I made a Friendfeed post a while ago about this, and then I realized that microblogging is sucking whatever ideas I have for blog posts right out of my head and turning them into one-sentence blips in the social-networking ether…
Anyhow.
The iPhone interface is intuitive. However, this does not mean that it’s practical, especially when you have numerous icons to keep track of. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were an interface for organizing your iPhone apps? You could decide which menu page your apps showed up on, or even separate them by type or alphabetically. It’s just a total pain that every single time your apps update (at least when you do it from the actual phone) that it dumps the updated apps to the very last page in the iPhone interface. Why don’t they just stay where I told them to go? Why do I have to manually drag them back to where they belong? That method is touch-and-go (heh!) at best anyhow — if you don’t get it just right, the icon just hangs on the edge of the screen, waiting to move to the next page.
Actually, it really would make sense to just build this directly into iTunes. We can already see all the apps that are installed on the Applications page. Why isn’t there some kind of sorting method right there?
And while we’re at it, how about trial periods for apps? I recently purchased Super Monkey Ball for $9.99, and it’s the most annoying game I’ve ever paid money for. I totally have buyer’s remorse. If developers could add a time limit into the DRM wrapper on the app, then it could turn itself off after a certain pre-determined trial period ended. I’m not an app developer, obviously, but this seems more viable than giving your app away for free for an amount of time and then suddenly charging all new customers for it.
Finally, while we’re on the subject of iPhones, my “iPhone Cubism” pool on Flickr has actually gotten some good coverage lately! We’re on TUAW, Valleywag and iPhone Savior (which, I learned, is 100% zombie proof. Nice work!). So if you’ve had an artful glitch on your iPhone, add it to the pool.
(Sorry about the dry spell here on the blog! I honestly think Twitter is killing my blogging… slowly, but surely.)
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34 Responses for "A little iPhone organization would be nice"
Honestly they need to incorporate this in all 3 areas, the App Store, your own App Folder and the Apps on the phone itself. The Apps store is messy at best, the sub directories or are ok, but really not that useful. Not to mention you cant sort by say, sub directory, free, date and search name. Then like you said, once you have it, its in your apps able to sort them and it sync to the phone. Hurry up and study programing so you can get this done for us quick quick k
Wow…I couldn’t agree with you more–on both the organization AND trial periods. I’ve heard Merlin talk about the trial concept, but seriously…organizing my apps is a pain. And why, oh WHY, do they have to move when they update (it happens, too, when you update the apps from iTunes, BTW)?
Totally agree. I also think they need to add folders.
There are a lot of apps I like and want to keep, but I don’t use them that often. It would be really nice if I could just put them in a folder (or a stack, or whatever) to clean up some of the clutter on my many home screens.
P.S. Twitter is killing my blogging habits, too.
I’ve said before that I haven’t seen a smart phone that is also a decent PDA. The iPhone is no exception.
It’s probably the best pocket sized mobile Internet device, but it does lack basic features of a decent PDA. Take a look at how your Palm T|X organizes it’s applications. Simple and configurable.
There is an amazing app already that sorts your applications on the iPhone — its called “Categories”. Oh wait, that was on the Jailbroken 1.1.4… Which is ONE of the main reasons 2.0 is no longer on this phone. At least until Agile Messenger, certain themes on Customize, and the keyboard / crashing issues are fixed for 2.0.
i was thinking the same thing the other day regarding the app updates -as my updating crashed, rebooted, & continued to install minutes at a time. then had to drag it seven pages down to its respective grouping.
in addition to keeping the apps in their place, the os should develop more robust handling management methods -like, scrolling pages vertically, jump/skip pages by pressing the corresponding page dot or an iconic page symbol, organize icons by customized groups, and other nifty tricks.
and, i’m sure if it’s the same for everybody, but i now have to update each app one by one and then drag each of them to their respective pages. at least before i could update all apps in one fell swoop.
The trial period need not be built into the app. It should be built into the app store. All apps have a X day trial period, say 1 day, minimum. If you decide to ‘return’ it before then, itunes would remove it from your collection and from your phone, then just not charge your account. If after the trial period you keep the app, then it charges the account. Simple enough, I would think.
All of the iTunes app management feels phoned in (pun, sorry).
All it would it take is an XML file that contains two pieces of data per app: the page it belongs on, and the order on the page.
“Categories” has been released for testing and today it was put on Cydia … or was it in Installer? Pretty sure it was in Cydia. You would need to jailbreak your iPhone first … *shudder* but WinPwn seems to be working for most. If you need any further information on this either ask Tom or you can email me. I’d be glad to help after all the help and humor you have shared with me. /brownnosing
I agree that they should have free trials of some of the apps because I’d be more inclined to make a purchase that way. So far I think the apps that are winners are the ones that offer both a free and paid version. Play around with the free one, and then fork over a few dollars when you want more options!
