I got an iPhone for Christmas. It was a bit of a pain to set up, since I was on 64-bit XP and Apple doesn’t support iTunes on it. I ended up with 32-bit Vista Ultimate. I’ve been excited about the iPhone and its competitors for a while, since they manage to combine six gadgets (all of which I’ve owned separately) in a single device:
- Mobile phone
- PDA
- (mini-)Laptop
- Camera
- mp3/video player
- USB stick
To a certain extent, the iPhone’s touchscreen and typically-Apple UI are just icing on the cake.
It’s obviously not perfect (what is?), but I’m pleased to discover that most of what I would like to be improved should be possible on the current generation:
| Would need to be in a new generation |
Could probably happen with the current generation |
- 3G
- A better camera (if that’s possible, given the space limitations)
- More memory (it’s only 8GB)
- GPS support
- More battery capacity
- FM receiver
|
- Open it up to 3rd-party native applications
- Merge the SMS and Voicemail apps into the Mail app – I only want to go to one place to see/hear my various messages
- Implement a pseudo-GPS system by using the location of various mobile phone towers and link it into Google Maps
- The ability to sync outside of iTunes
- The ability to sync with Mozilla applications (thunderbird, firefox, etc)
- The ability to sync iPhone notes with anything on the PC
- The ability to sync wirelessly (I can’t believe that I need to plug it in to sync!)
- Make the contact list accessible directly from the main screen
- Allow the contact list to be used in the calendar
- Include groups in the contact list (for sms or email)
- The ability to record video
- The ability to use an external keyboard/mouse/monitor (maybe through Bluetooth – does it have enough bandwidth?)
- Voice recognition (the on-screen keyboard is good for what it is, but supplementing it would be nice)
- Entirely new applications:
- Lists (To do, to buy, etc)
- Dictionary/Thesaurus
- Instant Messaging (msn msngr, google talk, aim, etc)
- Some form of VoIP when in an 802.11 area
- Some sort of money-management
- MS Office and PDF readers (if not editors)
|
I know that some of my list are available already for jailbroken iPhones, but I’m hesitant to do that. I’m going to hold out for a while and see if the rumours about an SDK being released in February are true.