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Why Aren't Notifications a Big Deal for iPhone Users?
- Thread starter felixxiano
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You know, it isn't that notifications or multitasking is necessarily a big deal, it's the way we launch apps that's a big deal.
The iPhone is sort of multitasking/not multitasking at the same time, and it's in this area that problems arise.
E.g. The only reason, and best example is with text messages (and now push notifications). It isn't that I want to switch multiple open apps at once, it's that I'd like to get back and forth between apps without hitting the home button. ESPECAILLY if I am already doing something, then want to respond to a text message. It would be nice if there was a bar at the top (like the tethering/current call/voice recording bar) that said the app name you were previously in, and when tapped, took you back to that after viewing/replying to a text or what have you.
Granted, pressing home then hitting the app again is very quick--it's just a psychological thing.
The iPhone is sort of multitasking/not multitasking at the same time, and it's in this area that problems arise.
E.g. The only reason, and best example is with text messages (and now push notifications). It isn't that I want to switch multiple open apps at once, it's that I'd like to get back and forth between apps without hitting the home button. ESPECAILLY if I am already doing something, then want to respond to a text message. It would be nice if there was a bar at the top (like the tethering/current call/voice recording bar) that said the app name you were previously in, and when tapped, took you back to that after viewing/replying to a text or what have you.
Granted, pressing home then hitting the app again is very quick--it's just a psychological thing.
Many of you guys seem to be incapable of seeing beyond your own personal lives/needs/situations. Of course everyone is entitled to an opinion and that opinion will be influenced by personal or professional experience, but I don't see why the OP needs to be attacked or insulted, just because he or she does not share the same needs or desires that the rest of you do.
In fact, I can explain to you why it is desirable to me to be accessible at all times through IM.
I live in Switzerland with my wife. My mother and my sister live in California. One of my brothers lives in Dominican Republic and my other brother also lives in Switzerland. My wife's family lives in Venezuela, and many of my friends (good friends that I get to see 3 or 4 times a year) live in Spain, Venezuela and the U.S.
Now it may seem obvious to many of you who live in the States and have all family and friends also living in the US, that a simple text or call is enough when people want or need to get a hold on you. After all, most of you have unlimited calls, unlimited texts and you probably get to see the people you love pretty often. But the thing is not so obvious when you live in different countries where a text message costs 20 cents and an international call to your mother or sister may cost more than 1 US$ a minute and it may also cost your relatives and friends a good deal of money to text you or call you. Even local calls cost 50 cent or more per minute. Text messages are also charged even when they're sent within the same country.
Additionally, my mother is retired and spends most of her day in front of a laptop chatting with family and friends. This is her only link to the world most of the day. This IS her social life.
All of this to tell you that, in my personal case, I want to receive my mother's messages and be able to reply in real time. I also want to be able to reply to my wife when she travels to visit her family in Venezuela and wants to communicate with me in real time. They have a computer there with an internet connection. Sending me text messages or calling me would be **VERY** expensive... compare this to FREE IM texting.
This is my personal situation and experience. It is probably not the same as the OP's but I believe it shows quite well that people may have different reasons to need or want to be online all the time and be notified in real time.
Finally, just **wanting** to be online all the time or just thinking that it's cool to be online all the time is also a VALID reason to use such services, whether it is MSN, AIM, FB or any other thing and whether the rest of the people consider it silly, childish or dumb.
Just my 2 cents.
In fact, I can explain to you why it is desirable to me to be accessible at all times through IM.
I live in Switzerland with my wife. My mother and my sister live in California. One of my brothers lives in Dominican Republic and my other brother also lives in Switzerland. My wife's family lives in Venezuela, and many of my friends (good friends that I get to see 3 or 4 times a year) live in Spain, Venezuela and the U.S.
Now it may seem obvious to many of you who live in the States and have all family and friends also living in the US, that a simple text or call is enough when people want or need to get a hold on you. After all, most of you have unlimited calls, unlimited texts and you probably get to see the people you love pretty often. But the thing is not so obvious when you live in different countries where a text message costs 20 cents and an international call to your mother or sister may cost more than 1 US$ a minute and it may also cost your relatives and friends a good deal of money to text you or call you. Even local calls cost 50 cent or more per minute. Text messages are also charged even when they're sent within the same country.
Additionally, my mother is retired and spends most of her day in front of a laptop chatting with family and friends. This is her only link to the world most of the day. This IS her social life.
All of this to tell you that, in my personal case, I want to receive my mother's messages and be able to reply in real time. I also want to be able to reply to my wife when she travels to visit her family in Venezuela and wants to communicate with me in real time. They have a computer there with an internet connection. Sending me text messages or calling me would be **VERY** expensive... compare this to FREE IM texting.
