Ideas to Improve the iPhone

Manny Ramirez On Deck at Dodger Stadium  - Taken with my iPhone.

About six weeks ago I broke down and got an iPhone - a 3GS no less. I moved up, way up, from a razor cellphone.

I think the iPhone is about the coolest thing. When I was on vacation I was connected to news, weather, sports, and email without TV or computer. After I made a wrong turn I typed in the name of the restaurant I was seeking and the abbreviation for the state and got directions from my current location. I have an app that tells me about LA traffic and another about speed traps. It keeps my contacts and calendar in sync with my gmail account. I took a picture at the Dodgers and emailed it to friends and relatives.

With apps the iPhone can get constantly more powerful, easier to use, and more fun. I just bought an app that gives grill recipes, shopping lists, and video tips. So my iPhone should get better and better.

However it is not perfect. Here are some areas for improvement.
1. Better phone coverage. The iPhone locks you in to AT and T. I don't get service at my home in California, nor does my daughter in Pennsylvania. One complaint that I hear pretty regularly is that the worst thing about the iPhone is the phone.

2. Having birthdays in my contacts appear on my calendar. Evidently you can do this with a mac but I am in XP land. I know I can buy an app that lists birthdays or something but I want them to show on my calendar. I have found a free birthday app that seems to work fine but it does not put the birthdays on the calendar.

3. A way to test apps. There may be a zillion apps. There also seem to be about a million sites that rate apps. And the ratings and comments can be all over the map.
While apps are generally inexpensive how will I know if my experience will be "Love this app" or "Complete waste of time." Why now allow a free download for a week and then disable the app if not purchased?

4. A better battery. Maybe this as good as it gets with batteries. I know I can buy something to extend the life. Hopefully future iPhone will have better batteries.

5. Linkage between the calendar and maps. If I pull up a name using the contact app and touch the address then I see the address on the map app and can get directions. However if I go to the calendar app, find a meeting, and touch the address I get nothing. I would think it would be easy to get the location of the meeting on the map app.

What ideas do you have for iPhone improvement?

I hope to add my list in future posts.

Manny Ramirez is back to the Dodgers Tonight After a 50 Game Suspension

Manny Ramirez, the Los Angeles Dodgers' slugger and left fielder will be back in the lineup tonight against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. This is news because Manny has been forced to miss the last 50 games due to a violation of the MLB's drug policy. Ramirez was caught taking a banned substance, specifically a women's drug known to be taken by athletes ending a period of steroid use. He has not yet been caught using steroids though, to be clear.

The Dodger's slugger bats third in the potent lineup which leads all of baseball with the best record in the bigs. Manny comes into tonights game with 533 career homeruns, 17th on the all-time list.

There are many positions on the steroid issue, and I for one am ashamed the game has been tainted by it. Having said that, since the era is tainted with performance enhancing drugs I don't think you can hold players out of the hall of fame because it must be the case that currently there are players in the hall that have not and will not be caught using, even though they did. So in my view, holding out players you did catch shouldn't make a difference. I don't think 'well you got caught' should be the tag line to hall eligibility.

I will be watching Manny tonight, but then again I watch most all Dodger games. I hate to say that it has become so widespread a problem, steroids that is, that I don't really care anymore. I'd just like to see the sport cleaned up and the issue to go away.