I am an early adopter of the iPhone. I have been using this device for several months now and now the honeymoon is over. I fully appreciate the iPhone’s many revolutionary and evolutionary qualities. I also now fully believe that Apple placed this phone on the market as something of a test! Think of this version as a well developed beta product which wasn’t quite ready for prime time. There are many reasons why Apple may have felt compelled to place the iPhone in the marketplace when it did; some may have been economic (with more than a million units sold to date this phone has had a distinct impact on the company’s bottom line); some preemptive (buzz about Google’s entry into this marketplace persists). In any event, there is much to like about this phone and yet there are many omissions which range from annoying to “deal breakers” particularly for business class users (which Apple insists is a market they are actively targeting).

Before I continue with my rant, I should let you know the biggest problem I had with the iPhone initially was its inability to synch with my Microsoft Outlook calendar. I followed every possible solution published online over the course of several days and many, many, hours of lost productivity, all to no avail. The best information I found was through the forums at the everythingiphone.com forums. I even called Apple support (a first for me) and spoke with a very pleasant technician who walked through several steps with me over the course of more than an hour. In the end, I was forced to terminate the call because of an obligation. The call didn’t lead to a solution, but I was made to feel that I had a very unique problem. (Google Outlook and iPhone, or check out the forum mentioned above and you will find out I had lots of company trying to get Outlook and the iPhone “talking....” What finally solved the problem...? After downloading three or four iTunes updates which were pushed out in rapid succession (for those of you unaware, iPhone’s syncheverything through iTunes!), and updating the iPhone’s firmware to version 1.1.1, my iPhone suddenly began synching the calendar! (So, after hours of changing things within my Outlook’s PST file, and doing the Apple updates, I can’t categorically tell you which change(s) are responsible for fixing this issue.)

So, in no particular order, here is my wish list for the iPhone Apple is going to try to sell me in 2008. For the record, many of these issues can be solved through software updates which might allow we beta testers to benefit to some degree:

1.) Please give me back my To Do List! I rely heavily on the to do list within Outlook. If we can overcome the synching issues with Contacts and Calendar, the To Do list (and Notes for that matter), should be relatively easy. In fact, Apple should consider swallowing a bit of pride and licensing Activesync from the boys at Redmond to handle this task. ActiveSync is by no means perfect, but it pretty much, “just works” and that is good enough for the legions of Outlook dependant customers who will have to buy an iPhone if Apple hopes to get 10 million iPhones out in the world within a year.

2.) Save voice command, save a life.  Being able to dial a number, particularly while driving, using voice command not only is very convenient, it is far safer than trying to dial through the keypad or scroll through your Contact list alphabetically (see wish number three).  If Palm, Microsoft, and even Blackberry through a third party app (read wish number four), can integrate this feature, I am sure Apple can make this happen too!

3.) Please allow me to search for contacts using a keypad! You don’t have to give up the current “spinning wheel” interface, just add a find feature for those of us who find that “ballparking” a contact’s information to within a letter or two of the alphabet just isn’t good enough. In fact, a “universal search,” allowing searching through Calendar, Contacts, (and notes and to dos down the road) would be great!

4.) I want my third party apps! To be fair, Apple has recently announced a change of heart on this issue. A SDK (software developer kit) is scheduled for release in February of next year.  This is great news but it should have happened at the time of the iPhone’s formal release. Perhaps it actually is since I expect a new version of the iPhone to be released next spring. All smartphones have allowed third party applications for some time. Again, business users in particular rely on some applications

Let me customize my iPhone! The upcoming SDK may go a long way in allowing we poor end users more flexibility in making our iPhone our own, but for now, it Apple’s way or the highway! Personally I like the stock widget (but would like to be able to drill down and get more information on a company which is pretty darn easy on a Windows Mobile device), but I think the new mobile iTunes store icon belongs under the iPod music “menu.” What other applications does Apple have up its sleeve for that unused bottom row on the front screen...? I sure hope one of them is a link to my To Do List!!!!

5.) Nothing beats Blackberry’s email model, but the iPhone can make great strides from where it is today. Allowing multiple deleting of email would be the first great stride. I also miss the Treo’s ability to automatically delete downloaded posts from my POP account when removed from the server from my workstation. Why do I have to handle messages twice? My Outlook folder structure doesn’t get copied to the iPhone! I use these folders extensively to organize the avalanche of email headed my way every day. (Like it or not Apple, business users rely on Outlook; if you want business users, you better support this app!) Let Google build a decent Gmail interface for the iPhone! (Yes Google’s recent implementation of IMAP is a half step in the write direction. I’m looking for leaps and bounds! Don’t get me started on the lack of Exchange support..... By the way, I do know this is really a multiple item wish list, but who’s counting...?

