Please open up the iPhone

Dear Mr. Jobs,

I’m a long-time Apple customer, an Apple shareholder and a mobile technology blogger. I’ve purchased and activated 2 iPhones since June 29, 2007.

I’m not pleased with the direction taken by Apple with the iPhone in the past few weeks, specifically with regards to 3rd party applications, unlocking, ringtones and software updates…

I’d like to see Apple open up the iPhone and support industry standard features instead of putting profits before the needs/wants of its customers!

I’m not the only one feeling this way – Apple is currently being scrutinized by the technology press and its “core audience” for its recent closed stance regarding the iPhone.

Here are some suggestions.

On the software front:
- Add support for 3rd party applications by releasing an official SDK. Alternatively, stop publishing software updates that prevent the development of 3rd party applications.
- Let us unlock the iPhone. AT&T unlocks other devices after 90 days for customers with accounts in good standing. We have already purchased the device without subsidy and committed to a 2-year contract with an early-termination fee. We should have the option to use other SIMs, especially when traveling.
- Let us create free ringtones from the music we already own (on CD). The RIAA already allows us to create free ringtones from the music we already own under “fair use“.
- Add support for USB mass storage
- Add support for video recording
- Add support for stereo Bluetooth devices (and other industry standard Bluetooth profiles, like file transfer, synchronization and DUN)
- Add support for MMS

On the hardware front:
- Add support for 3G (specifically HSDPA). EDGE is just not cutting it in this day and age.
- Improve the camera with a flash, auto-focus, macro, and a 3+ megapixel sensor

Stop being closed with the iPhone – it’s a revolutionary product that could be even more profitable if Apple opens it up. Also, it would be great PR!

Think different :)

Thanks for your time…

Sincerely, tnkgrl

No BlackBerry plan? No problem

I’ve been reading mixed reports about using my WiFi-enabled BlackBerry 8320 (Curve) without a BlackBerry plan… Some say it’s possible, other say it’s not, so I decided to investigate!

With my existing T-Mobile unlimited t-zones data plan, the built-in web browser worked fine for WAP sites (over GPRS/EDGE only) and for HTML sites (over WiFi only). I was able to install Opera mini 4 beta, the Google maps client and the Gmail client, but none of these application worked (over either GRPS/EDGE or WiFi, with TCP/APN set to “wap.voicestream.com”). Blame it on the proxy…

Since I was already considering it, I upgraded to the T-Mobile Total Internet data plan that was recently introduced (unlimited data + Hotspot). I also added the BlackBerry Feature Enabler (free – for MMS support).

With my Total Internet data plan, the built-in web browser worked fine for both WAP and HTML sites (over either GPRS/EDGE or WiFi). Opera mini 4 beta, the Google maps client and the Gmail client, all worked as well (over either GRPS/EDGE or WiFi, with TCP/APN set to “internet2.voicestream.com”)!

Then I got the phone SIM unlocked and tried my AT&T MEdia Max 200 data plan.

With my MEdia Max 200 data plan, the built-in web browser worked fine for both WAP and HTML sites (over either GPRS/EDGE or WiFi). Opera mini 4 beta, the Google maps client and the Gmail client, all worked as well (over either GRPS/EDGE or WiFi, with TCP/APN set to “wap.cingular”).

Basically, it looks like any proxy-less data plan works fine – so unless you require push email, ignore the BlackBerry plan :)

One more thing… UMA turns me on is pretty cool!

It works on most WiFi networks as long as you use a T-Mobile SIM, and call quality is great – no special router required. Unfortunately, transitions between GSM and WiFi often result in dropped calls, but this is apparently getting fixed soon.

Now I want to see UMA support for my Nokia N95.