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Stocks = 'Widgets' = More widgets on the way?

dongmin

dongmin

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 3, 2002
1,710
6
Notice how the Stocks applet is categorized under 'Widgets.' For sure, Apple will be bringing out new widgets that we can download and install on the iPhone. There is still space for four more apps/widgets. From the Apple website:

"iPhone even has widgets: small applications that give you helpful information like stock reports, weather reports, and more."

The whole introduction of Dashboard and Dashcode in OS X may have been Apple's way to build a platform of mini apps for their various CONSUMER DEVICES, like the iPhone, Apple TV, etc. Genius!

I'm confident that in the days ahead, we'll see several of the following widgets made available for download for the iPhone:

Flight Tracker
Dictionary
Wikipedia
Sudoku (and other games)
 
Crazy if they don't

Apple would be crazy if they don't get a good widget offering out there for us. Seems like the easiest way to get some gaps filled in consumer need. Web 2.0 will be nice for some stuff, but we have GOT to see some sharp widgets. I mean movie times/ticket purchases, flight tracker, etc on a mobile device....perfect :D Gotta be one of the "surprises" this week...
:apple: apple power :apple:
 
The Movie widget in Leopard is crying out to be used on the iPhone.

The Unit Converter in Tiger also would be immensely helpful.
 
And yet another reason why Apple might want to do it:

Microsoft has shown off the (as yet, rough) ability to use Vista gadgets on their Windows Mobile devices. Just copy one over from the desktop to the mobile device, and wham, it runs.

http://on10.net/Blogs/laura/vista-gadgets-running-on-windows-mobile/

Now if we could only get all the idiotic me-first companies to agree on a standard widget/gadget/whatever source scheme, we'd all be better off.

Death to brandnames! :D
 
I would think all they would need to do it make them available via iTunes and you could select the Widgets you want on iPhone and swap them out whenever....The ones the iPhone comes with look exactly the same, so I wonder what's up???
 
Yep, I'm disappointed with the implication that "standard" widgets don't run on iphone. Seems like BS since it is running OS X. When SJ first demoed it I didn't get the limitation to two widgets. My other issue is that none of the icons lead to folder full of icons. Why isn't there just a Dashboard Icon and then a selection of widget icons is displayed when dashboard is selected. This is one of the BIG issues for me that will be a major bummer if they don't get it together quickly. It will be a bummer because I see Dashboard as Apple being very cool in allowing "free" apps onto the platform....if they don't allow this for the iphone it seems to be just a cash-flow/control thing and that seems inconsistent with apple of late.
 
I can see this working as well. Imagine losing one of the widgets on the main menu, and it being replaced by a Widgets button, where you can view and assign the other widgets. Your 2 favorite ones on the main screen, the rest in the menu where the 3rd widget used to be.
 
retnuh730 said:
I can see this working as well. Imagine losing one of the widgets on the main menu, and it being replaced by a Widgets button, where you can view and assign the other widgets. Your 2 favorite ones on the main screen, the rest in the menu where the 3rd widget used to be.
Click to expand...

Ah, see, this where Apple has put themselves between a rock and hard place.

They're pushing the iPhone as a closed system (for security, safety, whatever, it's all BS, except for being in control) that's easy for the user.

To be easy, you really can't let there be a bunch of apps, because eventually you could have thousands (just like your desktop) and how do you organize them without training the user to act like they're on a desktop computer? It becomes a mess.

Just think how many people you know who put all their files in one directory. Drives me nuts ;-) Anyway...

You sort of get the feeling that they'd much rather have it that there were never more than 16-20 apps on the Home page. (Really should be called a Start page. Home pages have lots of personal stuff displayed like weather, messages, status, custom clocks, you name it.)

As a UI designer, I feel their pain.
 
