Apple has officially gone on record stating that copy-and-paste for the iPhone is not a top priority, thus attempting to rationalize its absence from the current iPhone OS.
Apple product head Greg Joswiak, in an apparent attempt to clear things up about the iPhone’s lack of copy-and-paste, has said that the absence of this feature was justified because it has been classified as a low priority by Apple. He continues to say that in Apple’s ongoing feature wishlist, other features were simply judged far more important than copy-and-paste.
Excuse me, what was that? Addressing copy-and-paste as a missing feature due to low priority seems a bit unreasonable and rather unnecessary. Stating that the feature was deemed “not so important” by Apple makes it seem like nothing more than another PR twist. I have personally done vast amounts of research about the missing copy-and-paste feature, in a post titled Copy-and-Paste still missing in iPhone; Blame Apple’s Obsessive Nature, I explain the rational thinking behind classifying the missing feature under Interface Inconsistency Issues as the underlying culprit to being absent on the iPhone.
While Apple has surely given us rather comical, and at times amusing public responses to seemingly avoidable mishaps, no amount of PR spin can turn this situation into a positive one. The bottom line is that copy-and-paste is a core feature that must be implemented into the iPhone’s Operating System by Apple.
Copy-and-paste will not be able to be implemented like it should (with that Apple polish) unless it is developed by Apple, and available for 3rd-party developers to use in their SDK while developing iPhone Applications.
Turn-by-Turn GPS “Apparently” Too Complicated for iPhone OS to Handle.
When using the current iPhone 3G’s new GPS chip for directions, the new GPS chips ability to pinpoint your location is magnificent. While this is much improved over the first-generation iPhone that strictly used wi-fi and cell network triangulation to pinpoint your location, the new iPhone 3G pins your location to within meters. Still, the iPhone 3G’s GPS enabled driving directions are a far cry from what a device like the Garmin Nuvi can offer a lost driver. While attempting to use driving directions the user must press “next” in order to proceed to the next step. This is not particularly safe nor is it a good “user experience.”
Apple head Greg Joswiak denies accounts by David Pogue that the 3G’s GPS antenna is too small to deliver turn-by-turn navigation. Instead, says Joswiak, there are some “complicated issues” preventing the software, though these may be overcome. “It will evolve. I think our developers will amaze us,” he continues to say.
If complicated software issues are hindering true turn-by-turn GPS on the iPhone, then there’s no reason two well respected companies like Apple and Garmin wouldn’t be able to work together in solving these issues. We extensively use the Garmin Nuvi 200W while driving around the city and navigating through traffic. As much as we’d love the iPhone to replace this device, it just cannot at this point. The battery life coupled with the lack of true driving usability leaves major room for improvement.
The way Apple has addressed these issues seems a bit backwards. GPS isn’t on the iPhone because software is too complicated? Apple has the ability to make every major motion picture studio in Hollywood hop on board for iTunes, I’m sure they can call Garmin and partner to produce a piece of software that delivers performance which can rival a stand-alone GPS device. Copy-and-paste not important? It seems that nobody at Apple has ever sent a long SMS message or e-mail, only to realize they need to send it to 3 more people.
Either way, both of these features are fundamentally important if the iPhone is to become a complete replacement for most (or all) of our devices.
11 Comments to “Apple: iPhone “Copy-and-Paste” a low-priority; Turn-by-Turn GPS too Complicated”
2 points:
1) I really don’t care about the rationale of why Cut&Paste isn’t on the iPhone, I just would love to have it included.
2) Google “TomTom” and iPhone and you will see that TomTom already has a version of its GPS software running and that it will be released for iPhone “soon”
Reply
No rationalization was given; a reason was given. The issue is that you don’t set the development priorities . They want to sell a great product with a multitude of outstanding features; you want a word-processor feature that saves you a few keystrokes. For now; you lose. Personally, copy and paste has no status in my buying agenda.
