Kent German, CNET's cell phones guru, answers your questions about cell phones, services, and accessories and reports on the state of the industry.
Send him a question! Editor's note: This will be the last On Call column to appear in this format. Starting June 3, 2008, I'll transition to a blog format available on Crave. On Call will continue to appear every two weeks. One year ago, the tech world was about to burst at the seams as it waited for the June 29 release of the Apple iPhone. And now as June approaches again, Apple's handset takes center stage once more. Though we know the 3G iPhone is coming, exactly when it will arrive remains a mystery. But as supplies of the current iPhone dwindle and rumors persist that AT&T employees are barred from taking June vacations, most Apple watchers expect Apple CEO Steve Jobs to make an announcement when he opens Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference on June 9. Until then, unfortunately, all we can do is wait.
No matter what you think of the iPhone, a 3G version of the device is indeed welcome. When I reviewed the iPhone last year, its lack of 3G was one of my biggest complaints, and it was a flaw that prevented the device from earning our Editors' Choice Award. Though Wi-Fi is great, and even preferable to 3G, I'm still a fan of customer choice. And since Wi-Fi isn't available everywhere, 3G is a great backup for getting faster data speeds.
Besides 3G capability, we also know that the new iPhone will offer new software and support for the Microsoft ActiveSync protocol. Those additions are noteworthy as well, but I'm hoping they'll only be part of the story. I'm eagerly waiting to see if Apple took this opportunity to add less glamorous, but absolutely useful, functionality to iPhone 2. Go ahead, call me high-maintenance, but keep in mind that I'm being difficult with you in mind. The current iPhone is a great device and big step forward in cell phone development, but it's missing a few essential features that scores of other cell phones have. And that's not fair to customers. If Apple includes them in the new version, the iPhone will only get better. But if Apple leaves them out again, the iPhone will remain a tech success story, but with an asterisk. Here a sampling of what I think the next iPhone should include.
What would you like to see in the new iPhone? Talk back to me below.
I don't think I'll ever understand why Apple didn't include this in the original iPhone. On the cell phone feature scale, it ranks about even with a color display and voice mail. Every camera phone on the market offers multimedia messaging, so there's no good reason why the iPhone doesn't. In many ways, multimedia messaging is why people buy a camera phone--so you can send photos to other cell phones. While the iPhone lets you send photos to an e-mail address, that isn't sufficient by itself. And while iPhone users have devised work-arounds, there shouldn't even have to be work-arounds in the first place
The iPhone is one of the best portable video players around, so why doesn't it have video recording? I can't think of a reason. Sure, everyone knows that camera phone videos are far from stellar, but that's really the whole point. Come on Apple, we're big boys and girls. We can handle it if the video quality isn't top-notch. And while you're at it, a camera flash would be nice as well.
At Macworld in January, Apple announced new mapping functions for the current iPhone. You can pinpoint your location by connecting to nearby Wi-Fi hotspots and cellular towers. It works well enough, but it's not always accurate. I'd love to see Apple add true GPS functionality so you can connect to a satellite instead. That's not completely accurate either, but at least you can find yourself when you're away from wireless civilization. Audible directions would be nice as well, but I'll take what I can get.
The iPhone's full alphabetic keyboard makes it a great messaging tool. And with the addition of ActiveSync support, it will be great for work e-mail as well. But I'm hoping we'll see cut-and-paste functionality in the new iPhone. That would be a big help when composing long diatribes.
Apple likes to run the show, so when it excludes an "in" feature from one of its devices it's usually because it can't control the experience to its liking. Such is the case here. Though stereo Bluetooth has exploded in popularity in the last couple of years, it's not exactly a perfected technology. In my experience, wired headsets still provide the best audio quality, even if that wire limits your mobility. But as I said in the iPhone review, stereo Bluetooth is one of the current iPhone's many "not necessary but nice to have" missing features. It could be beneficial for Apple too, as it could sell its own stereo Bluetooth headset to go along with its current Bluetooth headset. But if Apple can't bring itself to add this feature, could the company at least fix that irritating recessed headphones jack? Please?
Though the iPod isn't the only MP3 player to have a battery that's not user-replaceable, it is just about the only cell phone to do so. That's why I'm having a hard time letting this one go. A current iPhone battery is supposed to last about three years (or 400 charges), but that could change with the addition of more battery-hungry 3G technology. The cost of replacing a battery is $79 plus $6.95 shipping and like I said before, you can live without a MP3 player for a few days, but living without a cell phone is another matter. I'd be happy to trade a seamless shiny iPhone backside for a user-replaceable battery, but I think Apple is unlikely to throw me a bone here.
While the above five features are what'd I'd like most form the new iPhone, there are a few other items on my wish list. They're not totally necessary but I figure that as long as I'm asking, I might as well include them.
- A memory card slot
- Tactile feedback for the touch screen
- Flash support for the Safari Web browser
- The capability to use MP3s as ringtones
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