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July 30, 2006

iPhone Wishlist

I seem to replace my mobile phone every 6 months and apart from being a tech and gadget buff, I do so because I always have had to settle for "just good enough". If this is an intentional move by phone manufacturers to get people like me to constantly buy, then they've succeeded.

I was just about ready to take the plunge and get the new Sony Ericsson K800i. It has great features, compact design, great software and an awesome interface. A couple things stopped me tho. For one, the camera lens is covered by a large sliding cover. It makes the phone bulge out from it's otherwise very slick candy bar shape. I would have rather seen an automatic lens cover flush with the design similar to their T-series Cybershot subcompact digital cameras. Second, and probably most important are its blogging features. Originally I jumped up and down with a jig of glee when I learned of this feature only later to be disappointed by it being locked in with Google's blogger service. It's another textbook case of a great idea being hobbled by software. From the looks of it, there's no way to change the phone's default setting to access other blog API's like WordPress, Movable Type, and Typepad.

So I decided to wait - wait until Apple releases its "iPhone". It's reassuring to know that even Apple's own Vice President has acknowledge they are working on it, but will only release it from the covens of 1 Infinite Loop when they feel the time is right, the technology is ready, and the mass market willing to take the plunge. If anything, knowing Apple, the phone won't have the best specs, but will instead go for synergy between software and hardware; something Apple excels at. That combined with Apple's trademark ease of use could potentially give rise to a device that can finally get the right mix together.

I am sure Apple will package their phone to work seamlessly across and with all their applications like iLife. However, I hope the meat and guts of this phone will include these technologies.

DEVICE CONVERGENCE

• The core of the unit needs to operate like a cellphone. I prefer GSM or any of its sim-card related offshoots (UTMS, 3G, EDGE, whatever you wanna call it), as opposed to CDMA. This is more widespread and would better position the phone as a global device, like the iPod. Great reception and battery life are key.
• A music and video player with access to iTunes would be awesome. No need to worry about piracy, just treat the phone as another computer authorized to play music and videos purchased from the iTunes store.
• A digital camera would be great. Apple's stance is phones will never take the place of a dedicated device and I agree with them. However, having a camera built-in means ease of instantly snapping a photo, sending them to friends, or posting to a blog. These photos are meant to stay digital, not necessarily printed, so there's no need for 7-megapixel optics. A 3-megapixel camera with a quality lens and decent LED flash is perfect for blogging and just good enough if you really wanted to print it.

MOBILE BLOGGING AND COMMUNITY SITES

So many times I've been out somewhere, saw something I really wanted to blog about but haven't got my digital camera with me. Unless I come prepared, I don't want to lug it and a laptop everywhere I go. My phone should allow me to snap a picture, resize the image, include text, and post directly to my blog or flickr.

CONTENT SHARING

The future of the mobile platform is riddled with the idea of networks and connectivity. Unfortunately, mobile providers see this as a bad thing because if we are able to share content, that might stop us from buying new content for ourselves. Basically, if they can't charge for it, they don't want it as an option for you. So I propose network sharing via streaming. Streaming within a local network can easily be set up using bluetooth 2.0 or any other wireless protocols that can support multiple connections. Just like iTunes, if my phone detects your phone is sharing your music and movie files, I should be able to stream them to my own handset. The files are never copied to my phone and the connection is lost once the source phone disconnects from the network. Digital content spreads best and is most successful when it works on a viral level. We've seen it with online viral campaigns where something was so funny, you had to share it with a friend. This form of peer-to-peer file sharing can easily be leveraged as an incentive for you to purchase the content for yourself.

WEB BROWSING

Browsing the web has become more than just a large library of files we view. It has become a playground for anyone to share and connect with other people. Current mobile browsers (with the exception of Opera), are limited in their abilities. Many don't support Java, Javascript, Cookies, or Flash. My phone should be an extension of my desktop and I should be able to access my bank accounts, surf the web, Mapquest directions, Google information, and view Myspace and flickr pages.

