The new Iphone OS 3.0 is going to be available sometime this summer to all of the general public. Right now it is in the hands of the beta testers and developers for software. You can watch the office release video here. As I watched the video I see that Apple address some of its shortcomings in this new release. Landscape mode keyboard for all of its core applications, copy and paste, the ability to search across all applications, and other improvements. But as an Iphone user and I have to admit there are some things I would really like to see in an upcoming release.
1. Folders - Yes, a simple folder program to organize all of the apps we download from the Itune store. I have over 100 apps on my phone and I hate having to switch through multiple pages to find what I am looking for. I know what you are thinking, Do I use all of the apps I have. The answer is probably not but I do like going back into them and playing with then from time to time. For all you people who have Jailbroken phones there is a great program on Cydia called catagories that adds folders to the iphone. I have been using this to organize all of my apps neatly.
2. Themes - Ok Apple this is a no brainer. With such a popular device you think you would allow your users to custimize the look of it. I mean we can customize our PC’s, Mac’s, Notebooks, Netbooks, and anything else we have. I think we are all tired of looking at the same black screen with the same icons all the time. Again, with the Jailbroken iphone this is not a problem as there are tons of themes for your iphone available.
3. Video Recorder - I like the ability to take pictures, but come on how hard would it be to add this capability. Alot of other phones that cost way less can do this. Why can’t the Iphone? Oh wait it can, Just Jailbreak it and download one of the many video recorders for it. Why Apple never added this capability is beyond me.
4. Public Folders in Outlook - This has been a tricky one for all developers of phones for business. No one has of yet got this right. I had a blackberry with my company before the Iphone and neither can redirect public folders to a phone. I guess this is truly going to be a hard one to tackle.
5. Better setup for multiple email accounts - I have 3 account I check on my Iphone. My business and 2 personal. I hate that I have to go back 3 pages in order to change what account I am looking at. Couldn’t they add a home button or something to let the user switch between accounts without all the hassle. Also the ability to mark multiple items as read. I hate having to open each email and read it to mark it as read. That is one feature from the blackberry I do miss.
6. Support for Flash and WMV - This is something I wish they would add. I have read alot about these feature and relating to the Iphone. I can see why they don’t want to support a windows video player as it is going against apple but almost all of the video files I get are in that format. Flash will probably never be release for the Iphone as it will pretty much kill the app store. With flash on a phone you could just go out to any website and play games for free. No need to buy things from the app store. Not that I believe it would kill the app store, just slow down the purchasing of items that we can get for free on the web.
7. Bluetooth sync with a PC - This has got to be my biggest pet peeve of the Iphone. If it supports bluetooth why can we not sync it wirelessly with our PC’s. Is this such a hard feature to have on a smartphone. I could do this with my Blackberry, Motorola Razer, and amost any other smartphone I have come across. I hate having to drag out a cable everytiime I want to add music or sync up everything I just bought through your app store. Most of the time I don’t even have the cable with me as I leave it at home on the charger. A simple bluetooth connection to my bluetooth enabled laptop is all I ask.
So in conclusion these are some of the major features I would love to see in an update to the Iphone. This is my personal wish list. If anyone reading this works for the Apple development team and would like to incorporate any of these ideas please feel free to do so. Also if there is any other feature you would like to see on an Iphone add it in. I would like to see what other people are wishing for in a new release.