UPDATE: A newer (and better) version of the iPhone ELITE is found here
Original post below...
I think my email to Mr Jobs says it all really...
"Hi Steve,
As you can see I've made a few design suggestions to your iPhone.
I've held off getting an iPhone until it gets a better camera. (See pic)
Let me know when I can get rid of my N95.
Cheers,
Mat Brady"
Cheeky? Maybe.
Honest? Absolutely.
Offensive? I hope not, but really... we already know he's brewing away on something like this, if not, much better. What I have here isn't in the realm of the iWish (see previous post), it's merely the next stage of the iPhone's evolution that I'm deliberately prompting.
I make this plea, this dare, in order to expedite the iEvolution so that I can finally get rid of the old N95 clunker I have now and play with something decent. Sure, my N95 may (technically) do a lot of what this 'ELITE' fantasy dreams to do, but the the Nokia UI that binds all these functions together does about as good a job as duct tape would.
I was never a Mac fan until a few years ago when I bought my 17" MacBook Pro, and since then I've bought a 24" iMac for work, and all I need now is an iPhone and I'll be a complete kit. But truth be told, my N95 is still far superior to the iPhone for me because it has a real camera to take quality photos. This key feature allows me to do a 3-day trek through New Zealand's lush South Island, staying in the remotest of locations, and all I need to carry for the journey is my N95. It's been great like that, and I've appreciated it as a camera more than I ever have as a phone. But I've been teased with what a phone experience could be from the iPhone for almost the same number of years I've had the N95 and it's now time...
Time for the new iPhone ELITE, Mr Jobs. Whaddya say? :)
M
Update: The slide-out keyboard has generated the most response from any of my suggested features. The general consensus stands firm on two opposing viewpoints:
1. Most people would prefer to have an optional slide-out keyboard,
2. but don't believe Apple will ever "go backwards" and release anything like this.
In response to one comment (Mike) I have created what might be an answer to a third-party product which could solve this dilemma. (Pictured below)
48 comments:
How do you expect the keyboard to slide with the camera haniging out and such?
The lens coming out of the back your "iPhone Elite" is simply ugly.
Cameras on phones were meant to take video clips of the gorilla with his finger up his butt, NOT your 3-day trek through New Zealand.
I sincerely think you're smart enough to just BUY A CAMERA. I agree that a phone should do as much as it possibly can, but for God's sake it can't do everything.
Yes it can...
Bill- The keyboard is on the front, the camera is on the back. Nothing is in the way to obstruct the sliding of the keyboard.
Sammy G- You think the camera is ugly. I think it's beautiful. Let's disagree on that.
The camera on my N95 actually DID take a collection of stunning photographs on my 3-day trek. Nokia intended it to do this when they put it in their device, so, yes, it was meant to do exactly that.
One day your phone will do everything (see previous post "Introducing the iWish"), but to have a decent camera in a phone isn't a stretch of the imagination since it's already a reality- I just wish there were a decent camera on the iPhone.
And why would I want to carry around two devices when I only need to carry around one? You're smart enough to see how that would make sense, yes?
willfojo- absolutely it can. :)
Mat, the keyboard thing. Its not going to happen. EVER!
Case manufacturers will hate it, as will all people who are trying to type in their own language on a phone.
I agree with the camera, but this is not the way. There are new gen of solid state optics (SSO)sensors comming along, that will fit in the space of the current iPhone cam and put the N95 to shame.
Here are some suggestions for the iPhone PRO/BIZ
- Bigger internal battery. Pehaps 2100 mAh
- CPU running at full 620 MHz speed
- Dual SIM Support
- REV EVDO support
- Lanscape Keyboard support in all stock Aps
- 8MP/1,3MP camera sensor with SSO
Really love the picture!
@Mat: Shame that the specs are such a light tone of grey that people are obviously unable to read them...and, sorry to say: there's a typo where the keyboard compliments the phone, imho it complements the phone...
@Bill: the keyboard is optional... don't want it? don't think about it. Sliding out at the right position for landscape typing in ANY app though.
@SammyG: the lens coming out of the back is the 3x optical zoom, much better than any phone's digital try at zooming
@lantinian: so, we can expect your design by next week then?
