iPhone 4.0 Want List: MobileFinder App
When we made our "Dear Santa Jobs: All We Want for iPhone 4.0 is..." holiday post, one of the items we didn't include but which came up frequently in the comments is a Mobile Finder app. And it's definitely something we want in iPhone 4.0 as well.
Now we're sure most of our readers want a full blown Mac OS X Finder or Windows Explorer type file browser -- and full, free file system access to go along with it. But let's keep things real. Given past history, we very much doubt Apple would provide that, at least not any time soon. The iPhone isn't a Mac in a phone for power users, it's an iPhone that hopes to redesign how mainstream users engage mobile technology (and it's sales success to date show that's a pretty compelling approach). Power users are the ones who Jailbreak to get that kind of system access anyway. But could there be a middle ground? We think so, and we think Apple has already shown how it could work...
Let's start with the iPhone Photo app. Not only can you sync your pictures to it, you can save pictures to the default directory either via the iPhone's camera, or via screen capture or tapping and holding to get the "Save Image" popup on the iPhone or iPod touch.
You can also access those images from other apps, including a host of 3rd party App Store photo editing apps, and then save them back or save new version based on them.
Imagine a Finder App that did the same for all types of files the iPhone currently handles -- anything that could be played in iPod app (music and movies) or displayed via QuickLook (Office formats like Word, PowerPoint, Excel, iWork docs, PDF files, text and rich text, etc.). Built in functionality already exists to trim short audio and video clips and crop photos, and could be rolled into Mobile Finder. But it could also be used the way Photo app is currently used -- as a repository by 3rd parties to open, edit, and save files, especially Office Files.
Instead of the wonky work around already in place, iPhone users could "tap and hold" any document to save it to Mobile Finder, then use any 3rd party App Store app they like, including Documents to Go or QuickOffice (or both!) to open it, make changes, and save it back or save as a new version. Then, from within Mobile Finder, they could also share the docs via Email, and other 3rd party apps could also offer ways to move them back and forth to iDisk, Google Docs, Microsoft Office 2010 Online, or anything else enabled in an iPhone 4.0 SDK.
Adding in something Photo app currently lacks, the ability to move content between folders, would be great. The mobile Mail app already lets us do that with email, do bring that to the party as well.
With what's essentially a document repository, however, security is a legitimate concern. One of the reasons there are such wonky workarounds for document editing right now is that Apple is very strict about what apps can access. Everything is sandboxed. Allowing only simple documents, parsing out scripts and macros could be the tradeoff to prevent bad guys from writing exploits specifically to target iPhone users via their documents. It would be sufficient to meet most mainstream users' needs, and that's what Apple and the iPhone have excelled at. (No pun intended).
Maybe Mobile Finder is too grand a name for such an app; it would confuse the power users used to Mac OS X Finder or Windows Explorer. But the idea itself is something we want for iPhone 4.0.
How about you?
There are 37 comments. Add yours.
First. Ha ha. I'm sorry I had to do it. Finder would be great.
while useful for a certain amount of instances... i would happly trade the finder to keep my device secure., and i get the feeling that the iphone is going to get lots of attention hackerwise over the coming years..
Rene, you can stop made editorials that say nothing. Thank You.
My iPhone 4.0 wish list consists of a different carrier so I'm not dropping 10 calls a day. That is all. Thank you.
i would like a finder app if i could keep all my apps in thus giving me a clean desktop. Then wallpaper wouldn't be so useless.
visar, you can stop made comments that say nothing. Thank You.
A file manager of sorts is definitely needed badly. Unfortunately, like you point out, what Apple will provide (if anything) would still not be enough for most of the people that want such a feature. I would be extremely unhappy with my phone if I didn't have iFile. FULL access to the filesystem is amazingly useful. But of course I understand it's amazingly dangerous in the wrong hands.
Let's see:
And one fun one: how about a "tap to speak" so my phone can speak my email while I'm driving
Brian, I completely agree with you. iFile on a j/b iPhone is very, very useful. Combined with AttachmentSaver and Safari Download Manager, it's even better.
For example, I can save a Word doc attachment from an email, open iFile, move that attachment to the Documents folder of the QuickOffice app, open QuickOffice and edit the file, save it, then open iFile and attach that file to a new email and send it off. I can do this without using the wonky workarounds that QuickOffice and other apps had to dream up to get around the iPhone's limitations.
It's like combining the iPhone with the open file access of Windows Mobile.
Yes I do think Apple needs a way to offer this to the masses.
I wish I could pair my iPhone with my Bluetooth-enabled Sony shelf system without wading through the settings menu every time.
dont think thats happening anytxme sooon?
given the limited width such as in google and bing's search fields, i hope i am able scroll through long text horizontally if I want to edit what I originally typed or moved the cursor towards the end of hidden texts.
try typing "cheap jailbroken iphone 3g 3gs 2g los angeles" in google or bing's search field. i bet when the search is finished, the search field will be able to show only "cheap jailbroken iphone 3" or so, now lets see you try changing "los angeles" to "san diego" without having to change the rest of the texts. you can't, can you? unless you delete the entire thing and type again.
Don't think this will be for 2010, maybe 2011 and even then...
Rene
Quite an excellent article and suggestion to apple. Can you please also include a suggestion about a new notification system?
Thanks
Bryan.
I wouldn't say a file manager is badly needed, but then again I don't need a lot in the way of files on the phone itself. I DO need a way of uploading and storing my own files to the iPhone so I can transport files from machine to machine without a lot of hassle, and this should be built in. Keep the MP3s secure if you want, I want to transfer docs and txt and technical files. If you have a file manager, any file manager should include a way to manage and upload and download files. The simplest way is to create a generic space where you can manage transferred and saved files. If Apple insists on keeping MP3s protected, just make sure programs like the iPod app can't see files in this open space and never open files in that space. Look to Air sharing and dropbox as good examples of file management and transfer in a non-jailbroken environment.