Reply
I get furious when I hear this, because it clearly demonstrates what we’ve suspected all along — that, even though Apple’s customer’s clamor for certain features, Apple decides for itself what is, and is not, a high priority. For example, we’ve been shouting for iPhone to sync the to-do/tasks with iCal. But, now we know, Apple just thinks it is a low priority, even though everyone else is crying out for this. Doesn’t Apple realise that to-do lists are such a critically important part of this crazy busy lifestyle, and that not syncing the todo list between iPhone and iCal makes that feature totally useless. In some ways, like this, I yearn for the good old days of Microsoft Windows/Outlook/PocketPC.
Reply
I agree with the fact that Apple should listen to the customer base. And generally they have done a tremendous job. However, it just seems as though they can’t figure this one out. I doubt it has anything to do with them NOT being able to develop a copy-and-paste feature. It might have something to do with them not being able to settle on development/design methods.
Either way, this should NOT be considered a feature any longer. Copy-and-paste should be a staple within the iPhone SDK and ALL developers should be able to work with it.
Reply
Microsofts problem is listening to all the wannabe cooks in the kitchen. Apple delivers what most customers need not what they think they want. I have no doubt that the C&P will be added at some point. As evidenced by their sales, they are obviously doing something right.
Reply
Clearly they’re doing something right. It’s called marketing !!! Apple has always taken pride in TELLING you what you want. TELLING you what the next gadget that you lust over will be. Couple their confidence, brand-loyalty and reputation with world-class marketing and you’ve got a money-making machine. Why would they admit any faults? When all else fails… Call up PR.
Reply
Copy-and-paste, by definition, is obviously not a “core feature” because the iPhone is working just fine without it. Is a feature than you and many others really, really want? Yes it is. I agree with your assessment that Copy-and-paste doesn’t exist on the iPhone because it would cause Interface Inconsistency Issues. This is no trivial matter to Apple. The purity of their interface is one of their great strengths and product differentiators.
Just because you really want Copy-and-paste doesn’t make it a need and doesn’t mean “that (it) must be implemented by Apple.” Just because it’s a high priority for you doesn’t make it a high priority for Apple. It’s a high priority for you because you want it. It’s a low priority for Apple because the interface is working just fine now without it.
Reply
Anybody who disagrees is more than welcome to let Apple know.
http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html
Reply
I think Apple has prioritized copy & paste correctly; it would be useful but it’s not a ‘core’ part of the OS, and there are a long list of more important things that they’ve focused on. Personally I am frustrated that I can’t use my iPhone 3G as a modem, and I’m sure dozens of others would have their own pet features that are still absent. A full navigation app making use of GPS is a classic project for a 3rd party developer like TomTom or Garmin, not Apple itself, but I’m sure this is something that takes months of focused development and resources for a company. For me copy & paste is trivial in comparison to using my iPhone as a modem, but as a reasonable person I know that the iPhone is already an incredibly complex and full-featured device, and I think Apple has done a tremendous job setting the priorities for the device. And after a couple of days of using the 3G, I’d have to say that it’s nothing less than phenomenal, it’s truly a paradigm-changing device!
Reply
tell me how, “there are some complicated issues preventing it right now” equals “it’s too complicated”
“too complicated” implies it can’t be done. we all know and apple even hints that it will happen.
Reply
I’m not certain when it began to gather momentum or, for that matter what has caused it, but the level of whining and outrage directed toward Apple has skyrocketed, blown through the stratosphere, and obliterated Cloud 9. What amazes is, on the one hand, the quantity of world-class devices, one after another, that Apple has delivered, one after another, and on the other hand, the lack of patience, not to mention ingratitude, and the childish tantrums about the lack of one feature or another. Apple has never been about offering features but about creating experiences. “It just works” isn’t just a slogan but an expression of the kind of experience one can expect from Apple rather than, say, the frustrations of Windows or the inconvenience of Linux. If your particular feature hasn’t been implemented, yet, then it’s not necessarily because the feature isn’t important to Apple but that something else is more important: the user’s experience.
Reply