6.) Give me a removable battery, please..... This is an area where style trumped substance. Even if you forget the fact that you must send your iPhone back to Apple and pay $89 if the battery fails to hold a cherge, there is the practical, day-to-day, issue that the iPhone’s battery life marginally handles a long day of use. After all, when you build a device serving multiple needs, you can expect a user to actually use the iPod features, make calls, check email, in other words, use the device as it is designed. I want to be able to purchase a backup battery, keep it charged, and not have to ration my iPhone use as the sun begins to set . I also remain from Missouri when it comes to the idea that this battery will successfully charge nearly eight hundred times which is what the two year purchase agreement with AT&T implies....

One final note, my iPhone did indeed stop holding a charge within ten days of purchase. While getting to an Apple Genius was a story in and of itself, when I did finally get his attention, they agreed to swap out the iPhone immediately rather than put me through the exchange process. Admittedly, this iPhone was less than two weeks old, but this aspect of Apple’s customer service deserves praise.

7.) Bluetooth..... The iPhone supports selective Bluetooth products only and this is an issue for many business users. I rely on a bluetooth Motorola HF850 system in my car to conduct conversations. Not anymore! Even if I turn off Wi-Fi, press buttons on the bluetooth receiver in a convoluted sequence which I read in an unsupported “hack” online, the connection inexplicably works for the first call… sometimes, and then I am back to holding my iPhone or fumbling for the wired earpiece while driving. To be fair, there is a list of “supported devices” (none of which I have tried personally at this point), but I have a big investment not only in the hardware, but also installation of my bluetooth handsfree kits. I also have handsfree bluetooth headphones which I use while running or at the gym. This set up works fine with my last generation Nano, but no joy with the iPhone.

8.) AT&T and the EDGE network don’t cut it. I switched from Verizon to AT&T because of the iPhone with my eyes wide open. Still, the EDGE network is glacially slow. Some of the iPhone’s neatest features are hobbled beyond recognition by the slow EDGE network. Give me a 3D connection and I will be able so show off more of this product’s best qualities and sell more iPhones for you Apple! (I know the Wi-Fi capability is supposed to “balance” the network access issue, but there are simply too many areas where Wi-Fi isn’t available and EDGE is all but useless.) Furthermore, in Nashville, Tennessee anyway, AT&T’s ‘phone network drops far more calls than Verizon. (I miss my EDGE network!) These issue are causing me to go to Verizon today and buy a “back up” cell phone for decent coverage and end of day battery life....

9.) Flash and Java implementation in Safari will make for a far richer online experience. I know Jobs is spouting security concerns, but Windows Mobile devices allow for these ubiquitous software platforms, why can’t Apple? The bottom line is I believe implementation of Flash at least is more of an oversight, something which didn’t get included in the “beta” release of the iPhone.

10.) I know the virtual keyboard is sexy, but it sure isn’t as functional as a tactile keyboard. I have yet to visit with any iPhone user with experience on a Treo, Blackberry or other mobile device, who says their typing is as efficient or easy with this virtual keyboard! I don’t know how Apple may do it, but either this interface needs some work or the Cupertino boys may need to find a way to put “sexy” back into a traditional mobile keyboard. You don’t have to be a teenage IM junky to want to be able to zip off a forty word email quickly. On a related note, the autofill function, designed to anticpate the words you are typing is too slow to keep up even with my two thumbed tapping. This software is a potential aide in the interface, but it needs to be fast, really fast, and intuitive (again I give Windows Mobile a nod in this area, but when Apple hits release six as Microsoft has, they are likely to have really found a way to make this work.)

There is much to love about this device. Voice mail handling, text messaging and more are fabulous. The screen is a wonderful vehicle for sharing still photos (even if the built in camers is lacking even by cell phone standards). On Wi-Fi, the Google map and satellite integration is terrific. I am betting GPS integration will be part of th iPhone 2.0! The popularity of Navizon shows how much customers want this functionality! I know you have to hack your iPhone to get Navizon and other third party apps running, but people are willing to go to the trouble, even risk Apple bricking their $600, or $500 or $400, new toy to get this functionality should easily cause this wish to make Apple’s top ten as well as mine!

I certainly am no Apple fanboy, but thre is much to like, as well as wish for, with the iPhone. Just like in any relationship, once the honeymoon period is over and reality sets in, it is time to deal with some of the less than ideal, along with the good. (That is about as far as I want to go down the road comparing technology with real world relationships.) However, we all should be aware of the perils of becoming an unwitting beta tester.... Here’s to iPhone 1.0 next year. I don’t know about you, but I will probably still have my $100 Apple credit available to apply to my purchase!