I’ve had my iPhone for just over a year and a half now.
There are several things it does very well (browse the web, sync with my computer) and some things it does not do (talk to CalDAV servers, record video, wash my laundry).
In the past year and a half, the iPhone OS has been upgraded 12 times. Major new features have been added, including the app store, a scientific calculator, geolocation, ActiveSync and MobileMe push support, additional languages (including two-byte languages) and contact search.
Great. But…what’s missing? If I were in charge, here’s what I’d fix:
- Make syncing work over WiFi. Syncing only happens over USB. I rarely remember to plug my iPhone in to my Mac, but they are in the same room at least once a day.
- Let me swear. “Fuck” and “shit” are not in the spelling checker dictionary.
- Allow forwarding of SMS messages.
- Sync notes with Mac OS X Leopard Mail’s notes.
- Have iCal To Dos show up on the phone.
- A unified inbox. Go to one application to see SMS, email and voicemail messages.
- Let me backup, save, or sync voicemails to iTunes.
- Use the iPhone as a modem, like you can with a 2001-era Sony Ericsson.
- Create the concept of a selection. This means I can delete blocks of text and copy and paste.
- Smarter quoted text. When you reply to an email, Mail quotes the entire message or thread, perpetuating the top-posting problem. There is no way to disable or adjust this. (Downloading 20K of useless quoted text on EDGE with two bars is all sorts of no fun.)
- Call metadata is lost. It would be great if I could export my call log data to my computer.
- There’s no easy way to see carrier billing data. I want a settings panel that shows me the minutes and messages used and remaining in my current billing period.
My iPhone would be 10 times more useful with a proper To Do list, that popped up reminders.
I’d also like to be able to click on a phone number and save it to Contacts, instead of only having the option to call it.