firmware 1.1.4

[deftdrummer1]

So it is rumored (once again) that there will be a firmware update when the sdk comes out. I was just wondering, do you guys think apple will attempt to make a last stand and incorporate functions we have been missing from the getgo? Ie: instant messaging app, video recording, mms. Or do you see apple riding the 3rd party wave and let others develop these features so they can profit?

[BlackWolf]

I guess apple won't develop those. maybe the MMS thing, although it doesn't seem like they care about MMS very much. instant messenger and stuff like that will very likely be in the hands of 3rd party developers.

anyway, I would rather see bugfixes especially of the ipod application instead of new apps to be honest :D

[moe_4eva]

My personal guess is that all of these will come from 3rd party developers rather than from Apple directly, since Apple would be wasting man power and money in developing such apps when other companies are more than happy to take up the slack. It just doesn't make that much economic sense.

I do agree though that Apple will continue to work on bug fixes, at least until the next version of the iPhone comes out, at which point they will probably stop supporting the current version of the iPhone (unless it runs on the same software/hardware).

[deftdrummer1]

yeah, they really need to fix the bug where safari crashes to the home screen.

[kyussmondo]

Personally I don't see why SMS and MMS was even successful in the first place. Surely it would have been much better just to use email from the get go. If it was as easy to set up email accounts on other phones as the iPhone I would email everything :)

[black5gipod]

There is another rumor roaming around out there which says we could see the update as software version 2.0 and includes copypaste, Flash, and iChat. Read more:
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/02/18/uk_itunes_store_price_drop_bbc_on_itunes_iphone_so ftware_2_0.html

[deftdrummer1]

There is another rumor roaming around out there which says we could see the update as software version 2.0 and includes copypaste, Flash, and iChat. Read more:
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/02/18/uk_itunes_store_price_drop_bbc_on_itunes_iphone_so ftware_2_0.html

that would be so awesome! I just read an article though that says 1.1.4 was just an excuse for the company that leaked it to stop developing software for hacked iphone's and touches. I think in reality what happened is the company wanted a good enough reason to quit development on their software so that they didn't get in trouble, and naively said in a nutshell "when the next firmware comes out" ie: 1.1.4 that they would develop on that. Nobody even knows if there will for sure be a 1.1.4 or a 2.0 or whatever, or if Apple even has plans to release another firmware update just for the SDK.

I was under the impression that Apple was all geared up for the SDK with iphone's most recent firmware 1.1.3 but maybe I'm wrong.

[jhollington]

I strongly suspect we'll see most of these things left to third-party developers, subject possibly to certain limitations of the SDK itself. For example, there may be some types of apps that are never "officially" released for the iPhone due to limitations that Apple may want to enforce... Things like MMS applications may in fact fit into this category, since they would potentially require a level of network/carrier interaction that Apple (and AT&T) may be unwilling to offer to third-party developers.

Further, features like copy and paste may require so much interaction into the core frameworks that this may not be viable as an SDK app either.

The thing that strikes me the most about the lack of an IM feature on the iPhone is that Apple seems to have been avoiding any applications that require persistent network connections.... All of the other applications on the iPhone are non-persistent apps, and therefore work very well for very seamless WiFi/EDGE transition... An IM app might be a problem in this regard, and would prevent Apple from providing the intuitive user experience that is their normal approach, and would of course also risk decreased battery life and increased carrier traffic (something that AT&T would want Apple to avoid considering their iPhone-specific $20 unlimited plans).

[jason72780]

In addition to traffic, a chat application is probably the last thing att would want as it would cut into the profits from SMS messages.

[jhollington]

Good point, and in fact that speaks to the issue that most of the so-called "chat" applications that AT&T (and Rogers up here in Canada) have been bundling with their smartphones are actually SMS-based gateways.... So even though the application looks like a standard IM program, you're actually paying a per-message charge for Yahoo, MSN, et al. Further, since SMS is not nearly as "instant" as a true IM client is, it's really a fairly ugly system.

That's probably something that Apple wasn't too thrilled about in principle (considering how they pushed for "flat-rate" packages), so they simply built their SMS application to look like iChat so at least people would know they're using SMS messages and therefore being charged for them.

[markmcrobie]

I'd like to see the .com keyboard button changed to .co.uk if you have the UK keyboard selected