Matt, love the design. One thing that I would absolutely love to see is the "crack-berry" style 'blinking light' to let me know if I've missed a call or have a new VM or a new email, etc.
Right now, if I leave the phone on desk or counter, i have to go over to it and "wake it up" to see if any activity has happened vs. all my CB friends can just glance.
1. No Keyboard. The iPhone is a world phone. It has to be able to do Chinese, for example. The keyboard would limit it to Roman languages.
2. No Hard Drive. This would make drain the battery. It would also make the iPhone incredibly more fragile. You can't just drop it on the floor. Rather, there would be more Flash Drive storage - particularly as flash memory prices fall. Just look at Toshiba's 500 Gig Flash Drive - for example. Flash Storage is also up to 100 times faster than the small hard drives.
3. More Energy Dense Battery. This is an easy improvement as technology improves. But then, it is easy enough to charge the iPhone every day or to get an external iPod battery for it.
4. Better Camera. This is also a doable improvement. Apple can then easily add video as well.
5. Larger Screen. This is a possibility - particularly if resolution independence was built into the SDK - which I believe it has. However, since Apple wants to keep things standardized - to allow the App Store to Flourish and make it easier on developers, a larger screen may be held back until more cell phones use larger screens. A larger screen also drains the battery faster.
Every feature on a phone is an engineering compromise. The iPhone happens to make the best compromises.
Despite the Nokia's features, it does not compare to the iPhone's operating system nor App Store and applications. This is where the Nokia sucks big time.
6. Front Camera. This is a good possibility once video capabilities are released. Of course, this would allow iChat video conferencing with other Macs or iPhones.
Since when a qwerty keyboard is limit to roman languages? How do you think the Chinese and the Arabs type on the same keyboard that we use? Even the Japanese with three different writing languages like Kanji, Katakana, and Hiragana use the same keyboard, with some minor modifications. A little thing called software will do the trick, and it's easy to write code for such software too.
I'd love to have an iPhone as I have Mac everything else but the iPhone is still a few software versions away from being a bearable phone.
I have a BlackBerry 9000 and for a power email device it works great but it is not designed to the level of Apple. On an iPhone all the desktop applications are ones you would use. On a BB you have to go hunting for those applications.
I did get my wife an iPhone and she likes it but it has so many little faults - though they are easy to fix with software, but it will take a few more versions. On the BB everything that should be actionable (call, sms, copy etc) is actionable. Wifey misses being able to have a saved text message she can keep sending to do her coffee order in the mornings. All easy to fix you would think.
But I can't stand the iPhone keyboard so hope they do an Elite device with a real keyboard that we can type into or invent a better way.
Also keen to test the speed of ActiveSync of iPhone to Exchange against the BB. My earlier Windows Mobile devices with ActiveSync were slow compared to BB messaging.
The iPhone is a stunning device but not good enough for me yet.
lantinian- You're probably right about the slide out keyboard never happening, but more for the reasons of Apple's commitment to stick to their innovation mantra of moving beyond keyboards altogether. It's surprising though how undeniably popular this part of my design was. All I really wanted was a better camera. As for the next gen of solid state optics, these new SSO's sound fantastic, but I would like (as a consumer) to see them perform first. Are there any links you can send my way?
All the suggestions you made in point form were excellent. I hope someone at Cupertino is listening. :)
mielychula- Thank you so so much for picking up that typo! I'll admit that I didn't know the difference between compliment/complement before, but now I do. Again, thanks! :) You'll be happy to hear that not only has this typo been corrected, but I've also made the specs darker as well. Also, I totally subscribe to your point (made to Bill) about those who don't like the keyboard to not slide it out. It's there in case you need it, and the iPhone works perfectly well if you don't. Great comments! Cheers. :)
utdrmac- That's brilliant. So simple! An excellent suggestion, so completely do-able, and I bet you've made a lot of people flay their hands in the air and shout "Yes please!" upon reading that. Well done. :)
James Katt- 1. reaper commented much better on this point than I could have, so I'm just going to say: "What he said". 2. I totally agree with this point. So much so that I went into the actual image and change the text to now read: "The iPhone Elite's 60 gigabyte flash drive..." Well done. :) 3. I actually don't like the idea of a changeable battery. I know that's not a popular thing to say, but I'd prefer to have a small battery extender and change these exterior cartridges than to fumble around opening the thing up and risking wear and damage, both inside and out, to change the internal battery. Much better to keep the integrity of the unit and have a battery extender in the car or travel bag just in case. 4. Yep. 5. Standardizing apps by keeping the screen the same size is an idea destined to crumble- eventually. I don't think it's that big a deal to any of the Apps if the screen was bigger. Apps that aren't made to fit the new screen size... simply wouldn't. You'd have the black bars on either side. Problem solved.
