This is a big oversight for me. In so many ways the iPhone makes phone functions easier EXCEPT for speed dial. It's frustrating that my old phone, and in fact most if not all free phones available, had speed dial and that this bleeding edge product lacks it. Next to the absence of 3G this, in my view, is one of the few shortcomings of this device particularly giving the lack of voice recognition as well.
I think, however, that this could be remedied through a possible enhancement to the interface. I can envision three possible options to do this:
Option A- The Slider Option: Add a few sliders to the home screen beneath the unlock slider. Each slider is a different quickdial. A small confirmation dialog might be appropriate.
Option B- From the Home Page: Add a few buttons beneath the application buttons on the home page, each displaying the photo of the contact from the address book. Scrolling left or right would reveal additional contacts and hovering over one would expand it like the OS X dock.
Option C- Unlock Gesture: Making use of the unlock slider on the startup screen, sliding it in different patterns might take the user to different applications. For instance, sliding the unlock key left to right and then up would lead directly to the quick dial list. Sliding across then down would lead to the iPod screen. And so forth. Alternatively, use the unlock slider to scroll up or down to select a particular function or contact and then slide to the right to unlock the phone into that function.
Is speed dial important to anyone else and how do you envision having it added to the phone without modifying the hardware?
I think, however, that this could be remedied through a possible enhancement to the interface. I can envision three possible options to do this:
Option A- The Slider Option: Add a few sliders to the home screen beneath the unlock slider. Each slider is a different quickdial. A small confirmation dialog might be appropriate.
Option B- From the Home Page: Add a few buttons beneath the application buttons on the home page, each displaying the photo of the contact from the address book. Scrolling left or right would reveal additional contacts and hovering over one would expand it like the OS X dock.
Option C- Unlock Gesture: Making use of the unlock slider on the startup screen, sliding it in different patterns might take the user to different applications. For instance, sliding the unlock key left to right and then up would lead directly to the quick dial list. Sliding across then down would lead to the iPod screen. And so forth. Alternatively, use the unlock slider to scroll up or down to select a particular function or contact and then slide to the right to unlock the phone into that function.
Is speed dial important to anyone else and how do you envision having it added to the phone without modifying the hardware?
