5 Things that SHOULD have been in the iPhone 1.1.1 Update


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Let me start off by saying that I don’t hate my iPhone because it doesn’t have these things. Even without these things, I think the iPhone is probably the best phone or iPod I’ve ever used in my life. I love it so much I bought the wife one – but that doesn’t change the fact that these things, that are available on many of the cheapest phones out there, should have been included in the iPhone 1.1.1 Update.

1. MMS – There is no reason in the world why a phone as advanced as the iPhone should have MMS. The phones that they give away with contracts that have tiny, low rez, cruddy screens have MMS – and the iPhone should too.

2. iChat – Most of the cheap or free phones also have IM clients built in. I know there are several web based alternatives that can be used – my personal choice is BeeJive, but I still think Apple should have a native chat application for the iPhone.

3. Landscape Mail – It’s easier to type with the keyboard in landscape mode for most people. Your email program is probably where you type the most on your iPhone (it is for me, anyway)…so why, then, can’t we view the Mail application in landscape mode? The fact that they made it so that attachments can be viewed that way, but not the application itself is baffling to me.

4. Copy and Paste – It’s a simple request, really. Many other “smartphones” have copy and paste – and I believe Mr. Jobs belittled those phones as being “not so smart” at Macworld. Well, then why can’t my super genius phone do this simple thing?

5. Podcasts – I love podcasts. I’m sure they’re coming in the future – but why weren’t the included in the iTunes Wi-Fi store? I can understand why video didn’t make the cut – due to the low storage capacities of the iPhone and iPod Touch, but audio Podcasts should be available to download.

So, there you have it – agree? Disagree? Sound off in the comments below.


Kokou Adzo

Kokou Adzo is a stalwart in the tech journalism community, has been chronicling the ever-evolving world of Apple products and innovations for over a decade. As a Senior Author at Apple Gazette, Kokou combines a deep passion for technology with an innate ability to translate complex tech jargon into relatable insights for everyday users.

24 Comments

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  1. I think we’ll see many, if not all, of these features by Christmas. Apple will probably split them between two releases from now till Christmas (maybe by the day after Thanksgiving…).

    By doing this, Apple will continue to build the feature list a little at a time instead of an “all in” strategy. This seems to be what they are doing now.

    Of course, I could be wrong…

  2. Copy and Paste, Copy and Paste, Copy and Paste! And a way to sych notes with the Mac. It’s a Unix box with Mail, Web Browsing, a keyboard . . . and we can’t cut, copy, and paste? This is the single most annoying and baffling gap.

  3. Editing a contact while on the iPhone would be nice. Someone calls you and gives you a new street address for example, it would be nice to not have to write it down, but edit it while the caller is connected. Simply adding the ‘edit’ button to the screen after tapping the ‘contacts’ on the phone screen could accomplish this. Currently the only place you can edit a contact is while disconnected, tapping the ‘contacts’ app, select and edit or add. Another way to accomplish this would be to have a separate app for contacts like on the iPod Touch, accessed from the ‘home’ screen : (

  4. Apples trying to make money, podcasts don’t help them make money. I’m sure eventually there will be a full blown iTunes Wi-Fi store, but right now its the iTunes Wi-Fi MUSIC store, so only music, no podcasts.

    Offtopic though, suppose i wanted to get my podcast into iTunes, what would one do?

  5. Steve, I use Podcasts with my iPod daily….
    I just have iTunes download them and set the sync options….
    You can also go directly to the podcast sites and click them to download and hear the podcasts (although the browser is unusable while you do that)

  6. I agree with all of those points.

    The one thing that is most obvious to me is the fact that with this virtual panel, Apple didn’t think to allow you to place your most used contacts right on the home screen. I mean, the device is first and foremost communications device. Having your contacts (at least 1-4 of them) right on the home screen seems like a no brainer to me. If I pick up a phone I want INSTANT access to my most most used contacts. I don’t want to dig through a number of menu screens. On my RAZR I use voice activation, so I don’t go through ANY menu screens. I simply say the persons name and it calls them. The iPhone doesn’t offer this feature, so having your contacts on the home page would be the next best thing. Being able to customize the home screen is a major feature that Apple seems NOT to want to give you. If that’s the case, why even bother with a virtual screen of buttons?

  7. The iPhone is all about making Apple $$$$, they’re not going to add any apps that might make them less money in other places. They will eventually add a software store app like iTunes, where you can purchase and download software right on your iPhone. Developers will have to pay a premium for being able to develop apps for the iPhone, then they will have to pay to have their apps “certified” to run on the iPhone, then they will have to pay a % of sales to Apple as well.

    Apple is spending more time developing methods to keep 3rd party developers from developing free apps than they are developing new apps because they are going to make a killing off 3rd party software sales. It’s sad when companies inhibit the growth of their products to make an extra buck.

  8. MMS is network based. That is, it is up to ATT, and you would have had an extra email address for that MMS account, as ATT/Cingular handles it.
    At least, that is the way it was with my Sony Ericsson with them. And most likely, this is tied into ATTs legacy billing labyrinth so, that Apple wanted to opt out on start up.

  9. Search or Spotlight!

    I have 2000 contacts. Sometimes you know a first name, sometimes a last name, sometimes only a company name.

    But how do I found these? No search? Shameful for a $399 device from a company which tromped Spotlight as the must have item for Tiger.

