iPhone's missing features - Part II

Please keep a few thing in mind when reading these: a) I don't expect Apple to add all of these features in iPhone version 1.0, that would be impossible and make it cost around US$4,000.00 b) I don't expect you to necessarily want all these features, and c) iPhone isn't due to be released until June and a lot can change by then.

Some have cried that it's not fair to criticize the iPhone before it's even out, I disagree. Apple opened themself up by announcing iPhone six months early and now is the perfect time to offer constructive criticism. What's the point in doing so after the product is released? By then it's too late.

With that, here are iPhone's missing features - Part II:

HARDWARE

1. Vibration mode, this hasn't really been answered officially, but smaller phones have the feature. I'm guessing that this one makes the cut.
2. True HD resolution - As I pointed out yesterday iPhone doesn't have an HD display, which is lame. Wasn't 2005 the "year of HD?" I guess we'll have to wait until 2008.
   
3. A better camera - 2MP? C'mon Apple! The Sony Ericsson K800 and K790a mobile phones both feature 3.2MP cameras which make them viable camera replacements. Anything less makes the camera a toy.
4. A flash - for taking pictures in low light.
5. Voice dialing.
6. Speed dialing.
7. Easy one-handed dialing/operation (i.e. without looking at the screen)
8. Tactile feel - admittedly this is almost impossible with a flat screen (non-button) interface.
9. Expansion slot - 4 & 8GB is not that much space, especially when the OS takes ~500MB and you begin to add musics and videos. This is not going to happen because Apple doesn't want you loading unauthorized software, music, ringtones, etc. Sigh.
10. Lanyard clip - I know that it sounds silly but I'd like to have the option of carrying iPhone on a lanyard (and I don't mean in a silly case either). I want to be able to wear iPhone and would love to have a small D-ring like the one found on any digital camera or cell phone from Japan.
    
11. Low cost option - US$500 and US$600 is too much for anyone under 21 which will hurt sales. Apple needs a US$300 and US$200 model to sell to the mass market. Coming in a later revision, just like the iPod succession.
12. Accessories - While there's a vibrant third party market for iPod stuff, give us all the basic accessories, at launch.

1. Skype/VOIP application/Widget - I don't care how they do it, but I need to have some form of VOIP on iPhone. The problem is that I'd bet Cingular/AT&T made Apple agree not to allow it. Why would Cingular allow you to make free calls when they charge by the minute?
2. RSS client - chalk this up as software request #2 (after VOIP). Perhaps Safari mobile will do it, but I need a full-feature, dedicated RSS client.
3. Multi-threaded applications. I'd like to be able to surf the Web on Safari and talk on the phone at the same time. All signs indicate that it's one or the other.
4. Wifi sharing of music and photos - just to kick some Microsoft Zune butt.
5. Bluetooth Dial Up Networking (DUN) - I need to use iPhone as a modem tethered to my MacBook Pro. iPhone already has the Bluetooth hardware, so there's no reason to "cripple" this feature. If they want to charge extra for it, that's fine, but don't intentionally leave it out.
6. Audio recording - For recording meetings, lectures and memos. This could be a killer app for podcasting.
7. Video recording - it has a camera after all.
   
8. Handwriting recognition.
9. iTunes ringtones (Apple says it hasn’t decided)
10. Dot-Mac integration
11. Google Docs integration - it's doesn't work on the Treo, Dr. Schmidt sits on the Apple board, c'mon guys!
12. Games - Apple has been deafeningly quiet on this one, but nothing's better than playing a game when you need to kill some time in the line at the bank/dry cleaner/doctor's office. iPod has games, so I'm guessing that iPhone will too.
13. Windows support - how will photo synchronization be handled on the Windows side? not that I care or anything...

I know that several of these (especially toward the end) are grasping at straws, but work with me here people. And before you fire off a nastygram, please take a deep breath and re-read my disclamiers at the top of the post. 

What's your take? Chime in in the TalkBack section below, and remember to click the little "thumbs" icon at the top of this article if you like debating iPhone features (or lack thereof).