And yes, Nokia's OS and Apps and PC interface and Mac support do indeed "suck bigtime" as you say. :)
6. I like the word "conferencing". That's been added to the image now as well. Thanks! :)
reaper- Well put. What more can I say. Awesome. :)
Rod D- I'm not a power user, like you, but that said I probably would be if the apps to do so were easily available to me. This says a lot to the importance of the UI. Right now even something basic as typing an email on my N95 is like extracting teeth, to the point where I no longer bother. The function to do this is "technically" there, but without a decent UI these functions become essentially worthless. Your clear and honest comments would be valuable feedback to some of the people working at Apple. Let's hope this discussion (and the furor of comments in other forums) from my mock-up image has been read and hopefully taken notice of. Cheers. :)
Mat,
No doubt a though provoking article. On the camera front, I think the N95 is the exception rather then the rule when it comes to photos. Most cellphone cameras have and continue to be well below the levels of even cheap digital cameras, and while I see this improving, it wont be enough for any real photography. While I could see them adding zoom a-la the RAZR by changing the resolution, I dont see them going far beyond that.
As for the keyboard, I think the addition of a physical keyboard to the iPhone is extremely unlikely. Nor do I really feel like its necessary, virtual keyboards do the job well now, and are only going to improve. I wont repeat it here, but I wrote an article about the keyboard on my blog here: http://jmkupferman.blogspot.com
Jonathan Kupferman- I think it's all too simple to disagree with you about cameras in phones. It's obvious that as technology gets smaller, phones will have better and better cameras. It's actually inevitable.
I also read your article, but I found it too one-eyed for touch screen typing- particularly this quote: "how convenient it is to be able to immediately type away without having to flip up a screen". Who says you have to flip up the screen in order to type? The iPhone Elite would retain all the convenience of a regular iPhone with immediate touch screen typing while also being able to have the option of sliding out a physical keyboard. You argue against the idea as if it's black or white, but the mock-up represents black and white. Moreso, I think your blog misses the broader picture that people like James Falconer so elegantly writes about. His blog is here for you to read: http://www.intomobile.com/2008/12/29/iphone-pro-and-iphone-elite-concepts-hit-the-web-both-make-me-giddy.html
Thanks for your comments nonetheless. :)
adding a physical keyboard won't happen it's counter intuitive to Apple's philosophy of the iPhone. I understand that it doesn't eliminate the option of touch typing, but by adding I can see how it'll appease people both people who like the touch screen and people who want physical keys, but by it just being there it's like a car company wants to revolutionize the market with only hydrogen powered engines for cars, but yet they still want to sell petrol powered cars so the other people in the car market doesn't angry. Sure, adding the physical keyboard makes sense to make folks happy, it's just one of those things that the iPhone stands for, TOUCH.
Somebody already mentioned those SSO lense so that would be logical, it's a better lense to allow better pictures and maybe add in video functionality, on top of keeping the design very minimal. A front camera is a no-brainer and i'm surprised the 3G(along with video capture) doesn't have it.
with a larger screen means larger form factor which means larger battery which may or may not have improved battery life.
As for memory I think Apple might actually be listening to people's opinions on this one, it really does have big chatter. To stick to internal memory or have expansion slots? Maybe both?
The next iPhone should definitely use more processing power as well.
.
what do you think about my idea of a MacBook "eeeAir" netbook?
http://www.gaetanomarano.it/articles/036appleee.html
and about my idea of a (portable-HDD-like) "PocketMacMini" (or Slim) with Docking Station?
http://newgoos.blogspot.com/2008/11/what-do-you-think-willshould-be-shape.html
.
Physical keyboard is simply not going to happen for the simple fact it would add a whole new lvl of complexity or incompatibility to iphone apps. Right now developes know people touch type. however, if some of them require ppl to have a normal keyboard, you couldn't be sure anymore that any app you buy actually is usable on your phone, which you can currently.
