Comments on: What the iPhone needs next – organization

By: Brandon

Brandon — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:56:19 +0000

I keep my apps in alphabetical order, when I add a new app, all I do is drag it to the edge of the screen and instead of having everything shift over I just quickly flicky finger away and towards the next screen, and the page will slide over without shifting all the apps. The trick is to not flick out too far or everything will shift.

I would like to see universal horizontal support along the entire phone, homescreen included, I like the layout and it’s much easier to read and navigate around a landscaped view. Further, I like the idea of swiping to screens up/down and left/right. Pretty cool to imagine. If they would increase the amount of pages we’re allowed to have, and let us backup our app data on our own computers but OTA so we can download apps when we need them I’d re-fall in love with my phone again. Also, if they would complete safari and let me open a link in a new tab by holding a fnger on it, I would feel whole.

By: Pete C

Pete C — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 17:21:03 +0000

Or, if we’re going with desktop OS X concepts – what about contuining the existing iPhone’s implementation of Spaces and adding the y dimension? Swipe left or right for your business apps, down for your games, etc. Suddenly 7 pages of apps becomes 2 rows of pages, or better yet, an up-down left-right ‘cross’ shape going two screens in each direction.

If the iPhone OS truly is OS X, either (or both) should be easily buildable. Require the user to enable them in Settings so as to avoid any new-user confusion; prompt the user “would you like to enable this feature?” once they’ve added enough apps to need a 2nd or 3rd screen.

By: makemineamac

makemineamac — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:41:51 +0000

A similar solution to Stacks for lailbroken phones exists now, as does “Categories”, which basically is an App to put all those other apps in folders.

I understand those not wanting to jailbreak for sure, but I bet Apple will have something like this coming, I was hoping in the next update.

By: Drew

Drew — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:06:22 +0000

Yeah, Stacks would be nice, but I think Grid view would suit the look of the iPhone OS better.

By: Brian McTavish

Brian McTavish — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:48:37 +0000

It would be far less complex to allow app store addicts to reduce the icon size.

By: Rick O'Neil

Rick O'Neil — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:35:17 +0000

agreed… I also have 7 pages of aps and it makes finding what I want difficult. Even if I try to “organize” them it all just gets messed up when I add new ones. Because then I gotta get an ap from page 7 to page 2 or 3, which shifts everything else around and messes up my little world. I’d like to see in organization interface within iTunes. That way you can sort and categorize from there, much quicker, then it sync back to the phone.

By: jd

jd — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 11:45:33 +0000

jailbroken iPhones have a basic ability to organize apps in “stacks”….