NJDevils44 said:
If widgets are indeed released for the iPhone, you can count on The Widget Warehouse developing and distributing them!
www.thewidgetwarehouse.com
Click to expand...
Hmm... or can we? :)
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dongmin said:
Flight Tracker
Dictionary
Wikipedia
Sudoku (and other games)
Click to expand...
I see 99 cent widgets in our future. The flight tracker and dictionary widgets should REALLY be in there though. Y'know... I think the coolest thing would be if Apple treated widgets like Podcasts. Ran a directory, and let people download them. In addition to the web 2.0 apps, it'd really be something to let these things have their own icons on the configurable homepage...

~ CB
 
I agree Apple would be foolish not to include some of their most basic widgets as apps on the iPhone. I would use translator, dictionary, and wikipedia every day. Flight tracker and yellow/white pages would be quite useful, the latter being PERFECT for the phone too -- since you can just call what you look up. (I know you can find businesses through Google Maps apparently, but it seems awfully limited...). And as someone mentioned, the upcoming Movie widget makes way more sense on the iPhone than a regular computer.

I will NEVER use the stocks widget. And the clock widget is useless for me -- isn't the time already displayed elsewhere? I don't need to know the time in other cities. I'm really hoping apps we don't need can be removed from the home screen (or removed altogether).
 
Rojo said:
I agree Apple would be foolish not to include some of their most basic widgets as apps on the iPhone. I would use translator, dictionary, and wikipedia every day. Flight tracker and yellow/white pages would be quite useful, the latter being PERFECT for the phone too -- since you can just call what you look up. (I know you can find businesses through Google Maps apparently, but it seems awfully limited...). And as someone mentioned, the upcoming Movie widget makes way more sense on the iPhone than a regular computer.

I will NEVER use the stocks widget. And the clock widget is useless for me -- isn't the time already displayed elsewhere? I don't need to know the time in other cities. I'm really hoping apps we don't need can be removed from the home screen (or removed altogether).
Click to expand...

I completely agree with you. I hope we are able to:

  • Remove unwanted and unnecessary apps (e.g. Stocks, Clock, etc.) from home screen
  • Add additional desired widgets (e.g. Flight Tracker, Package Tracker, Translator, Movie, etc.)
Hopefully Apple will allow us to do these two things on our iPhone.

coolosxapps
 
dongmin said:
"iPhone even has widgets: small applications that give you helpful information like stock reports, weather reports, and more."
Click to expand...

Not to burst your bubble but, I think they mean Notes, Calculator, Clock. (That kinda sounds like that Get a Mac commercial)
 
applehappy said:
Yep, I'm disappointed with the implication that "standard" widgets don't run on iphone. Seems like BS since it is running OS X. When SJ first demoed it I didn't get the limitation to two widgets. My other issue is that none of the icons lead to folder full of icons. Why isn't there just a Dashboard Icon and then a selection of widget icons is displayed when dashboard is selected. This is one of the BIG issues for me that will be a major bummer if they don't get it together quickly. It will be a bummer because I see Dashboard as Apple being very cool in allowing "free" apps onto the platform....if they don't allow this for the iphone it seems to be just a cash-flow/control thing and that seems inconsistent with apple of late.
Click to expand...


I agree, this is really the only thing that I am not happy with. When I first saw that macworld demo I was under the impression that it would work with all the current widgets already out there.
 
It wouldn't shock me if there already are Widgets in the works and possibly ready for launch. It seems strange to me that Apple would only include Stocks and Weather. Its obvious there will be more but it would be a nice announcement if apple up and stated they had X amount of widgets availible immediately for launch too.
 
MLeepson said:
Not to burst your bubble but, I think they mean Notes, Calculator, Clock. (That kinda sounds like that Get a Mac commercial)
Click to expand...
You can't burst my bubble that easily:

Widgets is a subcategory of Internet In Your Pocket, meaning these are apps that retrive data from the Internet in some way. Hence Flight Tracker, Movies, Package Tracker, Wikipedia, etc.
 
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