This is my personal situation and experience. It is probably not the same as the OP's but I believe it shows quite well that people may have different reasons to need or want to be online all the time and be notified in real time.
Finally, just **wanting** to be online all the time or just thinking that it's cool to be online all the time is also a VALID reason to use such services, whether it is MSN, AIM, FB or any other thing and whether the rest of the people consider it silly, childish or dumb.
Just my 2 cents.
good post arubinst...
for me, I haven't had the need to IM since college, and really high school before that... To each their own.
However, I would like to have Push GMail. My YMail workaround is ok, but is not as good as the real thing. Come on Google!
for me, I haven't had the need to IM since college, and really high school before that... To each their own.
However, I would like to have Push GMail. My YMail workaround is ok, but is not as good as the real thing. Come on Google!
And I through Satanic cults. It really keeps the mind sharp.
On topic though, I think feeling obligated to being available is bad, but I certaintly don't fault someone for wanting a better notifications/background processes and all that stuff. Options are good, they cater to different needs. Do those people who fault this guy for using IM so much really think he's giong to change his habits because of you?
It's actually nothing like that. One is a flashing light. One is push notifications that any app can use to make a pop up.
Also, OP - were you using an iPhone 3GS? The 3GS will open AIM and let you write a message very fast. Pretty much the same speed as switching between apps on Pre
To the OP: Since you are new here, let me explain. Anything the iPhone can't do is dumb, unnecessary, something Apple will implement only when it can be done right, etc. Then, once it (finally) gets the feature, all others will be criticized for not doing or or not doing it the way the iPhone does it.
Beyond this do you have any questions?
Beyond this do you have any questions?
To the OP: Since you are new here, let me explain. Anything the iPhone can't do is dumb, unnecessary, something Apple will implement only when it can be done right, etc. Then, once it (finally) gets the feature, all others will be criticized for not doing or or not doing it the way the iPhone does it.
Beyond this do you have any questions?
agreed! hahaha
@Kadman & @felixxiano It's TRULY amazing sometimes on the arrogance of extreme Apple fanboys. Apple can do no wrong according to them. However, the moment Apple releases a feature (that should have been there in the first place) those same extreme Apple fanboys that were poo-poohing it in the past suddenly say that APPLE IS DA GREATEST AND THEY INVENTED IT!
Yes, it's annoying. I love Apple just like the next one on this board, but not like an extreme Apple fanboy.
To Extreme Apple Fanboys: Get a life. Apple is just a company. iPhone is just a phone. And there's ALWAYS something to learn from Apple's competitors (I'm looking at you iPhone's crappy & terrible Notification system). iPhone could learn A LOT on how it's competitors (namely Android & Pre) deal with Notifications.
w00master
Yes, it's annoying. I love Apple just like the next one on this board, but not like an extreme Apple fanboy.
To Extreme Apple Fanboys: Get a life. Apple is just a company. iPhone is just a phone. And there's ALWAYS something to learn from Apple's competitors (I'm looking at you iPhone's crappy & terrible Notification system). iPhone could learn A LOT on how it's competitors (namely Android & Pre) deal with Notifications.
w00master
I've learned that you shouldn't bother trying to post a unique or different opinion/point-of-view on MacRumors and then stand behind it... you'll just get flamed.
I've learned that you shouldn't bother trying to post a unique, different opinion or point-of-view on MacRumors and then stand behind it... you'll just get flamed.
Yes, we should all be drones and do as Apple wants us to do. I just wish Apple charged more for the iPhone and made less improvements that way they had higher profit margins and they were all happy. I don't need to be happy as long as Apple is.
I love my iPhone and IMO overall it's the best choice available. But that doesn't mean it's perfect. The notification system *is* poor and I shouldn't have to still be on 2.2.1 holding out on 3.0 because I'd lose Backgrounder. That has to change in the next iteration I hope.
OK you started off good. You mentioned that others can't see past themselves but then gave a long winded story about your extremely unique situation. Frankly, who cares... (this applies to everyone...not just you). Use/abuse technology the way you want to... If one is happy using rotary house phones, that is fine.
I'd have to agree with anubinst and the OP on this one. I switched from a blackberry to the iPhone 3G as soon as it came out and it was frustrating not having push. While many of the posters on the forum have posted suggestions such as "just make a call" or "just text", there are definitely times when it would have been useful to have push notifications before 3.0.
A lot of times at work or in class, a person can't just stop what they're doing to answer a call but may be able to whip out his or her phone and stealthily send a msg. At the same time, texting does increase your monthly bill, sometimes quite substantially depending on your plan and overages. Having push through IM clients reduces the amount of texting that they'll charge you for, which was a great feature with the BB.
