You've probably- rightly- got the impression from the first part of this post that I'm a big fan of the iPhone. But that's not to say that it's without it's problems. So here, I'll be venting my spleen; like the fan of a football club who can't bear to watch their team fail to top the table without telling everyone within earshot about exactly what's wrong with the manager/chairman/centre-forwards/transfer regulations. So I'm going to talk about some of the problems with the phone; the drawbacks of Apple's tightly controlled platform, how O2 have fumbled the launch of the device, and why for all it's bells and whistles this really is 'just a phone', as opposed to a pocket PC.
Although the changes in the second generation iPhone that have got most attention are the hardware improvements (3G for faster downloading and GPS for location-based services), it's what's happening to the software that I think marks the bigger shift; the changing nature of the platform from completely closed and controlled by Apple to a more open platform, allowing 3rd parties to build dedicated iPhone applications. So now, web service providers can take the step from putting a shortcut to their website on users homescreens to installing dedicated software on the handset. This means that not only can applications access the power of the iPhones processing power and memory, but also access information such as the users friends (via their contacts list) and location (through GPS.) It also gives the chance to provide services even when the handset is offline- very useful for anyone who travels on the underground (where there is no signal), travels abroad (where roaming costs change the way you use the "always on" internet connection), or iPod Touch users.
This shift in focus has accompanied a big shift in the marketing approach that Apple have taken. Rather than the $600 phone that everyone wants that the iPhone was on it's launch, it's now a free (with network subsidy) handset that pretty much anyone can afford. Market share, rather than exclusivity is clearly what Apple are aiming at, and I suspect it's the announcement of Android (Google's open-source mobile operating system) last November that's prompted both the relatively fast opening-up to 3rd party applications and the different pricing structure of the 3G iPhone.
But it seems that many of the problems developers are facing aren't actually problems with the iPhone itself, but with the terms and conditions that Apple impose on them. Prior to the launch of the second generation handset, developers who were working on building software had to agree to an NDA, preventing them from publicly discussing their problems- and solutions. This is pretty much standard practice for this kind of work, but it's also normal for these restrictions to be lifted when the device is released. Not so with the iPhone…
Also, it sounds like Apple have some pretty restrictive licencing conditions to have their applications published on the new platform. Adobe have said that they won't be able to release their Flash player (which is used for the majority of video and animation on the web) for the iPhone- it seems that it's technically possible, but because of the licencing conditions that Apple impose they say they can't release it. Similarly, Mozilla have said that the licencing structure means that they won't be able to develop and release the Firefox web browser for the iPhone. (Presumably, the iPhone licence conflicts with existing licences that parts of the software are covered by.)
Then there's the actual publishing of an application; everything is subject to Apple's approval, but you won't know whether your app will be approved until the last minute— not exactly an ideal situation if you're knocking together a neat application in your spare time, but a disaster if you're investing time and money in a business application.
On top of that, it's sometimes difficult to tell exactly where problems with the new iPhone lie; is poor 3G performance because of the handset, or because of problems on the networks? (In my case, it was actually because of poor advice from a shop assistant, but I'll come to that shortly.) When the handset was launched, O2 shops had lots of problems with their computer systems and were simply unable to deal with the level of demand; first they sent out a text message to everyone who had registered an interest, driving traffic to a website that couldn't deal with the volume which promptly fell over. Then they restricted the number of handsets available online, driving people to the high street O2 and Carphone Warehouse stores- leading to failures in the computerised registration system and customers taking 20 minutes at a time (and more) to upgrade their handsets. But whether these problems were down to impositions placed by Apple or by O2's own policies, it's hard to tell.
So there's no shortage of political issues around the phone as well. But this is my list of complaints that is, just the things that bother me personally- I'm not upset by the 2 megapixel camera, as I never take photos from my phone that I'll want to print out- for what I want to use it for, it's more than adequate. Similarly, the lack of video recording doesn't bother me- I had it on my last 2 phones and never used it, so it's not something I miss. I could moan that I can't discreetly call emergency services with the phone in my pocket, but that's a problem for any phone that uses a touch screen, and I'd rather have a big screen than a keypad.
