Hello everyone on TiPB! I am honored to be invited here by Rene to post some questions for your all about the Apple iPhone platform and the 3GS. My name is Matthew Miller and I am the editor of sister Smartphone Experts site, Nokia Experts, where I focus on the Symbian and Maemo platforms. I have been using PDAs since 1997 and am experienced in all mobile operating systems, which may have led to my extreme joy when I turned on the original iPhone after camping out overnight to buy it from my local AT&T store back in 2007. I was blown away by the fluid user interface and extremely snappy response to everything I did on the iPhone which was a major improvement over EVERYTHING I had used before. I purchased both the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS and still use my iPhone 3GS today, but on the T-Mobile network since I find the AT&T network unreliable for voice calls.
I use my iPhone 3GS from time to time now because the applications are simply fantastic. We have a few good applications on Nokia devices, but they really cannot compare to what we see on the iPhone at this time. I do think my Nokia devices have aspects that are better than the iPhone still and will be talking about them in my review on Nokia Experts on Friday or Saturday of this week. In the meantime, I do have several questions for you here on TiPB that are more enthusiastic and experienced with the iPhone platform than I am.
I expect to see a 5 megapixel camera and higher resolution display iPhone model in 2010 as it seems to be a natural hardware progression. What else do you expect from Apple for the iPhone in 2010?
My original iPhone battery died last year and I paid to have it replaced and it has since died again. I like that I can carry multiple batteries for my Nokia devices and simply pop one out on the go to get back up and running for several more hours. Will we ever see an iPhone with a removable battery or even removable storage (microSD)?
I have a Think Outside Bluetooth keyboard that I use with my devices as an "office on the go" and think that support for the iPhone would be awesome with the large display and powerful Office applications. Will we ever see Bluetooth keyboard support?
I have my iPhone 3GS jailbroken so I can use it on T-Mobile and like that I can have Slacker streaming in the background while doing other things on the iPhone. I don't care if Apple never lets you have full multi-tasking support, but it sure would be nice to have the capability to run 1-3 apps running in the background. Will Apple ever have this limited type of multi-tasking for applications that are not their own?
I find the only time I get apps from the App Store today is when I hear about a good application from a friend or discover something in the top 50 apps. With the huge collection of applications in the App Store, how will Apple make it more user friendly and discoverable for people?
I appreciate any answers to these questions and other points you may want to send my way regarding the iPhone platform. Thank you in advance and I'll jump back in here from time to time and ask some more of you too. Make sure to visit the Smartphone Round Robin website for details on the Smartphone Round Robin contest and keep entering daily to increase your chances of winning a new smartphone.
1. I know I'm in the minority here, but I see no reason to change from a 3 to a 5MP camera. The difference in quality is too small to notice unless they are going to use a really good lens - that will make the difference. I also doubt we'll see the rumoured front facing camera. I don't know that the physical differences will be huge.
2. Nope and nope. But with things like the Zagg Sparq - who needs it.
3. You know there's now a j/b driver for BT keyboards. Of course, it would be nice to have far more BT support for non j/b iPhones. It would be nice to be able to do things like BT photos to a friend with a phone, or other things when you're not on the same WiFi network.
4. Limited multi-tasking would be great, and something many of us would like to see. This could also help with things like alarm apps - which would be awesome.
5. I'm not sure there's really a good way to organize the store with the number of apps in there. What may be a productivity app to one person, may be nothing to someone else. Better search parameters would be great. I'd rather just be able to search for "calendar" or "tasks" rather than the app name or category. Of course, the best way is still simple word of mouth by people you trust. That's why we read the forums.
1) I really don't use the camera very often so I don't see a need for a 5mp camera. If anything maybe a flash.
2) I haven't had any prolems with my battery in any of the 3 iphones I've had. I don't see Apple making the battery removable, especially since they have now made the batteries in the macbooks and macbook pros non-removable. There really is no need for microSD cards since the iphones come with such large storage capacities as it is. I don't think microSD cards come any bigger than 16GB and the iphone has up to 32GB.
3) Support for more BT options would be great. Will we see them in the near future who knows. iPhone OS 3.0 brought A2DP to the 3G and 3GS so anything can happen. BT keyboard support would make sense as the next option to be activated in OS 4.0 since that's a very popular feature that alot of people want.
4) I would love to have Pandora streaming in the background, but I don't want to j/b my iphone. I jail broke my 2G and 3G iphones and they had problems after awhile. I haven't jail broken my 3GS and I don't intend to since limited multi-tasking is the only reason I would do it. I've heard that the memory cache is the reason that multi-tasking isn't enabled but that has been debunked with j/b.