What if...
You leave the slide-out, but replace the tired-old physical keyboard with another touch-screen (maybe a haptic one with feedback). Then you can display ANYTHING on it, like a full-size keyboard (in any language) or anything else you can think of!
This would allow for dual-screen functionality similar to the nintentdo DS, but much much more functional.
Think of all the possibilities!!!!
Rich
Hi matt,
I'm reading through this blog of yours, and a lot of the stuff you have to say is thoughtful and insightful and truely to writings of someone who is a well fountain of excellent ideas, but do you honestly think that when you send these people these emails that they are considering them?
I honestly think they take one look and go "fucking know it all! who does he think he IS?!?! I'm so and so that sold however many millions of units of somesuch, who is this jerk."
you're better off infiltrating some big company and using your wiley charms and tom cruise/peter beattie smile to climb the ladder and exert your influence that way
anyway, keep posting your thoughtful pieces, they are interesting to read.
Andy- I like your Plug-In Hybrid Car analogy. It signifies a transition away from one thing to another. I guess that's what's happening now with touch screen typing and keyboard typing, except you either have to make the leap completely or don't make it at all. With the keyboard-hybrid it allows both. (And that's not such a bad thing, is it?)
Re: expansion slots. I'm against opening up our phones to stick things into them (see my previous comments to James Katt). This includes memory cards.
Mr.GoOS- Your eeeAir netbook is simply a straight scaling of an existing product. It takes a bare minimum degree of imagination to come up with that "design". Same goes for your PocketMacMini. I would suggest the scaling down of something does not necessarily make it a new product. Scaling down items like this, just by scale alone, need a complete reimagining as they become a completley new product. Try again. :)
OG Aidel- That's completely false. It wouldn't matter in the slightest to current apps if there was an additional slide out keyboard. If the apps weren't programmed to make use of the physical keyboard, then they would operate exactly as they do now- whether the physical keyboard was exposed or not -you'd still be able to use and operate it with the screen. It would not, as you say, "add a whole new lvl of complexity or incompatibility".
MrChips- I like this idea, but while the public is still in the transition between using physical keyboards to touchscreen keyboards it's better to have a hybrid. Once (or if) the public use more touchscreen keyboards than not, then your idea will be a natural next step. Nice future thinking though. Keep it up. :)
L- Do I honestly think these people consider my emails? Yes and no.
A single individual email, no matter how thoughtful and considerate, will be ignored, unless I'm someone famous, which I'm not, so it will definitely be ignored.
But I never thought my email would be considered anyway. I never crafted that image for one person, I did it to stir a (very healthy) debate so as to spark further ideas through discussion. And, by this measure, it's worked! In fact, it's worked much better than I had though it would. I'm surprised by the thoughtfulness of the people commenting. Had I written in my blog the same ideas in the image- without the image itself -it wouldn't have even registered a single response, but it's amazing what a picture can do. One image (or two if you also count Jesus Diaz's from Gizmodo) has garnered a very interesting dialogue now. It was viewed by 19,000 people in it's first two hours the image was up. And the comments keep coming, and the ideas keep coming, and with this dialogue that's is generated I believe someone in Cupertino is genuinely considering these ideas. And so are other companies as well (probably moreso actually). So, in that respect, yes- I do believe these people are considering them- even if they ultimately reject them. The reality is that they have already considered them a long time before, but discussions like this shed a new light on old subjects and helps them see more clearly what people are thinking now. It's all good.
"Tom Cruise/Peter Beattie smile"- Ha ha ha! That's hilarious. :)
As the owner of a software / device development company, I have taken notice of your ideas and think there is a lot of merit there. Here's an idea: what about an external keyboard created by a third-party which would attach to the iPhone through Bluetooth? Does it always have to be Apple who produces the cool products?
Hey. Does this "Elite" iPhone have a lock button, or does it just have a sleep button? And what about a deticated camera key on the side? Just wondereing.
-Subtard
Mike- The main advantage Apple have is that they are creating both the software and hardware, so that at the end they have a whole and integrated product. This means that the disadvantage any third party has coming up with a product (no matter how cool) is that it will break that integrity- either by having another product to carry around with you or through compatibility issues.