Stability
The fact is, applications can crash and sometimes, they can cause the handset to reset. On a computer, this is a pain in the neck. On a mobile— a device that I rely on— it's unacceptable; especially if I'm then left with a phone that won't start up until I plug it into my computer running iTunes. But the system of vetting 3rd party applications should either mean that all apps available on the iTunes store have some guarantee of stability, or you have the understanding that there is an inherent risk in installing them- otherwise there's no point in restricting access. (From a consumer persepctive, that is— obviously there are political/business reasons...)
After the problems I had with the handset completely locking up, I took it back to the Apple store and got replaced (lucky I live in London…), so I put it down to a hardware problem and bad luck with getting a handset that slipped through the quality control net. Except after a few days, my second handset did the same thing... That's not something that just ruins your day (because I've got no phone until I get home), but it also ruined my evening, because I had to spend a couple of hours restoring it.Undo. Copy. Paste. Save.
Simple functions that we pretty much take for granted on the desktop, but without them the iPhone really is 'just a phone'- a great phone, but not really a Pocket PC. Because the user interface is otherwise fantastic, I'm guessing that this is something Apple plan to add somewhere down the line, to keep things simple for now. At least, that's what I'm hoping (and I'm not the only one...)Synchronization needs to work better.
The iPhone is permanently tied to a single computer. If Apple are not going to let me transfer stuff from another computer— or at least let me copy a few songs or podcasts across without waiting for a complete backup and synchronisation— then at least make sure that it works smoothly with the one that it's tied to. That means it has to be;
Faster
- not a 2+ hour process that can't be interrupted without risking losing my apps/music/contact info etc.Work wirelessly.
With a wifi connection, I just don't see the need to rely on a USB cable. (Unless it's because of the risk of running out of battery in the middle of a 2+ hour process, or moving out of range and interrupting the process…)Work with a consistent hardware standard
. The iPhone simply won't charge with some older iPod connections. (Which is a big problem when that connection is built into your car...) For Apple, it's apparently all about the "Made for iPod" badge that they get to charge 3rd party hardware manufacturers to stick on their products. But for me, that means that I've got a bunch of iPod chargers that are now useless, and th £~30 iPod dock that my iPhone sits in perfectly comfortably is now nothing but a paperweight- which leaves me reluctant to buy another dock or charger if the next generation of iPhone/iPod is going to make that one obsolete as well.
Sure, I could pay for MobileMe and move all my calendars, emails etc. to an online Apple service… Thanks, but no thanks. (Nothing to with the problems Apple had with the service- I wouldn't move them if Apple were doing it for free and without the reported problems. I'm just not interested in the effort of migrating with no clear benefits.)Silent should mean silent
This one is screamingly obvious. When I flip the switch to put my phone on silent, it shouldn't make any noise. That means if my phone is on Silent and I decide to play a game of poker (an application published and sold by Apple themselves, incidentally), it should be silent. In other words, it shouldn't start playing music out of the speaker. Simple, obvious and, at the moment, broken. This isn't an "it would be nice if it worked better"— this is something that's broken and needs to be fixed.More functional notepad app
Notes on a mobile device are incredibly useful- the ability to jot down ideas as they occur is a life saver when writing anything from a wedding speech to a shopping list. But they need to be able to sync in the same way that music, videos, photos, contacts and calendars sync. A bizarre oversight- although one that 3rd party apps will no doubt address in some way (I've already started using the Wordpress blogging application as a notepad replacement.) Speaking of which...Apps store needs to be better.
Reviews from people who haven't used the application aren't reviews- they're reactions, and not helpful. An application that has just released an update is not a new application. There are dozens of applications with similar, if not identical functionality, but no effective way to browse through them.Memory stick functionality
I'm sure I'm not the only person using more than one computer- a home and work one. (Actually, 2 home ones.) To move files between them I've got to carry round a memory stick as well as my phone. Microsoft let me do it with their phones through Activesync. Most other smartphones let you use SD cards in the phone.
