With rumors once more flying around regarding the second generation of iPhones, one has to wonder what improvements will Apple soon unleash on the hardware. While some improvements may be obvious to imagine — such as integrated GPS and access to 3G networks — others are unknown whether Apple will consider them. Here is a list of the five most common features on the iPhone wish-list (besides GPS and 3G).
The durable iPhone. While it’s no secret that Apple takes aesthetics very seriously, sometimes the design decisions may be questionable. For example: while the polished back of all iPods may look fantastic, it gets easily scratched. And when it gets scratched, it kind of defeats the purpose of the good looks. While the current iPhone may not have much of this problem right now, thanks to the avoidance of the material minus in the screen’s frame, it’d be nice for Apple to stay clear of similar materials and use even more durable ones. The iPhone is quite a jewel, after all.
Louder speaker. Because it is no secret that it has less output than expected of it.
Stereo Bluetooth support. The iPhone has Bluetooth… why not take advantage of it to free us from wires once and for all? While you may have used a Bluetooth headset for phone calls, if you wanted music, you had to stick with the ol’ wired headphones. At the very least, Apple could take a first step in this direction by selling a proprietary solution that is a good middle ground. No wires = today.
No more recessed jacks! The biggest annoyance of the iPhone was, without a doubt, the recessed headphone jack. While it made many users cry because their nicest headphones couldn’t be plugged in, it made accessory makers large sums of money by releasing an adaptor that Apple should’ve included in the first place. Please don’t make the same mistake once more, Apple.
More wireless providers. Not everyone is happy with AT&T’s iPhone exclusivity. Why not just let the customer choose? I, for one, get less than ideal reception in a couple of parts in San Antonio — home of AT&T’s HQ.
While a “perfect” iPhone may be unachievable because of the always-continuing consumer demands, at the very least Apple, as a respectable company, should take a handful of features to introduce/fix, and keep an already-good product that way for one more year. Any other suggestions?
by Galley
05 May 2008 at 06:44
Stereo Bluetooth support is a must. The recessed jack is annoying, but most headphones have been re-designed to accommodate it.
by Frank
05 May 2008 at 08:47
Galley, that is so true: the industry is the one which now must adapt to Apple — hence the improved jacks for the headphones.
by dirk
06 May 2008 at 06:47
From a HW point of view I would say a bigger or more powerful battery.
And a way to link to a GPS.
From a SW point of view I find it difficult to understand that the phone doesn’t have Spotlight, or at least a search function. Say you have a meeting at a company and want to know all the names in your address book of that company. Impossible at the moment. For me not being able to search is a bigger omission than not being able to cut and paste.