iPhone 2.2

It’s time to resurrect my blog. I know I haven’t posted for a loooong time but I should be posting more now that I’m on summer break. – James

Now that the iPhone/iPod touch 2.2 software has been available for a few weeks you probably already know all of the big features. In this post I will tell you of some of the undocumented, minor tweaks and changes to the iPhone that you may or may not have noticed.

 

 

Clicker Improvements

I love the tiny clicker/microphone on the iPhone headphones but I always found it a bit slow to respond to my clicks. With iPhone 2.2, the clicker is much faster to un-pause the song I am listening to.

Calculator Changes

In the 2.0 software update a scientific calculator was added to the iPhone (as you know). The accelerometer is used to change between the basic and the scientific modes. Then, the graphical transition was slow and jittery but with 2.2, the transition is a lot smoother.

Faster Installation

There is no doubt that the thousands of applications available for the iPhone is a major draw card. This in turn makes the whole installation process vital to the overall experience. The speed of which applications were installed was greatly improved in the 2.1 update. Now with 2.2, I have noticed that the installation is even faster (in my experiences anyway).

Improved Installation Behavior

This is a very minor change but one that I am very happy came along. When installing an update to an application you already have on your phone, the iPhone switches to the home screen that the previous version of the application resides on. Nice, simple, clean.

Update All

I’m not sure where this feature went in 2.1 but I’m glad it’s back. The ‘update all’ button is now back in the application, making it easier to update all your applications at once.

Application Store

The application store has had a face lift. You might notice some small graphical changes to the different parts of the store, but more importantly you can now view all the photos associated with an application like you can on the iTunes application store. This comes in handy when you want to see more of an app before you buy it!

So there you have it, all of the minor changes (that I could find). Have you found more? Leave me a comment and I’ll be sure to add it in.

Update: The iTunes Review Process

This is a follow up to my previous post about the terrible application review mechanism that has been implemented with the new iTunes Application Store. Basically, people had been able to review iPhone and iPod touch applications without buying them (or just downloading them in the case of free applications). This led to pathetic, stupid and even racist reviews infiltrating what is known as Apple’s walled garden.

Prior to recently, the walled garden was being vandalized. Thankfully, in recent weeks Apple has silently changed their review process. Now, you have had to have downloaded/purchased an application before you have the right to review it.

To me, a person who doesn’t want to leave the walled garden, this is excellent news. It does two things for the iTunes Store. First, it prevents idiots writing trashy reviews that are incoherent, full of abbreviations and even racist and derogatory remarks. More importantly, it gives some legitimacy to the Applications Store and allows it to be used for it’s original purpose; to inform people about the quality of an application before buying it. We will now only see people who have forked out the cash to buy an application reviewing them based on their experience and not just by looking at the pictures. It’s no lie when I say that only dedicated, helpful people are the one’s writing reviews. Finally their valuable word will be able to be heard above the noise and we will see useful information that will help us in making a final judgement about an application.

Unfortunatly, there will still be noise. There will still the people who, however well intentioned they are, will only write “This app is bad. Don’t buy it” but at least Apple is on the right track. I mean, you just can’t prevent people speaking their minds (in the US anyway, it’s much more clear cut for you people).

iPhone 2.1

Today is such a happy, joyous occasion! The 2.1 firmware update was released early this morning for all iPhone users! Firstly, let’s look at what Apple said the update would include:  

• Decrease in call set-up failures and dropped calls
• Significantly better battery life for most users
• Dramatically reduces time to backup to iTunes
• Improved email reliability, notably fetching email from POP and Exchange accounts
• Faster installation of 3rd party applications
• Fixed bugs causing hangs and crashes for users with lots of third party applications
• Improved performance in text messaging
• Faster loading and searching of contacts
• Improved accuracy of the 3G signal strength display
• Repeat alert up to two additional times for incoming text messages (in case you missed the beep the 1st time)
• Option to wipe data after ten failed passcode attempts
• Genius playlist creation

  As soon as I switched my iPhone on after updating I instantly recognized that everything was snappier. The contact list loaded must faster, the scrolling is smoother and I now don’t feel worried about stressing it to crashing point.

The two fixes I am most happy about are the faster backup times and faster application install. Like many other people I experienced 20 minute backups that didn’t even work when I was forced to restore my iPhone. That was annoying. Now, after the 2.1 update, the backup took about 20 seconds. The is a massive improvement which I am so happy about. I can now quickly sync my iPhone before I leave the house without having to furiously cancel the backup.

The second fix I am really happy about is Applications.  Applications now load lightning fast, about 20 seconds from my experience. This is down from around 3 minutes of hell when my iPhone refused to do anything until the application installed.

There are more signal bars in more places but at the moment, I don’t know if there are less call drops because I never had any. Similarly for the battery, it will take a full day of normal use for me to see if that battery life is better.

The new Genius feature has been implemented very well. It works just like iTunes 8, no compromises for being on a mobile device, you can do it all (including saving Genius playlist!)

I’d also like to include a new, unmentioned feature: New 3G, EDGE and GPRS icons in the status bar. However useless and insignificant, I still wanted to mention it. Let me have my fun.

I’m confident that this update will quell all the uproar about the iPhone and that we will all be able to live in peace and harmony with our revolutionary phones/digital music players/mobile internet devices (not that I experienced many of the earth shattering, God forsaken imperfections with the iPhone. Were they really that bad?) Meanwhile, you can check up with Engadget to see what their response to the update was

The iTunes Review Process

 

There has been some talk recently over the process by which application are allowed in the iTunes App Store. Whilst this is a problem, I think the customer review process is proving to be a bigger problem.

When browsing the App Store a few days ago I came across an application called iPray Pro. I found out from the page that it is an application that gives Muslim prayer times as well as the direction of Meca and among other things, religious holiday dates. I was glad to see an application like this, not because I would personally use it (being a Catholic) but because it is good to see a wonderful device such as the iPhone being used for a purpose that someone else could really appreciate.

 

Scrolling down to the comments I found this:

Ignoring the highly pathetic comment this person left, it highlights a problem that Apple has that hasn’t yet been addressed. The ability to leave a review of a product is one that can be a highly effective way of getting the word out to people on the quality of an application. But this process is being abused by people such as ‘m_peace’ (iTunes screen name). Besides from racist clueless insults, the review process is one that is being used by people who have just looked at the preview pictures and made a judgement from those. I barely look at the star rating of applications anymore because they are most likely not a reliable way to judge the quality of an app. From what I see, this looks like a briliant and polished app, but I wouldn’t review it based on that assumption.

There is one easy and obvious way to fix this: only allow people to comment who have bought the application and tried it. Apple has purchase data on everyone who has an account, why not use it?

This is not the only example of the review process being abbused, but in my opinion is definetly the worst. Comments like this (plus the whole tattered product review process) don’t reflect well on Apple. The best I could do to help this situation was to report this comment as offensive.

Please Apple, lift you game on this!

Side note to m_peace: dude, have you even heard of the IRA?!