You could help circumvent this if your product was to incorporate itself into the iphone's design. For example:
Imagine if you could attach to the iPhone's front face plate, a mini-keyboard (that's exactly the same size) with the keys of the keyboard facing the screen itself. Imagine that keyboard is held onto the iPhone by a frame that snaps over the rim of the phone. You could then hinge the keyboard to the frame so that the keyboard could swing out- revealling the screen.
I've done a (quick and dirty) mock-up here...
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2_D3LXUTOjo/SV6TQ0Ar6KI/AAAAAAAAAF4/B_PLtnvdmj4/s1600-h/3rdPartyKeyboard.jpg
This means that, even though it's not entirely one integral product, it's still only one thing you're carrying around.
Subtard- A dedicated camera button is actually a really good idea, because it makes perfect sense. Had I thought of that when I was doing up the image I would have definitely included it. Thanks for looking so closely at my design. :)
what if it was also waterproof and shockproof and etc.?
Yea, thanks for making the concept. Just wondering, I know it'd be alot to put into a phone put, would the movies play in Blu-Ray to?
Yea, thanks for making the concept. Just wondering, I know it'd be alot to put into a phone put, would the movies play in Blu-Ray to?
Hi Matt,
Your idea about a third party accessory keyboard is fantastic. I had the same concepts running around in my mind for quite some time but I but the details were a bit different from yours.
If a keyboard is attached to the iPhone it will have to use another attaching mechanism and to open in another way. Since the user will be holding the keyboard with the iPhone hanging, there will be a lot of torsion weight on the joints and on the attaching mechanism.
In my opinion, the best way to attach an additional accessory to the iPhone is via the Incase Slider Case. This case is simple, rigid and yet light and thin. The keyboard had to slide from the back for structural strength. The main advantage of slide vs fold is that you can open it with one hand.
Very recently Incase has integrated its case with a battery and it looks very seamless with the iPhone 3G. Anyway, using the same attaching system, you can mount:
- big battery + add on optics + tripod stand + dock integration + iPhone App
- slide out keyboard with either bluetooth + battery or dock integration
- game console like shell with buttons + dock integration
- battery + flash card port plus video stand
In a sence, the Incase slider case is the platform for attaching stuff to the iPhone. I hope the company realizes that and team up with other manufacturers.
Still, in either the bluetooth or dock integration scenario, Apple will have to release the communication APIs.
About the Solid State Optics:
http://electronicdesign.com/Articles/ArticleID/19315/19315.html
regards,
fellow Designer
P.S. I happen to own the incase slider case and it Rocks. No wonder its the top selling case on Apple.com
You can get rid of your N95 in some 6 months from now, when Nokia N97 is launched ;)
I just got hold of the Nokia 5800 and its so damn awesome! If you are looking for a phone with a sliding QWERTY keyboard with touchscreen etc, wait for N97!!!
iphone sucks!!
http://abhisheknandawat.co.cc
I'm not sure I'd want a slide out keyboard. I've personally no problem with the software solution, and it would add weight and thickness.
Yanyan Gray- Being both waterproof and shockproof would be a feature suited to a do-all omni-gadget (like the iWish) than an iPhone ELITE feature. (I doubt users of an iPhone ELITE would get anywhere near water, and avoid any kind of jarring shocks to their body or their precious gadgets)
Tanner- The resolution is 640x360 so that would be a no.
Subtard- Er... ditto.
lantian- Well, it's not that fantastic. Actually, the one major flaw with it would be holding it to your ear as a normal phone. That makes it very not fantastic actually. I still maintain that the most elegant solution would be a slide-out keyboard- but only Apple can do that. Any third-party product will have some major design hurdles that, by comparison, would seem clunky and inferior. After doing the third-party concept (above) I now think that the only real solution would be building upon a case like the one you mentioned, but incorpoating a thin slide-out keyboard on the rear. Unfortunately this would put a lot of weight to bear on the keyboard itself if I wanted to hold it in my hands and type instead of putting it down on a surface instead. This therefore means that the slide out mechanism would need to be fairly hefty and this is where you'd start to bloat out the design. I must say though, the incase slider case is a very sweet looking product, with loads of potential as you've mentioned. By the way, for the record, I'm not a designer. I'm a concept artist/storyboard artist working on children's cartoons, but with a very amateurish side interest towards design. Given half the chance however I'd most likely jump ship to work on UI design, but hey, them's the breaks. :)
AbhisheK- Yawn...
