It appears that Apple has decided to hold an event to give the world a preview of the upcoming iPhone OS 3.0. There are many rumors flying around the Internet on what they will be showing off but I am willing to bet what we get in this upcoming release will be features that should have been there from the beginning. I’ll be updating this page as I find out changes during the event but I’ll go ahead and give my little personal wish list:
- MMS (Send AND Receive)
- Video support (but ONLY if newer hardware is released with a better camera)
- A way to better organize the Springboard (the main UI)
- More control over syncing contacts with Google Contacts
- Natural ability to sync Google Calendar events instead of using a 3rd party app
- Turn-by-Turn GPS navigation with native Google maps app
- Multitasking or background processes
- Spell and grammar checker for emails
- Headphone controls – When I first got my iPhone (still have the first generation, I tend to skip generations with technology) my headphones allowed me to answer calls, talk to people, control music playback but now none of that happens. I don’t know if something is wrong with my headphones or this ability was taken out of the software but it does not work for me any longer.
There are other features people are asking for which I don’t really care for:
- Copy & Paste: Sure this feature is trivial should be in there but the lack of it is not a deal-breaker for me. The ONLY reason I ever had a need to copy and paste on my iPhone was when someone did send me a picture message and I received AT&T’s text giving me the random login and password for viewmymessage.com. Well, for some reason, I don’t get those text messages any more and thus my need for copy and paste are gone.
- Push: Maybe it is just my lack of understanding when it comes to Push technology but I don’t see a need for this if we have multitasking or background processes. Well, thinking about it, if the severs are the ones pushing data onto our phones and the apps in background are on idle it could save battery life over background processes which over a particular time interval check the servers themselves. Does this sound about right? I think I need more understanding of Push technology but other than the just given reason I don’t see why we need both Push and background processes. Anyone care to help explain?
- Tethering: This one has me scratching my head. Why? Why do so many people cry for this feature? I don’t own a laptop and don’t see myself getting one any time in the near future. I have nothing against laptops, I just never had a reason for one. So maybe this is why I don’t understand the need for tethering. Wouldn’t this kind of connection be very slow? I guess something is better than nothing but on the other hand most public places have Wi-Fi access today. Sure some places charge a fee but with something like tethering, I can’t imagine a company like AT&T letting everyone use it without an additional fee to their already over-priced data plans.
- Flash: For the love that is all holy and good, please, leave Flash out. I hate Flash and the sites that use it. If Flash was used in moderation to present information or show a visual of what is currently on topic, then fine. However, we all know this is NOT the case. There are many sites out there that are pure Flash and those sites need to die off. Sorry, but I really dislike sites and ads that use Flash with a passion.
- SMS Forwarding: Considering that I loath people who send me those stupid “forward this to X friends and you’ll find your true love tonight” and similar text messages, I’d rather not want the ability to add to this annoying cesspool of stupidity. If there is something I need to pass on to a friend I can summarize the message and send it out to all who need it. I’m not lazy.
- File System: Alright, this one I can come to terms with if we had/get it. I don’t mind it but it is not something don’t I care for having. I don’t see the need to store files onto my iPhone other than music and video. Us iPhone users have this wonderful unlimited data plan why not take advantage of this? I know I do. If I need to view my documents or pdf files, I use Google Docs. I store all of my documents on there and I have to say that I really love this service. If I need to transfer some other type of file, I just archive/compress the files and mail them to myself.
- A2DP: This is another feature that, if we had it, I wouldn’t mind it. I don’t use the hand-less sets but have thought about getting one from time to time. It is not a deal-breaker for me so I don’t care too much that we don’t have it but won’t complain if we do get it.
Well, that’s about it for now. If I find any other “wants” for the iPhone OS I’ll list them and give my input on it. In the meantime, stay tuned for the live preview event. Listed below are the times this event will start:
- 07:00AM – Hawaii
- 10:00AM – Pacific
- 11:00AM – Mountain
- 12:00PM – Central
- 01:00PM – Eastern
- 05:00PM – London
- 06:00PM – Paris
- 02:00AM – Tokyo (March 18th)
Seems that several blogging sites have started making their timestamp lists of what is going on. So, I’ll start listing important points as I see them:
- 1000 New API’s
- In-app sales: Subscriptions in applications – Free apps remain free, you won’t be asked to buy something in that app
- Support for peer-to-peer connectivity
- Accessory developers can build custom apps that talk directly to their hardware accessory
- Embeddable maps for devs from native maps app
- Core location for turn by turn directions
- Push – background apps out, push in
- Streaming video, audio, in-game voice
- Native Meebo Application
- The Sims coming to the iPhone
- Oracle
- ESPN – Live stream games from ESPN for you sports nuts out there
- LifeScan – diabetes app
- Touch Pets – virtual pet app
- LiveFire – FPS on the iPhone/iPod Touch
- Leaf Trombone – multi-player music app
- Cut/Copy/Paste! — There you go everyone! =D
- Select multiple images for email
- Landscape in SMS and Email =D
- Voice memos
- CalDAV and .ics? calendar events
- Changes to stock app
- Search in Calendar, Mail
- Spotlight search all apps
- Sync notes
iPhone OS 3.0 will be available this Summer as a free update to all iPhone/iPhone 3G customers but A2DP and MMS won’t be available on the iPhone 1st gen. It’s also available for the iPod touch for $9.95.