Yeah, it could be better.

There are certain types of apps that are really hamstrung by the lack of backgrounding for third-party apps. For me, the biggest example would be music apps: Pandora, Last.fm, etc. The hardest thing I had to get used to was the removal of Last.fm scrobbling for tracks played by iPod.app. Before the advent of AppStore, the Last.fm iPhone app was known as MobileScrobbler, and worked beautifully on jailbroken iPhones. Having never paid much mind to Last.fm, I found myself suddenly hooked. Then, when AppStore put my MobileScrobbler in a walled garden, I lost all interest in Last.fm. It just wasn’t passive enough to be useful to me anymore, and that’s really a shame.

But y’know, ok, we get it. There’s no backgrounding. Many app developers have come up with some pretty inventive ways to get around the limitation, or at least mitigate it to some extent. The problem with the music apps is this: I can’t do anything else without quitting the app and losing the music.

Now, I know this is gonna fly in the face of our usual high standards, but why can’t we (they) incorporate a basic web browser into these apps? That way, at least, we users can post to Twitter or Tumblr, or maybe catch up on our RSS feeds while we’re listening to streaming music. Hell, they can even keep their ads at the bottom of the browser, I don’t care. it’d be better than the lack of integration we have now. Again, I’m not usually a fan of tacking on features to an app that should stay lean and mean. But Apple has kinda tied everyone’s hands. And if Atebits cam put their “popularity enhancer” option into their prefpane, why can’t the same thing be done for a tack-on UIWebView in apps where it would help greatly?

I don’t know, I guess I’m just getting the feeling that a lot of app developers are still just in denial about the current state of affairs vis-a-vis backgrounding (thanks, Merlin). Sure, there are rumblings about (possibly, maybe) Apple allowing one or two “blessed” third-party apps to run background processes. But I don’t see why anyone should hold their breath and allow their app’s user experience languish due to the current limitations.

Apple and Starbucks have this nice joint feature/service: if you like the music that’s playing while you daintily sip your grandé double half-caf mocha Frappuccino™, you just open up iTunes.app on your iPhone. You’re automatically logged into the Starbucks WiFi network (just for this narrow purpose, natch), and you get a handy-dandy icon to click and see what’s playing right now, and buy the music if you so desire.

So, I’m thinking. iTunes, Airport Express, and AirTunes. I’m working in an office with several other people who have access to the AirTunes setup. Music’s playing and, ok sure, I could get up and go ask what’s playing…but more often than not, we’re all kinda intent on maintaining focus until lunchtime or after work. Wouldn’t it just be great if iPhone could poll the Airport Express to find out what’s playing?

Make it a “conditional button” in iTunes.app (just like Starbucks) and only appear when:

• You’re connected to the same network as the Airport Express
• AirTunes is playing
• You’re not the one streaming the music (this condition could be omitted, if it’s handled right)

Seems like a pretty good opportunity to further improve the integrated Apple experience.

I (like many others) have a bazillion apps. But, I only keep four screens of apps on my iPhone at a time. And, if I’m honest, I could probably pare it down to three, perhaps even two. Sure, I do love all those games I’ve bought over the past year or so, but I just really don’t have the time to polish my chops at Ramp Champ. Four screens of apps are enough ADD-fodder for me. So, in iTunes, I un-check the boxes next to all the apps I don’t want on my iPhone. Great!

The only problem is, on any given day, those apps will all mysteriously start syncing back onto my iPhone for apparently no reason. Usually, it happens after I’ve updated one or two apps, though it doesn’t matter if I’ve done the update in iTunes or on the phone.

For a while, I was under the impression that removing the apps from the Springboard was a more reliable method than the iTunes checkboxes, but that didn’t hold true over time. Also, this problem has persisted across several devices, including multiple original 8GB and 16GB EDGE iPhones, and a couple of 32GB iPhone 3GSes. Same thing happens after firmware restores from backup, and after a “setup as new phone.”

I wrote up this whole post on BART this morning, and it was summarily destroyed by TheTumbler.app’s occasional propensity for failure. Plus, I have a feeling the problem will be solved once I’ve had a chance to update my iTunes and iPhone OS with today’s new versions. If it’s solved, I’ll be very, very happy.

I’m in Safari. I tap a link for a map. I’m taken out to Maps.app.

I’m in Maps.app. I view details on a business, and tap the listing for its website. I’m bounced through the Springboard to Safari.app.

I open up WhereTo.app, search for cool stuff to do, and it’s plotted on a map. Right in the app. Amazing, huh? Now, get this: I tap a pin on the map, check out the details, and I tap a link to see a website. It opens the page right there! It’s amazing what they can do with that fancy new SDK, huh?

Huh.

I religiously checked AppStore for it every single day, multiple times a day, starting when they first announced it. I think it was at least a month.

I deleted it a few minutes after I installed it. Sure, it’s great to share things from your iDisk while you’re mobile. But seriously, I can’t upload anything directly to iDisk via the iDisk app? Having the app on my phone was like having a plate in front of me, but I wasn’t allowed to eat…I was only allowed to push my food around my plate.

…even though it’s worked exactly as designed for the past two-plus years since iPhone launch.

Also known as the “Gratuitous Solicitation for Accessory Purchase” dialog. At first, I fully bought into the notion that Apple just wants to make sure that everyone knows that cell phones don’t have to make that horrible noise in your car/desktop speakers. Very nice of them. But, truth be told, I’m very much at peace with the minor GSM noise I get from time to time. I’m also very happy with my self-installed car audio system, and don’t want to have to pull apart my dashboard and console again, this time with the sole purpose of killing that ridiculous warning.

Give me a preference to toggle. I promise to blame you less for the GSM noise than I currently do for the hatred I have for that dialog. By the time I die, I think I will have tallied up several days worth of wasted time dismissing that redonkulous dialog.

“You have already purchased this item. To download it again for free, select OK.”

Now, I’ll admit that this does indeed provide me with a tiny bit of useful information. But if I look at it as a choice, then it starts to look ridiculous. Because, at this point in the transaction, the only choice I need to make is whether or not I want to pay for the item. But…haven’t I already made that choice? To get to this modal dialog, I had to tap on a button labeled $2.99, and then tap another button that said “Buy Now.” If I didn’t already own the app, I’d be charged immediately (or prompted for my password, if I haven’t entered it within the past several minutes).

AppStore knows I’m logged in. It’s capable of finding out if I already own the item at which I am looking. So, why am I given a rather superfluous decision to make, when I’ve already made a more important decision based upon insufficient data (not to mention misleading UI)? More to the point, who in hell would ever tap the “Cancel” button, upon reading this dialog? “Oh, it’s free this time? Well, nevermind then, I guess I didn’t mean it when I tapped the ‘Buy Now’ button.”

So, if I can trim/edit video clips on iPhone, why can’t I perform a simple photo rotation? It’s not as if the accelerometer is fool-proof.

I’m not going to post this stuff to Please Fix the iPhone anymore. I tried it for a while, and it didn’t work out. I blame the parents.

I also try to contribute to the iPhone discussion on another site that I frequent, but that usually goes poorly. From now on, I’ll bring my thoughts back home with me and document, rather than discuss. I’d rather post my thoughts in a dark, dingy corner of the internet and let the audience self-select.

more to come…