Oli- That's why Apple will most likely bring out a range of iPhones. Some with, some without. You can then get the one you want most. :)
Mat, the idea of third party bluetooth attachable keyboard is great, not the exact implementation of it.
As I described in my previous post, and as you also state in you last now, it will have to be attached to the back of the iPhone and slide out.
Also, if its going to be bluetooth, it will need its own battery, which may not be practical too.
So, it may be best to combine a slide out keyboard and external battery that integrates trough the dock.
This way you get the more right design + additional power for the phone.
BTW, if Apple gives us landscape keyboard in all apps, many people will forget about the external keyboard thing and finally accept that a software one is way more functional.
I would highly recomend you do another take on the iPhone Pro with the slide out featuring the slider case+keyboard+battery+manual optical zoom lens and send it to Incase.
Ok. Will it support CDMA you think? Or just GSM?
There is a touch-screen LCD keyboard in apple's patents, I believe.
Why not have a slide-out SECONDARY LCD panel that displays a touch-screen keyboard?
Not only would this eliminate the language-barrier issue, but it would also allow for expanded video game controls, etc.
ooh i see the LCD panel has been suggested. The patent apple has is for a compromise that has physical keys but each key is essentially an LCD display making language changes and custom keyboard setups (for video games or complex programs) a cinch.
(just to clarify)
http://www.maclife.com/patents?page=0%2C2
here's the link to the speculated keyboard i'm referring to.
Mat, good artwork and design. I like the Elite better simply because the fact that if you go with this 3rd party keyboard and you want to talk on the phone, you either need a bluetooth to talk or disassemble the keyboard to use the actual iPhone to talk ... because when closed it is covering the earpiece, and I can't imagine you holding it to your ear when it is opened. Kind of awkward.
Joseph
To Andy
Actually if apple doesn't include an apple keyboard, the iphone will never get serious in the business world. There is no philosophy for Apple to do the touchscreen, it's just the old habit of Steve Jobs to be extremely meticulous about the design of his device. If he can figure a way that he can include the keyboard without sacrificing the simplicity and beauty of his device, he will do it too. Of course what Matt drew up is just his wish, not that we know if it's feasible since only Apple engineers can answer this question.
However, I really hate Apple fanboys who get so stuck up whenever someone give suggestions to improve Apple products. For example, when I talk about the Macbook Air to one of my classmates, saying that even though the laptop looks beautiful in every aspect, the fact that you have to connect your dvd drive to do your work is very inconvenience. He got so mad over a very simple comment, saying I didnt understand anything. I guess he's one of those people who waited 3 days to get an iphone.
For a complete list of iPhone issues, iphoneannoyances.net/forum/
If we've missed something, feel free to add to the list.
i would love to see some sort of keyboard feature. God knows that it's freakin' hard typing on a virtual keyboard. i gave up after 5 minutes chatting on IM. while in theory it sounded easy, but in practise..oi vae
I would totally buy this. I hate texting on a screen. This looks like the best of both worlds, texting and the best apps. Whoever makes this will be an instant millionaire.
Along with the slide out keyboard (which I really don't care for because I prefer the touch screen), there should be a directional pad with a couple of buttons for gaming, especially since higher-end games have been debuting on the iP.
Ahh, if only companies paid attention to what the customers were saying. Nice ideas!
~from the e cigarette gal ;)
What was the last Apple product to have a 16:9 aspect ratio product?
A good designer should learn to value to benefits of commonality more than the benefit of having a little larger video picture.
Mechanical lens?
Congrats, you have just suggested to add the first moving part to the iPhone, greatly increasing its failure rate. How about digital autofocus?
Slide out querty keyboard?
Well, I bet there will be a lot more groups of people that will not like that change compared to those that will. How about all the accessory makers? With iPhone 3.0 one can design its own keyboard and make it communicate using the dock APIs.
