The Perfect iPhone

[Bush438]

Although the current iPhone out on the market seems to have pleased the majority of cell phone users who bought it I can't help but to think of some of the features it lacks that would make it the perfect phone.

Here is my take:

1. 3G

(Should be out in a future model. Regardless of battery drain, this is a must have considering the awesome browser that comes with the iphone. Many of you will say WiFi makes up for this but not all places have WiFi or atleast WiFi that is free.)

2. Flash

(Can be added with a software update for the current model or released with a future model. Although Apple delights us with their ads that we get the 'real' internet and not a watered down version, lack of Flash really limits what we can do and see on many popular sites.)

3. More Memory

(My ideal memory capacity would be around 16-20 Gigs. You could easily put your entire music library into the phone and have a decent mix of full length movies that could easily be transferred in and out while you go on a trip. 8 Gigs is decent but leaves little room for error if you want a good amount of viewing material on a vacation or business trip.)

4. Better Phone Features

(Again, this can easily be done in a software update. MMS, Video Recording capabilities with the camera. Better forwarding options. Landscape Keyboard mode.)


That is my wish list. Most can be done through software updates but 3G and a more memory would require a release of an updated model. For $600, this should have already been released on a phone of this magnitude. Either way, Apple has raised the bar and I congatulate them.

 

[anti-microsoft]

I like your wish list but I think the memory, well, flash memory at least, is not available in 20GB is it? I say 4, 8 & 16GB models.

 

[plumbingandtech]

They could release a phone with those updated specs and SOMEONE would still complain.

There is no perfect.

There is just something that pleases one so much that one overlooks the bad things...

 

[ZBoater]

1. 3G

(Should be out in a future model. Regardless of battery drain,

Regardless of battery drain? I dont think so. People are already complaining the battery doesnt last long enough - adding 3G is just going to make it worse. You could add a bigger battery but....

3. More Memory

(My ideal memory capacity would be around 16-20 Gigs.

And how big is this iPhone going to be?

 

[Amblinman]

I'm new to the iPhone (only 24 hours old) but I really don't see many flaws that can't be immediately addresses with a software fix. 3g is just unnecessary. I'd also be concerned that a 3g phone would have a more expensive data packag.

My own wishlist is pretty easy:

MMS
To Do list
mass deletion of email
landscape keyboard

Give me those and I own exactly the phone I want/need.

 

[zap2]

3G and more memory are coming...Apple already talked about plans for 3G. And more memory is a "duh" kind of thing.

All the others are software, and I'd bet Apple is planning for them.

 

[iAmLegend]

If they didn't add a single new feature, the iPhone would still be perfect for me as it is.

 

[Avatar74]

The challenge with some of the feature sets you're talking about is the form factor.

As some others have pointed out, how big is such a phone going to become? This is where Apple seems to be looking at other products entirely... A mobile mini-tablet is one possibility.

In a phone, there's no end to what people are going to say they want to see, and I think those features may be feasible at a later date by with some revision... Why 3G? Why not 4G/WiMax?

Instead of simply rejecting the idea of a tiny physical keyboard for a rudimentary virtual one, Apple designed a smart virtual keyboard with clever error correction, proximity judgment (capacitive screens plus a smart OS enables the system to figure out which key you're trying to press instead of registering two of them), keysliding correction (i.e. Hit the wrong key and you can slide to the right one and it wont register both)... The basic idea here is to capitalize on the what this interface can do that others can't.

And that is how you have to look at it. Instead of talking in terms of today's features, look at the actual task... What is it you are trying to do? Now, what would be a more elegant way to do it? Nevermind that the answer might yet exist.

Flash is on the decline... As a business, use it and you've just killed half your potential traffic. But how many phones have a REAL browser at all?? On that alone, Apple is ahead.

Memory... It is coming, but flash memory is still pretty expensive. You say you want 16GB. Are you willing to pay $100 to $300 more right now for that iPhone? Add 3G, also... Will you not just say but actually buy a $1000 iPhone that is twice as thick with half the battery life, today?

Timing is critical as you can see. Sure then the iPhone is expensive if you reduce it to a matter of bells and whistles. But the price is driven by more than raw cost. There isnt a product on the market with a UI this elegant and intuitive... None. That alone is worth more than any particular feature or set of features because it impacts the usability and user experience with all features.

 

[Amblinman]

The challenge with some of the feature sets you're talking about is the form factor.

As some others have pointed out, how big is such a phone going to become? This is where Apple seems to be looking at other products entirely... A mobile mini-tablet is one possibility.

In a phone, there's no end to what people are going to say they want to see, and I think those features may be feasible at a later date by with some revision... Why 3G? Why not 4G/WiMax?

Instead of simply rejecting the idea of a tiny physical keyboard for a rudimentary virtual one, Apple designed a smart virtual keyboard with clever error correction, proximity judgment (capacitive screens plus a smart OS enables the system to figure out which key you're trying to press instead of registering two of them), keysliding correction (i.e. Hit the wrong key and you can slide to the right one and it wont register both)... The basic idea here is to capitalize on the what this interface can do that others can't.

And that is how you have to look at it. Instead of talking in terms of today's features, look at the actual task... What is it you are trying to do? Now, what would be a more elegant way to do it? Nevermind that the answer might yet exist.

Flash is on the decline... As a business, use it and you've just killed half your potential traffic. But how many phones have a REAL browser at all?? On that alone, Apple is ahead.

