I know I’ve beaten this drum before but I figured with less than 24 hours until WWDC I would voice my wish for bluetooth keyboard support on the iPhone just one more time. My medium for this appeal is haiku:
Oh Bluetooth Keyboard
On the iPhone we desire
Does Apple permit?
Things seem to be heating up concerning Apple’s release of the iPhone hardware version 2. Many Mac websites are reporting shortages of the existing phones and, most recently, the Apple online store reports the current version of the iPhone as “unavailable”.
Now this could mean the iPhone 2.0 is imminent. It could also just mean they need to restock. Either way I don’t think you can really call the existence of an iPhone 2.0 product a secret. Apple is always pushing forward on its product line and there should be no more doubt about a new generation iPhone than a new generation MacBook or iPod. The question (and secret) is, however, its features. I think 3G is a given. Well, actually, it appears to have been promised by AT&T as well as referenced in this last spurt of new carrier contracts all over the world. As to other features, your guess is as good as mine. I have no idea but I do have an opinion:
1. Better Camera, please.
I’d like to see some improvement on the camera. Maybe a better lens and software that allows me to control exposure. Currently I find it difficult to take good pictures with the phone.
2. GPS? … Eh.
I have a Garmin NUVI in my car that gets me anywhere I need to go. I don’t see the iPhone replacing it even with a GPS system. It would be nice to have GPS on board but certainly not critical. I’m also curious to see what effect that would have on the battery.
3. Faster Processor Speed
Even if we had 3G, the iPhone still can be slow loading web pages. John Gruber did a post on this and he is right. The iPhone takes about 15 seconds to load a page even on wifi. A faster processor would fix this.
4. More memory .. a given.
With the application store going live next month. Our 8 gig iPhones are going to start feeling very small. I expect a 32 gig model before long.
5. Bluetooth Keyboard Support
My own personal crusade. I had to say it.
I’ve only touched upon the obvious points. What may even be more interesting are the new features that are not on this list. Time will tell. So am I upgrading you ask? Eventually, but probably not* right away. My daughter’s contract with Verizon ends next February so I’ll most likely wait until then to make any moves.
* I’ve learned not to categorically state I will not be buying any Apple products. It just never seems to work out.
Just 12 hours until Apple lifts the curtain off the SDK for the iPhone. I’m never very good at predictions but I thought I’d go ahead and weigh in on my hopes for the iPhone in the coming year.
For the love of Pete, let me manage my tasks. I was very pleased to see Omni’s #1 honcho, Ken Case post a comment this week on MacSparky about Omni’s eagerness to get OmniFocus on the iPhone. I have complete faith that if it is at all possible, the Omni wizards will figure it out. This will be huge for me.
There are several applications that have no business being web based. I decent business calculator, 1Password, a basic word processor, and an outliner (OmniOutliner please!) come to mind.
I had third party applications on my iPhone for a short time but reset it months ago. That being said there are some really nice third party apps that I would love to see brought into the official fold. The screenshot app and Flickr uploader come to mind but there are more.
The iPhone is an entirely new platform. I’m sure there are people that have ideas I’ve never considered. I look forward to discovering them.
A bluetooth keyboard could be a game changer for a lot of us. The device has a bluetooth receiver. Please Apple, throw the bloody switch.
The iPhone is such a huge target, I’m alright with Apple acting as a gate keeper to make sure everything is safe. That being said, I really hope Apple does not abuse such a position. If they do they may find the world passes the iPhone by. I remember a time when Windows was a sad little platform that nobody thought could compete with the Mac. Lets hope Apple doesn’t blow another lead by being close minded.
So what are you predictions? Only 12 hours left.
