Eleven months ago, I wrote about twelve things that were wrong with the iPhone in OS version 1.1.3. Now that OS 2.2 is here, I figure it is time to revisit my list.
What Was Fixed Since 1.1.3
Apple have made a lot of progress in the year and a half that the iPhone has been in existence. And the fact that they’ve rolled out just about every feature via software updates for every phone owner is a real breath of fresh air. The lack of updates was one thing that really made me dislike the various BlackBerry devices I had over the years…
Of the 12 issues I noted in my last post, three have been fixed:
- That darn headphone jack – The iPhone 3G no longer has a recessed jack. Good move!
- Calendar integration – OS 2.0 handles meeting invites and over the air calendar syncing pretty well, though I’ve had some issues keeping mine up to date. And the colored calendars are needlessly complicated.
- Hidden contacts – The addition of a Contacts app is a welcome change.
What’s Still Wrong
- Copy and paste – Please please please please please!
- SMS popups – These still “show through” every app (even the lock screen!), interfering with whatever you are doing. And whenever Apple pushes out their push service, it’s only going to get worse!
- Landscape email – I always want to rotate my mail to read it better. How about landscape everything?
- Notes – I want to save notes on my iPhone, but it’s a dead end. Please! The uselessness of the notes app is beyond crazy! I’ve started to use Evernote, however, so maybe Apple missed the boat on this.
- Persistent web data – Why does Safari lose its data all the time? This is incredibly frustrating – switch back to a Safari page you were viewing and it is gone from cache. The fact that Google Reader just marked the item that was showing as read makes this even worse.
- Actual IM – Please please please start supporting actual Gtalk, AIM, and Yahoo IM protocols. The web versions of these apps stink, and the apps so far aren’t much better. Maybe the push service won’t stink or guzzle battery juice.
- Device compatibility – My Belkin Auto Kit works just fine with the iPhone, yet it still nags me to go into airplane mode every time I plug it in! How about a setting so I can say “stop nagging me about this device?”
- Bluetooth support – Please let me stream whatever audio I want to my Bluetooth headset. A better Bluetooth stack could blow open the accessory market – GPS, stereo headphones, laptop sync, remote control, etc etc etc… As much as people love Apple’s iconic “headphone” ad images, we’d all love wireless headphones more!
- Improved iPod controls – The iPhone is the worst iPod ever made when it comes to the controls – they move around inconsistently between portrait and landscape mode, and some are lacking entirely. You can’t scrub forward, set stars, or access podcasts or movies, in cover flow?!? And these are all hidden even in portrait mode! And how about video zoom – I want to be able to pinch in when I’m watching a letterboxed film. Is that so wrong?
Don’t get me wrong here – I still think the iPhone is insanely great. I bought two! Consider this constructive criticism…