And by the way its a lot less egocentric to send iphone suggestions using the iPhone feedback page than send a mail to Steve Jobs and post it all over as if you know something about design and Apple don't.
lantinian - Thanks for your enthusiasm! You have a lot of gusto for the third-party attachables, which is cool, particularly your idea for the "slider case+keyboard+battery+manual optical zoom lens" idea. Even though it was fun for me to experiment with a third party idea, I am more interested in the core product, however feel free to pursue this yourself and send it into Incase. And if you do, please let me know how it goes! :)
Subtard- I don't know enough about what you're asking to answer. Soz. :(
minteh- (Great profile pic, by the way) The slide-out secondary touchscreen is an idea that I've seen floated around (and even riffed from one of my images), but I strayed away from that idea because it would be a double drain on battery life, and offer no real alternative to touchscreen typing, although the new ways in which you could use applications would open up immensely and be very exciting, that's for sure. I think once people are beyond the need to use a physical keyboard, then this idea will take off. Thanks for the link too. Cheers! :)
Joseph- I so completely agree and I consider the 3rd party design I came up with as a failure because of the reasons you stated. It was fun to do, but I dread anyone who would actually try to use it as a keyboard solution. Besides, it's all just working around the fact that we'd like to see Apple provide a solution, even if it were an alternative model to the iPhone they have now (a business model perhaps?) Thanks for your honest opinions. Much appreciated! :)
reaper- I completely agree with with your first paragraph, and I actually believe there is a prototype being floated around with a slide-out keyboard behind closed doors at Apple. I heard it has "issues" with it still, but it exists. Whether it will get to see the light of day is another point entirely. As to your last point, I unfortunately agree with this as well. Fanboys are as dogmatic as any authoritarians can be, and carry with them the same annoying tunnel vision that they seem to delight in bludgeoning people with. We must soldier on nonetheless... Cheers, and thanks for your intelligent opinions. :)
fastrider- Thanks for the opportunity, and the link. :)
Stereomanic- Oi vae indeed. :) Cheers!
Alan- Thanks for your kind words, Alan! I hope someone does make this so I can contribute to their millions. :)
May- You must be psychic. I've had an image of LG Versa's Game Controller on my desktop, just waiting to be incorporated into a new take on the iPhone ELITE for weeks now. So well done, and thanks very much for your wonderful suggestion! :D It's now my great delight to point you to the now even newer iPhone ELITE.
http://planetmat.blogspot.com/2009/05/now-even-newer-iphone-elite.html
Enjoy! :)
lantinian (again)- Re: commonality. I would argue that people want to play movies and television on their phones, therefore the commonality of movie and television aspect ratios is what I've subscribed to here- not the commonality of other products, Apple or otherwise. 16:9 is the ratio of most HD movies and television.
Re: Mechanical lens. I admit I am yet to grasp solid state optics. I believe (from what I know) they will supercede current technology, but at this stage I don't know the ins and outs enough to include them in my design. Perhaps if I were to see more mainstream application of solid state optics I would be able to understand it more.
You also write an uncharacteristically nasty paragraph which I'll quote here:
"And by the way its a lot less egocentric to send iphone suggestions using the iPhone feedback page than send a mail to Steve Jobs and post it all over as if you know something about design and Apple don't."
Unfortunately you have missed my point. I don't and would never presume to know as much about design as Apple does. Apple are the high water mark in industrial design. Period. I simply wanted to create a public dialogue about what I saw were obvious shortcomings of the iPhone's design, particularly from a company with such a great track record in design. The lack of a decent camera was my primary cause for concern, and I went from there. I could have used the iPhone feedback page to get this message across, but that would not only be less effective, but by a wide margin- much less fun. This iPhone ELITE post has been a terrific experience and I don't regret doing it one bit. And since the goal of my iPhone blog was to create a public debate, I really have to thank you for contributing to it, and therefore to its success. You've been one of it's most intelligent commentors, so... thanks, lantinian! :)
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Due to the influx of fake postings that link to advertisements this comments section is now closed.
You can comment in the newer version of this blog:
http://planetmat.blogspot.com/2009/05/now-even-newer-iphone-elite.html
Or email me: matbrady1 [at] gmail [dot] com
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There is one special cover called backflip which has handy kickstand features. With backfilp you do not need to lay it against objects or behind a book or holding to listen to music or songs. This backflip is really unique and one of a kind for any age group to use and experience special features in iPhone.
E_Cell
i hate this! keyboard? PAH!
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