I was just wondering why all my glitch pics were getting so many views today. Now I know. I’m glad that more folks are posting to the group because I was beginning to feel bad for posting so many.
This is my fave of the new batch http://www.flickr.com/photos/mexikid/2826552965/in/pool-iphonecubism
The infrastructure for app trials is pretty much already there if you think about it: http://shinysparklythingy.blogspot.com/2008/08/hey-apple-free-trials-should-be-easy.html
There is a program you can use that will allow you to view your programs in order and in coverflow, but you have to use QUICKPWN to hack your iphone.
Since no one else has mentioned it, have you ever played the console version of Super Monkey Ball? The first two on Gamecube were two really fun games, both in single and multiplayer. By your post, it doesn’t seem like you have. iPhone gaming
Genius ! Thats exactly what I want for my App store . I wan to trial something before I settle on payment. Due to the purchase and hope design of the appstore I have simply put off looking into an application because Im not sure if Im going to be happy with it. As for Microblogging yes they do tend to suck the ideas away and all I can suggest is you bookmark them in Del.ico.us or Evernote so that you might remember them for later. Thats how Ive been keeping track of my eureka moments.
I’m still scared to download apps into the phone, let along worry about buying them…
Currently I don’t need to organize my apps, as I only have 8 installed to keep my iPhone from crashing
It recently crashed and I lost 50+ vacation photos – NOT COOL!
But I agree it would be a good think, especially with all the cool apps out there.
I also agree with the trial versions – I simply don’t understand why they haven’t put that in, now that everything is already DRM’ed.
Regarding Super Monkey Ball – have you downloaded the latest update (came out a few days ago) – the control system has been updated so it is now MUCH easier to control, and you can actually make progress – also it sames your current progress when you press the Home button or the phone rings, so you don’t need to complete all 10 levels each time you play.
I find it much more enjoyable now than before (where I agree it was REALLY annoying
)
- not “sames” – it SAVES your progress
Some kind of FREE trial mechanism is a must for the app store. I think giving consumers the ability to try before they buy will in fact drive sales.
I know I would buy more!
It will also sort out the wheat from the chaff, and will push developers to create even better apps for this exciting platform.
Finally, I hear ya Veronica – that damned Monkey Ball!
Totally agree. Just got my iPhone yesterday and monkey ball sucks, the controls need to be completely reworked. Maybe a way to add folders to springboard or the ability to hide unused apps. Another annoyance found whilst typing this reply, pressing space to accept the change isn’t always what’s wanted – tapping the word should also apply.
Nick from England
Like Harry said, there are jailbroken apps that’ll do this, but I hear from a certain dev that apps like that have been submitted to Apple and rejected. They won’t allow anything to futz with the system itself (so no Applejack for iPhone, heh).
But the iPhone screens are similar to the coverflow interaction model: sliding. This would be truly simple in iTunes: create an empty “page” and drop apps into it like the edit window in iPhoto (where pics are up top). Flickr does this really well. Then you can test your organization by just sliding around in iTunes. When you have it right, sync and go. Or, in my case, backup for 4 hours and then go. *sigh*
Perhaps this has been mentioned, but the App updates don’t go to the last page, they go to the first open slot. I have my iPod Touch organized such that some pages end up not being completely full… I have a page for games, for example, and a game for social networking stuff. When I update an App, that all goes to pot because it decides to put the updated App in the first open slot, then I have to move it back. I also wish it would just stay where I put it.
Regarding the time-trial DRM thing, unfortunately there’s no way you can do that with the SDK.
Yes, yes, and yes!
It’s especially annoying when you have it all organized and then there’s a whole bunch of app updates and for some reason it moves them all around for you. *sigh*
Nooo!! You can’t let twitter cannibalize your blogging. The audience for blogging is small enough as it is, but twitters is much much smaller. Ditch the microblog. We alll know size really does matter…
uhhh, are you the dealer in the new iPodTouch poker game?
Nothing is safe from zombies!!
YES! I totally agree with everything you’ve said here, i’m wanting Apple to add the same functionality!
[...] Veronica. [...]
Updated apps go back to their old positions now in OS 2.1!
Check the apple ipod touch website out….I see your image on the 4th ipod.
If you feel that blogging is a drag now…i would recommend http://www.sweetcron.com
Check out the creator’s website at http://www.yongfook.com.
It’s a little like friend feed…but prettier.
[...] feed will need to be your true identity as compared to what others may create regarding you. And as Veronica Belmont and others have pointed out, it will become increasingly difficult to maintain [...]
[...] in September I blogged about how an app organizer would have been a nice (and logical) addition to iTunes. Gizmodo posted [...]
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