Can I please have integration with Outlook Tasks? Please?
Better photo organization would be really nice too.
The ability to lock individual apps.
The ability to organize photos.
Be able to synch the phone with multiple PC's
Be able to multitask up to 5 apps.
Better batery life would also be great.
Makes sense for business apps/users. Would this increase the chance of malicious code though?
@frog
Short answer: No.
Longer answer: Non-jailbroken iPhones will only run signed code, so the presence of a user-visible filesystem would have no impact unless that signing mechanism is also bypassed, in which case you have already jailbroken your iPhone, and already have a visible filesystem :)
My wish is that we will be able to sync to 2 Exchange accounts a la the Pre.
This could sound a bit outrageous, but, what if Apple designed this [Mobile Finder] app to be downloaded off the app stre rather native to the phone. So the user who needs/wants acess to this kind of feature would simply download the specially written app from Apple, restart the phone, and have the ability to then save files to this app. Apple could have a sort of key within the app to unlock an option that appears when you tap hold on a file to save it to the app. This kind of feature could be released as an API and I'm sure devs would put it to good use.
All that sounds good on paper but really I don't see 95% of users ever using something like that. Too much to really do too little just to be able to do stuff with photos and documents on a 3.5" screen.
I will chalk this one up with these types of things are what Apple thinks mobile devices like the iPhone do not need to be doing. The iPhone is simple for us simple folk; editing documents, moving photos around, manipulating files should stay on the desktop. Items like that shouldn't be "stored" on the iPhone anyway. Keep it simple and read only.
@sting7k
I actually agree with you. That's a little too "complicated" for the average iPhone user. Not saying that in a smartass way. Yet it's true.
Apple made this phone to be dead simple. One button. A launcher. There you go.
The consumer brought it because it was simple. WinMo scared folks because you had files and folders and menus. iPhone has none of that. Like Rene said, sale success shows that it worked.
By all means, that doesn't mean don't add one...but only the hardened smartphone users will use it. Not the vast majority of iPhone users.
That's why I always feel that Android is honestly the most even ground you could get between simplicity close to the iPhone, yet complexity that could rival WinMo.
You don't get a file browser, but the market allows it. You don't have to drill thru menus to get everything...but the option is there.
You can go simple "launcher" style by having all your apps on the home screens and just launching. Or you can deck it out with at-a-glance info a la widget style and have your apps hidden within the drawer.
I have 2 events just waiting in my mind. Google's Jan 5 event and Apple's jan 27. I'm hoping both companies deliver what they need to. Well Google has shown that they are slowly upping the ante. I'm hoping Apple will come with a real improvement to the iPhone. Not just incremental ones like they have been doing.
A front facing camera would be incredible. To be able to iChat and Video chat would be great. It's possible over the 3G network because I've done it on fring. Apple needs to look into it. It would be ANOTHER game changer for Apple.
I would rather have access to all my apps without having to use every letter in the alphabet to find the ones that don't fit on the screen. Saving and moving files to other locations would be nice but the half-assed way a phone with access to over 100,000 apps goes about accessing those apps is ridiculous.
I want my MobileMe account to act as the default file storage place for iApps. When you install an App and click save for the first time, the iPhone confirms the existence of the MobileMe account and saves the file into an applicaton-specific folder, in the cloud, automatically. These data files should be accessible from the desktop as needed.
@Reginald
Only a game changer for US. And not really that big. AT&T tried a form of that before. It failed with it's limitations that were imposed upon it (and lookie who iPhone is married to).
In the world, everyone will look at it and scoff. Video chat is basically a dumbphone feature nowadays. It won't impress anyone outside the Americas.
I want a new interface, I'm sure everybodys seen HTC HD2s new interface but iPhone has basically had the same interface since it came out in June of 2007 and it's getting a little boring. I think it's time they stop adding features and just start over.
And also I'm so sick of the network problems, I don't know if it's AT&T or the software it's self but I get dropped calls like 4-5 times a day and sometimes I could have 5 bars and my 3G signal would just leave. And lastly they need to fix these battery life issues. I've had way better battery in 3.0.
3.1.2 SUCKS!!!!
You this this right out of my mouth ! I said the same thing about the documents to go being ablero access the finder in the comments.
The app will just be a place to keep our files from Mail and hopefully file transfers via Bluetooth. I strongly feel Mail is not a viable way of containing and organizing files.
Also, don't forget an update that will allow us to sync our files from our computers right through iTunes.
Even though there are apps that allow us to keep apps , a mobile finder will allow more much more functionality ( transfering via iTunes sync , send files via bluetooth, allow third party apps to utilize these files etc ).
I really hope apple reads this website lol.
Able to , not ablero
Hi from Wexford, good post, deserves a Digg.
So, design-by-committee? Good luck with that. Also, lowest common denominator ideas get passed onto Apple? But great ideas by a single person get ignored? Just because 80% of people want something doesn't make it a good idea or design. Apple does not work his way (and that's why I love them). Android might be a better fit for you, then.
The information presented is top notch. I've been doing some research on the topic and this post answered several questions.
Keep your turf cooler... look into Flexsand and keep your synthetic lawn 20-30 degrees cooler!
4.0 is the death knell for Palm although the way the stock is trading it may not make it that long lol.
I had to change the name of my iPhone and then reboot it for the hotspot to show up again, why the heck that works I don't even know.