  10. @ Eytan

    Heh sorry, I should have been more clear, I meant my own podcast in the iTunes Store. I already have a bunch synced with iTunes, I love it.

  11. Folks, no matter what anybody says, the Treo is still a much better smartphone than the iPhone. It does everything the iPhone can do — and MUCH MUCH MUCH more, including everything listed above and so much more. Plus, it can run any of HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of third-party apps as well. Hell, you can even put a Slingbox client on your Treo. There is nothing the iPhone can do that the Treo can’t do. The Treo is the PERFECT smartphone with EVERYTHING anybody would ever need. The iPhone is — well, it’s a cool little device that looks really neat but is certainly not the greatest smartphone ever invented. It’s an iPod with a few extra features.

  12. What about a to do list. I really miss the tasks from my Ical not being available. I know Tadalist, but it is not the same.

    Progress, each update adds something better.

  13. I’m very happy with my iPhone.
    I’m also very happy with every upgrade from Apple.

    The iPhone is a growing and developing platform.
    The Treo or other smartphone is not a developing platform.

    What we have with the iPhone is only the start. Things will get better over time – which can’t be said about the other smartphones.

    If you don’t like your iPhone, then return it and chose another phone. You don’t have to keep it and keep complaining.

    If you do keep it, then it must be better in some way than other phones – to make you want to keep it.

    Again, if you don’t like the iPhone, quit complaining and just return it or sell it on eBay.

    I’m keeping mine. It works fantastically – better than any other smartphone – Nokia, Sony, Palm, Windows, whatever.

    And, again, it will keep getting better.

    Remember how the iPod started out – only 5 gigs and a black and white screen. Now we have the iPod touch and the iPod classic – with a much larger amount of storage and a better interface.

  14. Im not sure where the Treo comments fit in. Yeah the Treo can do dozens of things the iPhone can’t or does not. So what. It’s still a tired, old, creaky, buggy, and just plain UGLY platform. Compare Apples to Apples, Blazer on the Treo can’t touch Safari on the iPhone for readability, usability, stability or elegance. Mail, and Google maps on the iPhone are far more responsive, readable, intuitive and pleasant to use than on the Treo. The iPhone integrates seamlessly with iTunes and the Palm is still stumbling along with a rat’s nest or Conduits, HotSync apps, and other junk that just barely works. Palm has trotted out the same decade old half broken and one quarter usable implementations for a decade, As the iPhone feature list grows the prospects for Palm fade away.

  15. “Copy and Paste, Copy and Paste, Copy and Paste! And a way to sych notes with the Mac. It’s a Unix box with Mail, Web Browsing, a keyboard . . . and we can’t cut, copy, and paste? This is the single most annoying and baffling gap”

    How would YOU select text? what would that gesture be? Where would you put the permanent UI elements (cut/copy/paste) on a device whose general philosophy is the full use of screen real estate for any given application (i.e., there are no permanent screen elements).

    how would you select an image? a portion of it? what would the context be for pasting an image into a text-only place? would you expect “note” to allow images?

    Would you expose the underlying file system so that people had to start thinking about accessing sound files instead of songs? JPG files instead of images? VCARDs instead of people?

    copy/paste isn’t a feature you can bolt-on after the fact. it’s intrinsic/core to an entire platform, not a bullet-item on a marketing must-have list.

  16. I completely agree on the podcasts one. I was a bit miffed on that. One thing that kills me is if I’m travelling on business for a week and I can’t update my podcasts as my computer is at home. I thought it’d be an awesome feature to let that work.

  17. In no particular order:

    1. You can now (latest update) double press the bottom key to bring up your Call Shortlist.

    2. Search should be wildly enhanced once Leopard is launched.

    3. MMS is expensive, not always readable, and almost irrelevant once you have mobile email.

    4. Copy/Paste: Yes, it would be nice, I suppose. However, it leads you to the Dark Side of expecting this to be a mobile desktop. That isn’t what it’s for. I expect it will come, eventually.

  18. hands down the most foolish omission, to me, is the lack of voice dialing. this missing feature effectively renders the iphone useless for outgoing calls while driving. the touch screen interface makes it impossible to safely dial a number…

  19. MMS is an AT&T limitation imposed on the iPhone that is on MANY higher end phones from AT&T. You can still send and receive MMS messages – you do know that correct?

    To receive: You are sent a URL (on your iPhone) where you can type in a password and retrieve the message (on your home computer)

    To send: Use your computer to send to any cell phone (including the iPhone)

    There is NO IMPORTANT message that would be sent to me via MMS.

  20. 6. Camera Phone that Takes Video.

    My Razr had it, my crappy old Nokia had it and so many others do. Why Not have a Video option?

    Other than that I agree with the 1st 5 options.

  21. MMS might not be important but it sucks to want to take a pic and zip it over to a friends phone who either A) doesnt have email on their phone or B) doesn’t check it on their phone much. MMS would allow you to send over a pic message and insure that the other party gets it in a timely manner.

  22. Yes, the iphone is cool.I personally want podcasts, too bad huh. I am not an app builder but what’s
    the deal w/ SDK’s. Is Jobs letting his software stalinisn show again. Just remember my friends

    “ONCE YOU OWN AN IPHONE, STEVE OWNS YOU”