Apparently 3rd party applications can/will let you do this— but with severely limited functionality.3G
This was conspicuously absent from my phone for the first week or so- which I didn't really notice because where I live and work are both covered by WiFi networks. But I never saw it- at all. Working in central London means that I should have had a signal at least some of the time, and it turned out that I did; the problem was that the advice I got from both the O2 shop assistant and the O2 website was that I could put the SIM from my old phone into my new iPhone and start using it straight away. What they didn't (and, at the time of writing, don't) mention is that you need to have a 3G SIM to use the 3G network. Not Apple's fault, but a fail for O2. (I know I'm not alone with this- my wife had an identical experience, and is still stuck with a 2G signal, until she can find the time to visit an O2 shop to pick up a replacement SIM card.)GPS should be more than a gimmick.
As I mentioned in the previous post, I once watched an entire film on a mobile phone; it was a great way to pass the time on a long coach journey. What I hadn't forseen was that when I got to my destination, I would be left with a flat battery and no way to get the phone number I had to call off my phone. This taught me the value of battery life in a mobile!
Well, I've since discovered that a 3 hour car journey with the GPS switched on to give directions can be enough to drain 90% of the phone's battery. When there's no car charger provided (or even, at the time of writing, officially available) that simply means the GPS isn't something you can use as a navigational device- even if someone does bring turn-by-turn navigation. When you can find yourself in a situation where you can't connect to the internet (so you can see a blue dot telling you where you are, but no map images to tell you where anything else is, then it becomes completely useless. So I can't rely on the GPS to provide GPS functionality, and if I do then it's too much of a battery drain to let me rely on my phone for the usual phone functionality. So don't throw away your A-Z just yet.Let me stream MY music.
One thing I really like is the Last.fm application, which lets you stream music over the internet from the Last.fm service (which I really like.) So I can be in my bedroom, using the iPhone as a stereo (either hooked up to an appropriate set of speakers or using the built in speaker), playing music from Last.fm. Also, I can use it as a remote control for iTunes on my computer- to browse my collection, skip tracks etc. But what I can't do is play my own iTunes music through my iPhone. I can play someone else's music, but not my own. Neither can I copy music from the PC to the phone. Seems like a silly oversight- but there's clearly more room for improvement in the iPhone/iTunes integration.Same browsing as Remote
(Explained in better detail over on thesmallwave.com - The Remote application is designed to let you navigate huge iTunes libraries, so it provides better search functionality, and more information about what's in playlists etc. Why doesn't iTunes on the iPhone let you see the same information? Maybe something for a future update?Update podcasts.
I can buy and download music from iTunes straight to my phone. I can stream music straight to my phone. But I need to sync with iTunes if I want to update my podcasts. Why? This makes keeping up to date with podcasts a major hassle.Editing metadata
I think iTunes is great- I love the Smart Playlists, and the control that it gives me over how I organise my music. I like being able to rate songs from the phone, because I use ratings to organise my Smart Playlists (so music I like gets played more often.) If I could tag songs, edit the Genres, mark where I've got duplicates of tracks (eg. where I've got the same track on an album, a single and a compilation), it would be a massive help in keeping my library organised- as well as something that would make it less likely for me to migrate from iTunes to something else (Windows Media Player/Amarok/Winamp etc.)
I have to note here that the iPhone 2.1 software upgrade was released last Friday, and it promises to address some of these issues (including the stability of 3rd party applications and synchronising time- 2 of my biggest headaches), along with other security patches and bug fixes, so I'll be keeping an eye on what sort of difference it makes.
But like I said before, it does feel like the iPhone has been designed from scratch by someone with a clear vision of what they want it to be, and as a result I think it's the best mobile phone- or even mobile device- that I've seen yet. As fas as I understand it, the problems that exist could be fixed with software updates; the hardware is perfectly capable of doing any of the jobs that I might want to throw at it. But as we've seen from the issues that have accompanied the opening up of the platform to 3rd party developers, there's still some way to go, and I can't help think that it's going to be someone else who addresses these sorts of problems first of all.
In other news, it's being rumoured that the first Android handsets should be out later this month…
