this is the list of things i would like to see fixed on the iPhone. while of course everyone would like to see some special features being supported on the iPhone, my goal is to limit this list to obvious bugs (in two levels of how annoying the bugs are) and features which really would make sense on a device like the iPhone.
really annoying bugs:
- the iPhone 1.0.1 Wi-Fi Problem, created with the iPhone 1.0.1 Software Update, which basically disables access for users with a Wi-Fi network that uses a WEP hex key consisting only of digits. personally, this bug has disabled Wi-Fi access at home for all but the very first month i owned the phone. and all of this only because some interface guy wanted to get rid of one checkbox and tried to be smart...
- character handling in the SMS app mangles non-ASCII characters, and the app sometimes even discards complete messages.
- since the iPhone 1.1.3 Software Update, my iPhone now routinely freezes for 10 or 20 seconds or more (well, at least so far it always recovers from that freeze state). i did not notice that behavior before. it is hard to tell, but i have the impression that the new software version definitely is less stable and responsive.
bugs:
- fix the inability of the SMS app to recognize concatenated SMS messages, which are now displayed as separate messages.
- fix the SMS app to display a character count when composing SMS messages, so that users actually know how much they will be charged for a message (as a reminder: international messaging is not free and in fact quite expensive).
- fix the SMS app so that it no longer tries to make messaging look as if it were chatting. these are different things and the broken metaphor breaks functionality.
- fix the broken syncing of podcasts so that deleted podcasts on the iPhone are also deleted in iTunes when syncing.
- fix the spam-friendly email app which currently cannot be configured to not download images when viewing emails.
- fix the broken caching of safari which not only does not seem to cache anything at all, but even discards web pages when switching between
tabs
(or whatever these things are called). - fix the broken address syncing with Yahoo! so that it (a) does not simply report information-free error messages, and (b) is more diligent in mapping fields which should be mapped.
- add a search feature to contacts. and to notes. in fact, to everything. right now, these things are unusable when you have more than a small number of entries.
- add an alphabetical index (like the one in contacts) to the list of folders when using IMAP in the email app, right now this list in unusable if you have more than a small number of folders.
features:
- let me control my iPhone. please. i bought it, i want to control it. the number of configuration options is incredibly small. i don't talk about colors and backgrounds. i talk about functionality. retrying to re-establish a defunct EDGE connection, for example.
- liberate me from iTunes. let me upload stuff. and let me upload documents such as PDF and doc files. iTunes may be useful as a music store and ipod companion, but it certainly is no good as a general syncing software.
- support
sms:
uris so that users can simply click on them and then compose an SMS message. - unified messaging which would make the SMS app go away and integrate SMS and email messaging into one app.
- add Google Maps terrain view to the map app.
- allow more control over spell checking and auto-correction.
nice to have:
- add one of these cute white LEDs that dim between on an off, and use this as an indication that something is awaiting my attention (SMS, voice message, missed call, basically anything that generates a pop-up window).
and please please please, don't put flash on it. let me enjoy this flash-free zone. it is really bad enough that there is a youtube app.
change log (latest first):
- January 23, 2008: turned the iPhone To Do List into a
page
.
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