5) The store is not a place to casually browse for apps at the moment. With the sheer number of apps it's impossible to do. But if you are looking for a specific kind of app, you can search by catagory and get apps related to what you are looking for. I don't see how Apple can organize the apps any better that what they have.
I agree with knightforge a flash would be a welcome addition for the camera. I do assume as you do that an increased resolution is likely, though not a must.
Most platforms have things that they do better than the iphone, but the iphone's strengths are user experience and the apps which alot of other platforms are missing. I had the opportunity to use the n900 which is nokia's current flagship device and it was a disappointment, the UI in inconsistent, the devices shipped w/ some weird restarting/rebooting issue, which should have been discovered before the devices were released. Sure the device does flash and handles multimedia well, but the over all experience was poor, and w/in a week the device was dead, died during the new firmware upgrade....not confidence inspiring. (and it seems based on comments on nokia forums, that there is come correlation between the devices that had alot of problems with the rebooting issue and dying during the new firmware upgrade :S, makes you wonder if it tried to reboot during the firmware upgrade)
Installation of apps was tedious and again inconsistent and unintuitive, which again is another area where the iphone shines. It doesn't have all the features or have the best feature set of smartphones out there, but the focus on user experience, usability etc makes the device shine.
Removeable storage isn't necessary, and i can see how it can be a clunky implementation, coming from windows mobile, If you think about your usage scenario before you make the purchase, you should be fine.
Support for other BT devices, peripherals would be good, and likely to be inclueded soon.
I'm not sure apple will include 3rd party multitasking as part of an OS upgrade, coming back to user experience, and them not wanting anything that could potentially disturb that. Power users would love to have the functionality though.
The store can be overwhelming, but there are several blogs and forums which help you sift through the apps, plus with the addition of the capability for in app payment, i'm sure we'll be seeing alot more trials, which can help us better choose apps. Not really sure what apple can do to help make the app store less overwhelming.
I'm afraid you've hit on what are the biggest weaknesses of the iPhone, as much as I love the platform.
The only enhancement I see Apple making along the lines of what you're looking for is the upgrade to the camera, but only then because it's so widely expected.
Otherwise, I think they'll be slow to move away from their hallmark sealed, locked-down device characteristics, which means a big fat "no way" to things like opening up the BT stack, battery case, and backgrounding, and going postal on the bajillion fart apps out there.
For now, it's up to the user base to supplement with our own creativity. Jailbreaking is an obvious alternative to the backgrounding and Bluetooth woes, and app recommendation engines (non-Apple) are getting better. I'm using Zagg's AppSpace right now, but probably not for much longer if they don't step it up. It's better than the Genius feature in the App Store, but not by much.
On a tangent, how the hell can Apple not allow App genius recommendations from within iTunes on the desktop client? Who wants to browse through hundreds of apps on their tiny little device instead of a nice, large screen??
1) I would say we will see a 5mp camera. At least I hope so. I use my current iphone 3g to take pictures, and would love to have a better camera on it. I also am hopeful for a flash. Don't think we will see a front facing camera. :-(
2) Nope to both. It will be just like it is now. I never ever changed batteries on any of my previous phones, so it really makes no difference to me now.
3) I would say yes, because its just the natural progression of things.
4) I am really hoping for some sort of multi tasking. My guess is that we will see it in 4.0. I think if you have an iPhone 2g or 3g you will have no multi tasking. If you have a 3g2. I say you get 4 apps. If you have the new 4g, you get full multi tasking. Possibly 1 app for the 3g users... Who knows.
5) God I hope so. This is one area where they have a lot of work to do!!
1) I too expect to see a 5 megapixel camera on the iPhone in 2010, just so they can claim the technical specs, but I don't think it's really necessary for a cell phone camera. I do fully expect to see a flash and greater built in photo editing options, though.
2) Although there are many external battery options for the iPhone, I also miss the ability to swap out charged batteries on the fly. If Apple wants to appeal to a market with so many more smartphone options now, I would expect a removable battery. As for microSD capability, it would be nice, as SD cards are a very inexpensive way to boost storage space, but I think Apple has made it clear, with all of their products (iPod, Macbook, Macbook pro, etc) that they're not really concerned about removable storage. To be honest, when the products themselves come with such large storage capacities built in, is it really necessary? Sure, there are some minor advantages, such as self-service photo print stands, etc., but most 1 hour shops can download photos from an iPhone if you just can't make it home.