SMS & MMS UN-TETHERED

Sending text and multimedia messages are a staple even in today's entry level phones. It's the easiest and fastest way to directly connect to someone. Some mobile providers see fit to charge you for using their bandwidth but you already pay a flat fee for service. Just like voicemail, these services should be included STANDARD. I believe opening the door to new ways of transmitting this information is the next step. I might have larger files I want to send to a friend. GPRS is too slow and I don't want to pay 5¢ for every 15 kb of bandwidth. Since 3G services here in the U.S. seem like a fairy-tale, lets use our established wireless networks to transfer this information. If I have access to wifi, I should be able to send anything over it. The mobile providers have no right to tell me how my own personal files can be transmitted. Wifi is for everyone.

MEMORY EXPANSION

A person's life is an ever-growing gob of daily events and just like that person, the phone needs to be able to grow along with them. The phone should include 1 - 2 gigs of solid state memory that can be shared at the system level to help the operating system during intensive processing tasks. Memory expansion is crucial. Using formats like micro SD cards are a cheap and easy way to not only store but also back-up your files.

BLUETOOTH

Being able to transmit data to and from is important for a device designed to share and connect. Full implementation of bluetooth 2.0. allows us to exchange files within short distances. It allows us to trade information with our computers and free our phones from our ears via wireless headsets. The real improvement will be the inclusion of AD2P (allows for stereo sound to be wirelessly transmitted) and UWB (ultra-wideband radio). With these features, you can listen to your music wirelessly in full stereo and transmit large files extremely quickly - both key if we're to stream music and videos to other phones.

JAVA

Java seems to be neglected and that shows by how many people have no idea what it is. Many phones support Java and in fact many of the phone's applications run in Java. If the mobile providers want to find new ways to make money, they had this platform to work with for years but refuse to fully support it. Java can run on any phone and everything from games to business applications can be built with it. I see a future where Java is pushed to it's greatest potential - a great way to get new applications to extend your phone's functionality. Mobile providers should look into developing this and opening online stores where users can make purchases for their phones. The platform can even open up to 3rd party developers eager to jump into software development that's easy, cheap, and already has access to an extremely large user base.

COMPACT

I consider myself to be a normal mobile consumer. I'm not a business person so my phone doesn't need touchscreen or push email or open office documents. That being said, the phone needn't be massive. It should be sleek; small enough to slip in your pocket, but large enough to comfortably hold in your hand.

OLED SCREEN

I am spoiled by the AWESOME screens on Sharp mobile phones and ever since then, it's been hard to go back to something lackluster. LCD technology has advanced far enough to give mid-range users like myself a crisp, colorful screen without sucking battery life. The phone's screen should be an OLED with a QVGA resolution of 320 x 240 in 260,000 brilliant colors. That's pretty big but that's what we'll need if we're to take pictures and watch videos on it. Moving to an OLED transistor means huge battery savings compared to current TFT screens, not to mention how much sharper OLED is.

USER INTERFACE

Some companies forget, the phone is most often operated by one hand. It is not a computer so using the same desktop user-interface methodologies for handsets is retarded. I shouldn't have to drill 5 menu's deep to get to something that should live surface level. The UI should be uncluttered, customizable with wallpapers and icons, and work as a simplified extension of your desktop computer.

No too demanding right? I'm mean I'm not asking for video chatting, or terrestrial T.V. I consider myself to be a typical user who wants to talk on a quality cell phone, snap a picture and send it to my blog, share my videos and music from my computer with my phone, text my friends, and occasionally browse the web. Many phones have all of these features however, you'd be surprised how hard it is to find a phone that can blend all these features seamlessly. They either have partial implementation or have everything only to be hobbled by poor software.

The phone has evolved to be the mobile version of our lives - connections to friends and family when they aren't around, and sharing with others who have the same desire to share back with us. It has become an extension from our desktop lives - a place where we can access the same music and movies we watch on our computers. If in someway, someone from Apple sees this, I hope they take that into consideration. One of my good friends just started working at Apple. Maybe she can pass this post along to those there who will listen.

In a later post, I will address specifically the software and services I would like to see, and trust me, I SEE A LOT. Stay tuned.

Posted by tranism at 1:32 AM | Permalink | |

Comments

Posted by: Chris at July 30, 2006 10:40 AM

Posted by: ROBOCUB at August 4, 2006 2:07 PM

Posted by: hobbes henry at August 8, 2006 6:46 AM

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