[mswampole]

I totally agree. At least let me listen to mono over Bluetooth. (Personally, I'm probably listening to a podcast anyway.)
Also, why can't I use my FM transmitter that works fine with my 60 GB iPod?

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It is PLAINLY RIDICULOUS for Apple to ship Bluetooth-enabled systems that don't support A2DP. And, now that we have the ability to use a combined phone-mp3 player from Apple, I wonder how they could have omitted/ignored/forgotten about A2DP.
To review: A2DP is a high-speed, high-fidelity protocol that allows the use of Bluetooth stereo headsets on properly-equipped systems. I have a pair of Motorola HT-820 headphones that work properly with Bluetooth adapters on my WinXP and Linux systems and are a joy to use, but just don't work properly (yes, they work, but only in mono sht-sound quality) on my MBP. These, and other A2DP headphones, would have been IDEAL for use on the iPhone.

Apple has promised A2DP for Leopard, but that's in October - maybe. No mention has been made whether A2DP will ever be supported on the iPhone. Competitors such as RIM (Blackberry), Motorola, Nokia... all support A2DP today on some of their products.

If Apple is really* interested in "consumer products", where is the support for A2DP?
burt

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[Kavok]

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I really hope that Apple doesn't introduce custom ringtone support. I REALLY hope they don't.
I don't give a crap what your favorite song or jingle is, I really don't want to hear it. And it's inevitable that some day you're going to forget to turn off your cell phone in some event, or it's going to ring in some public place and you're going to piss people off with your ringtone.
Don't do it Apple! Don't do it!

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I believe Apple is already planning to allow custom ringtones. The evidence was actually presented during Steve Job's keynote address when he first introduced the iPhone. If you look closely at the iTunes window when he was showing how the iPhone will use iTunes, you will see a tab labeled "ringtones." Probably a feature Apple will activate in an update for iTunes to make it look like they're still developing for the iPhone, when in fact it has already been done.

[rudge]

This is a great article and has a lot of features that I would like to see in a future iPhone. Thank you for putting it together. Some additional features that I would like to see:
Hardware:
A clamshell design. Yeah, I know, it would mean a smaller screen, but a safer screen and smaller phone in my pocket.
Shooting video. I agree with you guys, that the iPhone would be the perfect video phone. It already plays video better than the best of them. Why not the ability to record it too.
Voice Dialing. This is an essential tool with mobile phones and with the handsfree legislation that is going on here across the USA. The iPhone needs to be a safe device that we can use in our car.
More thorough bluetooth support. Not just the headset (see below). Also being able to listen to your tunes with your bluetooth headset would be cool.
Being able to tether with your Mac. More work need to be done in syncing and tethering the Mac with the iPhone. You already mentioned the iPhone as modem. I would also like to see improved wireless bluetooth connectivity; not just access to bluetooth headsets and that's it.
Unlocked phone. Finally, we all know that AT&T is the 500 pound guerilla in the living room. A future iPhone needs to be unlocked so that you can use an iPhone with what ever carrier is superior in your particular area. It's not going to always be Verizon or AT&T. Also going to the European Union, you are free to buy a chip for using your iPhone there. This would be the ultimate in freedom.
Software:
3rd party software. I know you've already listed this, but it goes without saying that the best thing about the iPhone is that you aren't restricted by a hardware keyboard. You can basically add features with the software. I know (it's been said here above) that it's AT&T that would squawk the loudest about 3rd party software because what would be the first addition? It would be iChat, Skype, and all sorts of other software that would work around AT&T's for-pay features.

[smax013]

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You had me until the whole "third party app" meme came up. This usually happens by the Mac zealot zanies who don't get out much and/or must love screwing up their home or laptops with crap from VersionTracker et. al. Any user of a Treo or device with MS Mobile will know otherwise third party apps are a bane to their existence. To wit: want to crash your perfectly good PDA? Install third party apps.
Sadly, these same clearly clueless whiners wanting third party apps on their iPhone are the same ones that will blame Apple when their iPhones become unstable, buggy and crash-prone when they jam up their iPhone with crappy third party apps. Why is it the clueless make the most noise always about what they don't know. No third party apps to those who know are a good thing for the iPhone.
That said, I'm holding out for GPS, not because people need it (as much as they think) but just because I want it.

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Ah, this Treo user (Palm OS) wants third-party applications. I have and use third party applications all the time on my Treo. And it rarely crashes. And when it does, I don't necessarily believe it is Palm's fault. Lack of third party applications is a BIG reason why I am not interested in an iPhone at this time.

[jwharding28]

Another vote for true syncing of multiple calendars with iCal. It's something that my Treo does quite nicely right now, would love to see that happen.
Along similar lines, I'd love to see the Contacts sync all fields. For example, in OS X Address Book, it gives you the option to enter the names of a contact's spouse or kids. I'm not talking about a custom field, I'm talking about the preset option in AB. That won't sync over. My Treo won't do it either, even with The Missing Sync, but since it's all OS X, I was hoping the iPhone would sync these fields w/ OS X's AB.
I have another 1 1/2 or so in my contract with Sprint, so I'm hoping that when my time comes, these features will exist.