3) I think the option to utilize all of the various BT accessories on the market will help determine who stays in the game, and who disappears. I'm almost positive that we'll see more BT support with the next iPhone, but even now, a lot of drivers are available on j/b phones. I would expect Apple to loosen up a bit, allowing blue tooth transfers between the iPhone and other phones out there, as that is a bit frustrating as well. I'm sure that will come with enough customer complaints, at least if they want to stifle jailbreaking a bit.
4) Multi-tasking on a smartphone seems to be the latest hype. It's being focused on by the media, reviewers, consumers, and advertising. I'm almost sure that multi-tasking is the next logical step for the 2010 iPhone, so I expect a large jump in RAM capacity to get this done, as well as at least a doubling in processor speed. To tie this topic back to a previous question, a much larger battery capacity would be needed, or a removable battery, in my opinion.
5) I agree that the app store is not a great place to "browse" for apps, by category or related tasks. With the number of third party apps that are being developed, though, I think Apple is faced with their own Mt. Everest, so to speak. I'm sure they will continue to refine the process, with a more intelligent search engine, etc. Thank God we have forums such as these to learn about apps by word of mouth, and who knows... maybe SOME day, Apple will open their doors to some of the companies that have proven their prestige in the area of "searching" (I refrain from mentioning specific companies).
I would also love to see more availability to utilize custom sounds for SMS tones, rather than just ringtones. Perhaps even using mp3 sounds as ringtones directly, rather than making us jump through hoops to convert them through iTunes, but that's just something you have to live with with Apple I guess.
All in all, I'm excited to see the rapidly evolving smartphone market. Thanks for dropping by to get the scoop from our point of view!
1. I do see the next iPhone having a 5MP camera, but what I would want even more is an LED flash. I think Apple held off on adding flash in the 3Gs so that they would have something to add onto the 4th Gen iPhone.
2. Apple will always be Apple. Yes we are all hoping that they consider a removable battery and expandable memory, but it will never happen. If they had to put a battery door in place, it might make the iPhone a little bit thicker and I doubt they would want that.
3. I don't see Apple fixing this "problem" anytime in the future.
4. They will have to someday roll out multi-tasking to be able to keep up with all other smartphones.
5. I feel the same way as you. I never browse the app store anymore. It has really become a hassle. I say delete all the fart apps.
I expect to see a 5 megapixel camera and higher resolution display iPhone model in 2010 as it seems to be a natural hardware progression. What else do you expect from Apple for the iPhone in 2010?
My original iPhone battery died last year and I paid to have it replaced and it has since died again. I like that I can carry multiple batteries for my Nokia devices and simply pop one out on the go to get back up and running for several more hours. Will we ever see an iPhone with a removable battery or even removable storage (microSD)?
I have a Think Outside Bluetooth keyboard that I use with my devices as an "office on the go" and think that support for the iPhone would be awesome with the large display and powerful Office applications. Will we ever see Bluetooth keyboard support?
I have my iPhone 3GS jailbroken so I can use it on T-Mobile and like that I can have Slacker streaming in the background while doing other things on the iPhone. I don't care if Apple never lets you have full multi-tasking support, but it sure would be nice to have the capability to run 1-3 apps running in the background. Will Apple ever have this limited type of multi-tasking for applications that are not their own?
I find the only time I get apps from the App Store today is when I hear about a good application from a friend or discover something in the top 50 apps. With the huge collection of applications in the App Store, how will Apple make it more user friendly and discoverable for people?
1. At least a 5MP camera with an 800x480 or better display. I also expect some multitasking driven by a dual core Cortex A9 at at least 800mhz (please, 1.2+?), and 512MB of RAM to help in accomodating that limited multitasking of non-Apple apps. A 64GB version of the iPhone, no doubt. Also hoping for revamped notification system and a redesigned Springboard.
2. Removable storage seems more likely than removable battery. Removable battery does a few things that Apple doesn't like - limits the form factor of the battery, requires a little more room to provide a battery door/bay, disrupts the form factor of the device (though I have faitht hat Mr. Ive can overcome this if anyone can).
3. I suspect BT keyboard support will come in 4.0 if not sooner.
4. Limited multitasking will come about with iPhone hardware 4 and OS 4.0, I'm almost certain of it.
5. That's a good question - one way they've tried to start addressing this is Genius for Apps which hopefully will get much better over time. The flaw in this, of course, is the logic needs to be slightly different. If I like App A, probably not worth presenting App B to me when it fulfills the same functionality. Beyond this and the hot lists and whatnot, I am kind of waiting to see what they will do with it next and I don't have any suggestions offhand.
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Nokia Experts on iPhone - Smartphone Round Robin 
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