While there have been quite a few posts scoffing at the need for constant contact with others, it's becoming more and more a necessary thing in the workplace and social settings. A client may be lost to a rival (yes, I know quite a few professionals who use gchat for their work) or an invitation to a movie missed without the constant communication. Some might sound trivial, but when it's in the moment, it could have been quite sad to have missed it. While I agree that it shouldn't be considered life or death, the feature was promised to us a very long time ago and only now implemented, so I think it's fair for some to have frustration at not having it and a sense of bewilderment at those who would claim to not need it when push technology is found in other phones that are (in our Apple-loving minds) inferior.
While it's true that there were workarounds to the problem before 3.0, such as having notifications emailed to you, these weren't perfect answers, esp since without mobileme (another paid service) or yahoo (free but not the best email client), you didn't have real time push email to check for notifications. While I would have probably appreciated background processes more, even though I understand the arguments of battery life and system memory problems, I think Push IM is certainly a sufficient alternative and I'm glad to have it! However, for all the naysayers out there, please understand that there was legitimate frustration for the lack of such a service before its implementation.
A lot of times at work or in class, a person can't just stop what they're doing to answer a call but may be able to whip out his or her phone and stealthily send a msg. At the same time, texting does increase your monthly bill, sometimes quite substantially depending on your plan and overages. Having push through IM clients reduces the amount of texting that they'll charge you for, which was a great feature with the BB.
While there have been quite a few posts scoffing at the need for constant contact with others, it's becoming more and more a necessary thing in the workplace and social settings. A client may be lost to a rival (yes, I know quite a few professionals who use gchat for their work) or an invitation to a movie missed without the constant communication. Some might sound trivial, but when it's in the moment, it could have been quite sad to have missed it. While I agree that it shouldn't be considered life or death, the feature was promised to us a very long time ago and only now implemented, so I think it's fair for some to have frustration at not having it and a sense of bewilderment at those who would claim to not need it when push technology is found in other phones that are (in our Apple-loving minds) inferior.
While it's true that there were workarounds to the problem before 3.0, such as having notifications emailed to you, these weren't perfect answers, esp since without mobileme (another paid service) or yahoo (free but not the best email client), you didn't have real time push email to check for notifications. While I would have probably appreciated background processes more, even though I understand the arguments of battery life and system memory problems, I think Push IM is certainly a sufficient alternative and I'm glad to have it! However, for all the naysayers out there, please understand that there was legitimate frustration for the lack of such a service before its implementation.
How did a simple post about the push feature become everyone's soap box for "over-connectedness in society"?? Sheesh. No one gives a crap if your lifestyle frowns upon IM. Really. What are you even doing with an iPhone anyway?
I just installed Beejive to reduce my text messaging usage. The extra features in Beejive are nice too. So far, push is working GREAT. On a 3GS, going from the notification to the point of being able to respond is quite fast. Not sure on a 3G - those users may long for true multitasking, and I can't blame them.
I just installed Beejive to reduce my text messaging usage. The extra features in Beejive are nice too. So far, push is working GREAT. On a 3GS, going from the notification to the point of being able to respond is quite fast. Not sure on a 3G - those users may long for true multitasking, and I can't blame them.
I survived by activating IM forwarding in my AIM settings (yes, I have unlimited text, just $30 for all 5 lines). Who cares if it's not "true" push, I am available 24/7 and get immediate responses right away. No need to wait for AIM to launch either.
While there's nothing wrong with that question, you're guilty of the same thing that everyone here is guilty of: assuming that your beliefs are the same as everyone else's.
Some people here seem to be saying: "I don't need notifications, so no one else does also."
You appear to be saying: "I need notifications, do why doesn't everyone need notifications?"
The truth is elsewhere: some people like notifications, others don't, and others don't care.
As for me, I don't need notifications, but they'll be nice to have. I can wait a month or whatever for Apple to review the next version of IM+, but I don't need it. I can live without it. I've been happy with txt messages and selective email push.
I dont use an IM. They have these things called text messages that get to you instantly and pretty much are the same thing so who needs push? There is also twitter if you need more things messages. All text messages sent to me pop up on my lockscreen and tweets do that too but i turned one of my tweeters off of notification because i was getting too many that i didnt care about.
I also actually use the phone capabilty if there is too much texting going on. Id rather talk to that person.
BTW...i tried a Pre and i thought it felt cheap. Buttons are too small too.
PS- Does anybody really still use ICQ,?....lol
beejive costs money
but facebook is free thats why i use the facebook app for chats maybe when push for facebook comes out ill like it but right now i can live without it
what i want for push is ESPN