[Dan Frakes]

The first few installments of our full list have been published over on iPhone Central:
Hardware
Interface and General Features
Mail

[mattsnod]

I agree with nearly all those in the list. However, GPS requires a lot of space for the hardware that's involved with its use, namely the antennae. That would make the iPhone at least twice as big because it would additionally require a larger battery to power the GPS. Also, EDGE's speed is practically 3G. Through better algorithms, they've managed to eek out more speed out of 2.5G to match the speeds of 3G.

[tom92103]

What about the biggest problem of all - the network carrier! Every time I make a call or access a network, I get an annoying little message of how much my balance is.
It is unfortunate that Apple got into bed with AT&T exclusively. AT&T is like your best friend's girlfriend that you tolerate if you want to keep the friend. I have an iPhone I got the day of release. Upon activation (home, on iTunes, platinum card in hand) I had two choices - accept "prepaid" (which I did), or physically go to a Cingular store. Big mistake!
I will now have to waste my time and go to a Cingular store and maybe pay a deposit, in spite of somehow being able to pay $600 for a phone and $100/month for service. Boo on Apple for forcing AT&T on us, and boo on AT&T for extorting a contract to avoid harrassment.

[Dan Frakes]

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I agree with nearly all those in the list. However, GPS requires a lot of space for the hardware that's involved with its use, namely the antennae. That would make the iPhone at least twice as big because it would additionally require a larger battery to power the GPS. Also, EDGE's speed is practically 3G. Through better algorithms, they've managed to eek out more speed out of 2.5G to match the speeds of 3G.

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With respect to GPS, there are already watches that offer GPS functionality, so clearly the GPS circuitry and antenna don't have to be huge. (Of course, those watches don't compare to dedicated GPS units in terms of reception and built-in data, but that's a tradeoff some people would be willing to make. And the better circuitry is getting smaller every day.)
As for EDGE being "practically" 3G, that really depends on where you are the other wireless traffic around you. I've found EDGE to be surprisingly fast at times and maddeningly slow at others.

[tom92103]

The desire to make the iPhone a bigger machine reminds of the failed Palm Lifedrive two or three years ago. The thing was huge, and expensive, but had "toy factor" that quickly faded.
In favor of sleekness, I I'm fine with lack of GPS, though I really think if I'm dialing from a car trunk, they can probably triangulate the iPhone signal to at least a couple hundred feet. Local police here (San Diego) have admitted that neither GPS nor triangulation works reliably anyway.

[cyrus]

The iphone itself is really revolutionary and maintains Apples ease-of-use philosophy.
Touch-Screen is revolutionary.
The additions, tweaks, modifications in this article suggest to me that iPhone is flawed.
It could use interface rework, essential text and sms handling, network resource allocation and access -3G GPS to name some.
I think iPhone apart for the hysteria has missed the standard, and curiously i still want one- with iPhone OS 2.0 gps, drag and drop text, custom ring tones, custom alert tones and USER replaceable battery.... !
/forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif

[gregpins]

Sorry, that just doesn't hold water. Lack of Exchange ActiveSync is a major missing feature the iPhone desperately needs. And it sure doesn't help the cause when a leading Mac publisher ignores it in an article like this. You promulgated a ridiculous fallacy: that the Mac isn't suitable for, isn't used in, mixed platform environments. I work for an advertising and PR firm. We have both Macs and PCs, but we run Exchange -- and we will continue to do so at least until Apple provides an enterprise quality alternative. I currently use my iPhone's crippled capability to connect with our Exchange server. Trust me, over the air calendar and contact sync and true push email are essential. Moreover, Steve Jobs promised it, in USA Today:
"You'll be hearing more about this in the coming weeks," said Jobs. "We have some pilots going with companies with names you'll recognize. This won't be a big issue."
Still a big issue, Steve.
http://www.usatoday....henson-qa_N.htm
You hit many good points, but there are some other things you missed that are very important:
Ability to view Quicktime compatible video attachments in mail. I get sent a lot of video attachments. Ought to be able to open them since video is a such a central advantage of this phone.
Ability to view PowerPoint files. Same reasons it's important to view Word and Excel files.
Wi-fi sync, option for automatic sync on set interval. Having to plug in to sync is kludgy.
Option to leave the bottom four icons up all the time (in effect, a dock). Would like to be able to go directly to key apps.
* Option to unlock with one step, i.e. button push. Too many steps to do everything. Two actions to get access to the phone is one too many. At least give me the choice.
Overall, your coverage has been really good. Just don't forget us Mac and iPhone users out there making it work in a Windows world every day.
Thanks.

[Dan Frakes]

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Sorry, that just doesn't hold water. Lack of Exchange ActiveSync is a major missing feature the iPhone desperately needs. And it sure doesn't help the cause when a leading Mac publisher ignores it in an article like this.

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We didn't ignore anything. This was an article about improvements we, as users of the iPhone, would personally like to see.
If the article was called "The 20 most-needed iPhone improvements" -- implying a general industry analysis -- then Exchange support would likely have been in there.
For what it's worth, Exchange support did make our full list. It just didn't make our consensus list. To quote from that article: Despite the fact that only one editor requested this feature personally, I think it's safe to say that each of us recognizes its importance for the larger market, and we hope Apple adds it soon.

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You hit many good points, but there are some other things you missed that are very important:

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Several of the items you mentioned did indeed make our full list.

[recording]

"NEWS FLASH! THE iPHONE HAS NOW BEEN OUT 30 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Launch iPhoneworld.com for heaven's sake and get back to Mac information and tips!