iPhone 2.0 = Buggy

Wow. I thought that Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac was buggy. Here are just some of the problems I (as well as others) have encountered:

• iTunes claims that there are x updates available in the left sidebar, but when you hit update, y updates show up, and sometimes, only z download (where x != y != z)
• As a corollary to the first one, sometimes apps appear multiple times at completely random times (e.g., the AIM app appears 5 times in the needs-update section)
• Apps crashing and even restarting the iPhone when starting up (this could be due to the developer, but it’s so prevalent that in my opinion, it’s probably something with the OS)
• General sluggishness – sometimes writing a simple SMS slows the whole thing down
• Errors when syncing apps across iTunes and iPhone

And here are some problems that aren’t bugs, but still annoying:

Background Processes

At first, I commended Apple for thinking outside the desktop–just because there are background processes in desktops doesn’t mean it’s appropriate for phones. And the Push Notification API that goes through Apple servers (due out in September) seemed like a creative idea. The problem is that there is a reason that both desktops and other phones allow background processes.

We take it for granted, but having multiple apps open at the same time is extremely useful. Case in point: the Pandora app is great and a real treat to have everywhere you go. The problem: if you want to do anything else with your phone, the music stops. Unlike the iPod app, it can’t run in the background. And no notification API will help with that. I think the problem with Windows Mobile devices is not that there are background processes, but that it doesn’t manage it well.

First, instead of listing the internal system names for the processes, the iPhone OS should list the apps that the processes originated from, and allow the user to kill all processes from the same app (e.g., show “Pandora” in the list with an icon, etc. instead of “pan_radio.exe, pan_helper.exe, etc.”).

Also, have strict guidelines about memory and CPU usages for processes when they’re running in the background. (Obviously enough so that Pandora can play music smoothly, but not so much that a rogue app can take down the whole OS.)

Or, at the very least, start providing Background APIs–one for music for example. If you want, maybe even ask for my permission like the Location services do.

Updating Apps

I have my apps arranged in a very specific order according to their type. Yet, when I update them, they all move up to the first screen. That’s just silly–they can’t update in place?

Overall Though

Overall, though, the iPhone OS 2.0 is a great leap in what already was an amazing consumer electronic device. Once they iron out the bugs and fix these usability issues, it will be a force to be reckoned with (yeah, that’s right, I’m looking at you, Blackberry).

Advertisement