“Obvious” missing features

OK, so I promised a list of “Obvious Features Missing from the iPhone.” Basically, these are features that you would have expected the iPhone to have — either because most modern phones have them, or because the iPhone is such a Mac- and iPod- like device that it seems odd they’re missing.

The good news is that, since the iPhone runs a version of Mac OS X and can receive software updates (likely via iTunes), and Apple has made clear that new features will be rolled out via such updates, I expect a good number of these features to eventually make their way onto the current iPhone — in other words, you shouldn’t have to go out and spend another $500 or $600.

iChat/IM: AIM is hugely popular, iChat is on every Mac, the iPhone’s SMS feature looks exactly like iChat, the iPhone has true Internet connectivity, there’s a keyboard for input — am I missing anything? Oh, yeah: AT&T makes lots of money on SMS messages. This was likely one of the (few) concessions Apple had to make to the carrier.

MMS: Basically, MMS is the multimedia version of mobile text messaging. Whereas SMS is plain text, MMS lets you send images, audio, video, and rich text. For example, if you take a photo with your phone and want to send it to someone else’s phone, you would send an MMS. Or at least you would if the iPhone supported it.

Interesting note: according to a leaked AT&T iPhone training guide, “MMS and IM messages are included in the customer’s iPhone Data Plan.” Typo? Or a sign of things to come?

Voice dialing: I haven’t seen a decent mobile phone without voice dialing in years. Of all the “missing” features, this one is the most puzzling to me.

One-button dialing: A minor drawback of the iPhone’s “one-button” interface is that basic phone-dialing, even via “shortcuts,” requires more steps than on most phones. For example, even though I’ve added my wife to my Favorites list in the iPhone’s phone section, calling her requires 3 (or 4) steps: waking up the phone, switching the iPhone to phone mode (if it’s not already there), touching the Favorites button, and touching her entry. On my previous phone, I could perform the same action by simply pressing 2 and then Send; on the phone before that, I could just hold down the 2 button for a couple seconds. (And, I should add, on both phones I could perform the action without actually looking at the phone.) Unfortunately, I think we’re stuck here; given that the iPhone doesn’t have physical buttons, I’m not sure how Apple would be able to implement such a feature. It’s one of the drawbacks of the iPhone’s impressive touchscreen interface. (Although this makes the lack of the previous feature, voice dialing, that much more painful.)

MP3/AAC ringtones: Again, it’s been years since I owned a phone that didn’t let me use my own MP3 or AAC files as ringtones. (Which is another way of saying that I’ve never been a Verizon customer.) And, in fact, early demos of the iPhone clearly showed this ability. But the iPhone I have in my hand doesn’t let me. We’ve seen reports (a.k.a., rumors) that a possible upcoming feature in iTunes will let you convert snips of your music to ringtones for $0.99. Hopefully this is one of those rumors that’s partly wrong (specifically, the $0.99 part — although this could be another concession to AT&T).

Video recording: It’s got a decent camera, but you can’t currently record video using it. Think about the possibilities, especially with YouTube built into the iPhone: What if you could record video and then upload it directly to YouTube, sans computer?

To Do list: Not much to say here. I’d use it.

iPhoneAccessIncompat.jpgVoice memos: Many current phones can do this. All current dockable iPods can do this if you connect an iPod microphone. The iPhone can’t, and — as you can see from the image to the left — doesn’t work with iPod microphone attachments.


I’ve also noticed a few features missing from the iPod side of things:

Lyrics: There’s no way to view them on the iPhone; too bad, as the iPhone’s screen is much more suited to reading text than that of any “normal” iPod.

Ratings: You can’t view them on the iPhone, which also means you can’t set them on the iPhone. I actually rate all my music, and I use this feature all the time on my iPods. Update: My mistake. My colleague Chris Breen just let me know that you can indeed rate tracks, although the feature is somewhat hidden. Go to the Now Playing view — when the iPhone is vertical, not horizontal — and then click on the track listing button in the upper right. At the top of the screen is the familiar five-star rating scale; you can tap a star, or drag your finger to it, to assign that rating.

Bluetooth A2DP: A2DP stands for Advanced Audio Distribution Profile, a Bluetooth profile that supports stereo audio transmission. Newer mobile phones use A2DP to send stereo audio to a compatible speaker system and to support stereo Bluetooth headsets such as iSkin’s Cerulean F1. I find this omission especially odd given that the iPod is, in Steve Jobs’ own words, “the best iPod ever.” Possible good news: a couple sources have told me that A2DP is likely to be supported in a future software update.
Source :http://iphone.macworld.com