Memory... It is coming, but flash memory is still pretty expensive. You say you want 16GB. Are you willing to pay $100 to $300 more right now for that iPhone? Add 3G, also... Will you not just say but actually buy a $1000 iPhone that is twice as thick with half the battery life, today?

Timing is critical as you can see. Sure then the iPhone is expensive if you reduce it to a matter of bells and whistles. But the price is driven by more than raw cost. There isnt a product on the market with a UI this elegant and intuitive... None. That alone is worth more than any particular feature or set of features because it impacts the usability and user experience with all features.

Brilliant, brilliant post. Too many folks want to turn their smart phone into a laptop replacement and that's just not the point of owning one. With iPhone, you're not even talking about a ordinary smart phone anymore. It is a unique creature. This is why I switched over. Before I ever played with one I thought I had it figured out. Then I did get my hands on it and realized it was nothing like I was expecting.

 

[liketom]

i've been using my iPhone which is awaiting a unlock phone feature ,for my ebay auctions and it is simple and easy to use - i love this phone - i just wish safari did not crash as much as it does , would like to run any widget on it


apart from that best thing ever!

 

[Joshua8o8]

my perfect iphone would, cleanup and feed my dogs and make me lots of money. Other than that im pretty happy with my iphone, hopefully my other requests will be taken care of with future updates

 

[megfilmworks]

i've been using my iPhone which is awaiting a unlock phone feature ,for my ebay auctions and it is simple and easy to use - i love this phone - i just wish safari did not crash as much as it does , would like to run any widget on it


apart from that best thing ever!

I love mine too. Safari kinda hiccups more than crashes (beach ball of death) don't you think?

 

[kdarling]

The challenge with some of the feature sets you're talking about is the form factor..

Don't see why. Lots of phones out there already with many more tech features than you can easily list... 3G, GPS, Flash, expandable memory... and their size and weight keeps dropping. The only thing that makes them get bigger are the larger screens. Say, 4" 800x480 pixels.

Instead of simply rejecting the idea of a tiny physical keyboard for a rudimentary virtual one, Apple designed a smart virtual keyboard with clever error correction, .

Keyboards like that are old. Btw, you don't need capacitive to guess presses.

Full screen keyboard for WM - $10

Flash is on the decline... As a business, use it and you've just killed half your potential traffic. But how many phones have a REAL browser at all?? On that alone, Apple is ahead..

In the US, perhaps. Nokia had fullscreen Safari years ago. Now known as the S60 browser. The Picsel browser used in Asia is nice. So is Access Netfront. Windows CE has full IE 6.0. All except IE have zoom modes. (On 800x480 you don't need zoom any more.)

Flash is not on decline... more on the rise for application building these days, since no one can make another standard for cross platform storage, etc.

Memory... It is coming, but flash memory is still pretty expensive.

Agreed.

 

[beate]

I'm new to the iPhone (only 24 hours old) but I really don't see many flaws that can't be immediately addresses with a software fix. 3g is just unnecessary. I'd also be concerned that a 3g phone would have a more expensive data packag.

My own wishlist is pretty easy:

MMS
To Do list
mass deletion of email
landscape keyboard

Give me those and I own exactly the phone I want/need.

Man, you're easy to please. I think you just might have the phone you want/need in the very near future.

I'm easy too - I just want a To Do list & my own ringtones and ringtones aren't that big a deal...it's more the principle. I could do it before - I want to be able to do it now.

 

[Amblinman]

Man, you're easy to please. I think you just might have the phone you want/need in the very near future.

I'm easy too - I just want a To Do list & my own ringtones and ringtones aren't that big a deal...it's more the principle. I could do it before - I want to be able to do it now.

Well, I've gone from a Treo 700w to a BlackBerry 8703 to a BlackBerry 8830 and now finally to iPhone. At this point, I know exactly what I want and need from a smart phone, thus the reason I made the jump. The iPhone, in its current iteration, comes closest to matching all of my criteria. This is the first time in my smart phone history where I purchased something and after using it wasn't already looking forward to the next version. I can easily see using this device for at least two years without looking at anything else.

As an added bonus, I thought I was downgrading voice quality a little switching from VZW to AT&T but I was very wrong. The iPhone has much, MUCH better voice quality than my 8830.

 

[megfilmworks]

I agree, my voice quality is the best I've had and with headphones on it is very easy to understand people who I am callin,g even if they are on a junky cellphone.

 

[Bush438]

One thing I want to point out, I had the opportunity to play with the LG Prada the other day (unlocked) and let me say I can see where LG is coming from when they say apple copied their product.

It truly is an amazing phone as well. What it does lack is a full qwerty keyboard. The phone itself is all touchscreen just like the iphone but when you go to write an sms it only gives you the 123-ABC option like on a regular phone which sucks big time.

In many other aspects (except ipod) it is right up there with the iphone. I was on the T-Mobile network and the internet speed was faster and noticable compared to the iphone.

For those of you that say the iphone would have to get bigger in size for more memory or a 3G chipset I have to disagree. Like a previous poster said, there are other phone models out there of comparable size to the iphone with those missing features.

Apple could have done it, but it comes down to profit margin and on a launch of this magnitude I'm sure they didn't want to take too many risks. Again, I congratulate them on this great phone.

 

[megfilmworks]

I agree with your post, except I doubt Apple was truly influenced directly by the Prada. They had their own vision and so did Prada, but they both understand the market and arrived at similar decisions in some of the design.
No doubt the Prada would be doing very well if Apple hadn't introduced the iPhone. The Prada is a very interesting "phone".