-o market?
That about sums it up. Feel free to leave a comment with any input you might have.
I wrote these two notes to express my thoughts on the rumored new features of the 09 iPhone.
Features I want to see:
"Top 5 Hardware and Software Features the 2009 iPhone Should Have"
The iPhone has become one of the best phones ever created, outselling the RAZR, having sold over 13 million since it's launch in June of 2007. Now that the iPhone 3G has been out for 6 months, people are looking for the next major update to have some new features in both the Hardware itself and the Operating System. Here are 5 features the new iPhone should have:
1. Better camera, more megapixels, flash and video recording
The current camera on the iPhone is mediocre at best-2MP on a smartphone is nothing great It should have at least a 3.2MP or better, with Flash, Zoom and Video recording, (which I have had on every one of my free cell phones)
2. Tethering
Around the first week of the App Store, a great little app called "Netshare" enabled free tethering, using the iPhone as a 3G modem. Apparently, free tethering doesn't roll with AT&T, as it was pulled that same day. So allow tethering on the iPhone, preferably free.
3. Copy and Paste
Copy and paste needs to be on the iPhone, as a native feature. A smartphone needs to be able to do almost everything a laptop can do, which includes copying text from emails into Notes and so forth.
4. Flash
Apple and Adobe need to play nice. Adobe currently holds the license to distribute Flash players from Macromedia, As of now, Apple has decided to not have a Flash player on the iPhone, assuming Embedded is fine, (Youtube). Without this feature, the iPhone cannot play Hulu.com videos, load flashed-based websites, or play a video that is not its native Quicktime format or Embedded video.
5. MMS Messaging
The iPhone needs to be able to send Pictures, Video and Audio via text messaging. Not everybody has a data plan for their cell phone, so emailing a picture is not always possible. Adding MMS would be huge for those with a regular cell phone, wishing to upgrade to the iPhone without losing any features of their old phone.
5.5 Increased Storage
Hey, Apple did 5.5 with the iPod video, why can't I? Anyways, a big downside to the iPhone is its limited 16GB of internal storage. The iPod Touch has 32GB, because it has two slots for NAND chips, while the iPhone only has one (the other is used for communication electronics). So it would have to be one 32GB NAND Chip, which was announced late last year, and should be shipping sometime near the end of the First Quarter of this year. So look for a 32GB iPhone this summer and 64GB Touch in September hopefully.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Features I do not want to see:
Top 5 Features the 2009 iPhone Should NOT Have
Here are 5 features people want on the iPhone, which I think are either not necessary or would make the phone cheap, right up there with the Dare or Storm. OK, here we go, and don't think I'm hating on those who want it to have features similar to a Windows-based smartphone, OK Fine, I am. Anyways, Here goes:
1. Bluetooth
Right now, the iPhone has Bluetooth, but only for a Bluetooth headset, no file transfers. The iPhone is a revolutionary device, having technology way beyond Bluetooth, (which is maxed out at 33 feet). It does not need to have Bluetooth Contacts syncing or file transfers. MobileMe syncs Contacts, Safari bookmarks and Calenders over WIFI or even 3G and Edge, so anywhere in the world, not even close to a computer, it will sync all that, and file transfers over BT? Nope, it has Wifi, eventually Apple will use Wifi for syncing that and maybe even Music and Pictures. Bluetooth is such a small and almost useless feature on a phone, for anything beyond Headsets that is. Moving on...
2. Front Facing Camera
Not every iPhone user is a 13 year middle schooler taking thousands of useless pictures of themselves for Myspace and Facebook. It's got a camera on the back, use that for taking pictures of other people or landscapes, You don't need a camera on the front to take a picture of yourself. That is why there are mirrors. Consult your local restroom. OK, but a front facing camera can be used for other things, like Skype or iChat AV video conferencing. Ahh! look at the word Video in that last sentence. When Apple puts a Video Recorder in the camera, call me and we'll take about Video conferencing. But as of now, a front facing camera is pointless.
3. Haptic Feedback
Oh gosh, Haptic Feedback, which makes a small vibration when you touch the screen, appearing as if your touching a real button. Nope, I don't want my phone vibrating every time I touch the thing. That is just gay, it's on the LG Voyager and many other phones on the market. Check out the Voyager and tell me its not gay. Plus, in order to make a vibration, the phone must power a motor, which would use up battery, which it needs as much as it can get. And now, my personal favorite:
4. Removable Battery
Come on people! A removable battery would add so much more physical size to the iPhone. Look at the new 17" Unibody MBP. Once they made the battery internal, they saved so much room for more cells, hence longer battery life. If you add a removable battery, it would either add so much more physical size it would be fat, ugly and no longer sleek or have to compromise battery size to incorporate the mechanisms for the latch, hinge and structure, it would lose so much battery run time.. The iPod has been out for over 7 years, it does not have a removable battery, and nobody has bitched about that before. Plus, the 3G's battery is not soldered in, so anybody with a little electronic experience could pop it open and replace it themselves.
5. FM Transmitter
OK, an FM Transmitter is probably the most useless feature to put on the iPhone. Right now I have the iHeartRadio app and I have my choice of over 100 Radio stations, I don't have to worry about reception, driving and getting put of the band range, etc. Apple has never done a Radio Transmitter in an iPod or iPhone, exempt for the Radio Remote. It is a feature that would make the iPhone seem cheap. Google cheap MP3 player and you will find dozens of little players that have between 1GB and 8GB of storage and cost under $75, all of em have FM transmitters. See what I mean about Apple staying out of the Cheap-o market?
That about sums it up. Feel free to leave a comment with any input you might have.