Ars Technica is reporting Apple has sent out invitations for a press event on March 6 where it is going to discuss the iPhone software development and Apple’s “exciting new enterprise features.” Hmmm. They missed the promised February date, but just barely. Furthermore, it is not even clear whether the SDK is done but at least we’ll get some information and the tease about enterprise compatibility may be a game changer for a lot of folks. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
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My wife was tied up with her business over the weekend and I spent Sunday chasing my daughter around Disneyland. When we weren’t chasing Micky, my six year old budding Mac geek pointed out to me every iPhone she saw. Guess what? She saw a lot of iPhones! At one point we were sitting in a restaurant waiting for a seat and there were 8 people with their phones out. Five iPhones (not including mine which was in my pocket), two RIMs, and a Razr. Now I know this wasn’t scientific by any stretch of the imagination but still it was telling that Apple got something right with the iPhone. Hopefully they’ll continue to innovate with the platform and make it something worthy of such enthusiastic use. When is that SDK showing up again?
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Today the Apple Store went down and came back up with an upgraded iPhone and iPod Touch doubling the memory for another $100. So now for $499 you can either get a 32gb Touch or a 16 gb iPhone. With the way flash memory prices have been dropping I was hoping that these upgrades would not have included a price hike.
Neither of these announcements have me too excited. I keep my 8gb iPhone pretty full but I really don’t need the extra memory so badly to upgrade. Likewise, I bought my wife an iPod touch last week. I will talk to her later to see if she wants to double the memory for another $100 but knowing her, she probably won’t care so long as Ugly Betty and Michael Buble’ fit on her 16 gb version.
Did the memory upgrade pull any readers off the fence and inspire them to go buy? If so drop me a note or sound off in the comments.
Gearlive has been posting pictures of their purported 1.1.3 updated iPhone. So many people have been calling it fake that they posted a video yesterday that looks very impressive. If it is a fake, it is a very convincing one. Otherwise, I am looking forward to 1.1.3. The video demonstrates moveable icons, Safari bookmarks turned into icons (yay Google Reader button!) and a quasi-GPS system using cell tower triangulation. Check it out.
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Scott Bourne over at The Apple Phone Show is one heck of a photographer. He has been dribbling out some great Alaska pictures over the past few months and recently tied them all into a neat little package. If you are looking for some nice iPhone wallpaper, check it out.
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I am very happy to report Apple has made importing ringtones to iTunes a much simpler (and less restrictive) affair. You can now export song snippets from iTunes or custom build ringtones right in GarageBand. This is great news for me since I do a lot of my own music and can think of nothing more narcissistic then waking up to my own composition.
I’m also thinking it would be fun to use some of the sound effects to make ringtones. I can think of one particular person who is just begging for a screaming monkeys ringtone on my phone.
I was going to write up a detailed explanation about how to do it but discovered this morning that lifehacker beat me to it.
This new system doesn’t seem to help our Windows brethren but I doubt it will be long before there is a similar feature on that “other” operating system.
Steve Jobs has finally lifted the veil on third party applications for the iPhone. The word is February.
Steve explains on the apple web site the challenge between making great applications and protecting the phone both in terms of security and user experience. I am posting the entire article below. I’m okay with this. Just please do more than make “Pac-Man” and give me something to make my iPhone even more useful.
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Third Party Applications on the iPhone
Let me just say it: We want native third party applications on the iPhone, and we plan to have an SDK in developers’ hands in February. We are excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users. With our revolutionary multi-touch interface, powerful hardware and advanced software architecture, we believe we have created the best mobile platform ever for developers.
It will take until February to release an SDK because we’re trying to do two diametrically opposed things at once—provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc. This is no easy task. Some claim that viruses and malware are not a problem on mobile phones—this is simply not true. There have been serious viruses on other mobile phones already, including some that silently spread from phone to phone over the cell network. As our phones become more powerful, these malicious programs will become more dangerous. And since the iPhone is the most advanced phone ever, it will be a highly visible target.
Some companies are already taking action. Nokia, for example, is not allowing any applications to be loaded onto some of their newest phones unless they have a digital signature that can be traced back to a known developer. While this makes such a phone less than “totally open,” we believe it is a step in the right direction. We are working on an advanced system which will offer developers broad access to natively program the iPhone’s amazing software platform while at the same time protecting users from malicious programs.
We think a few months of patience now will be rewarded by many years of great third party applications running on safe and reliable iPhones.
Steve
P.S.: The SDK will also allow developers to create applications for iPod touch.