A hint of search capability on iPhone 2.0
We're all excited for iPhone firmware 2.0, due in July. So are the guys at blarkKABOOM. So much so that they examined the video of the press event with a fine-tooth comb.They noticed what appears to be a small search icon in the iPhone's Contacts application. The icon wasn't in the video demo, so we have no idea how it could work, but it did appear in the screenshots.
Half the fun of major software updates from Apple is finding the unadvertised features. We're very eager to get started.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Evan Lugh said 1:23PM on 3-09-2008
(1st) Isn't it too small, though?
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Matt said 1:34PM on 3-09-2008
I think that would be a stupid place to put it, you'd scroll to A and hit it almost every time.
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punkassjim said 1:53PM on 3-09-2008
I think it'd be a perfect place to put it. It'd be just at the top, between your own phone number, and the A's. Putting the search field at the top means you don't have to have a popup or a new screen. Simplicity is key. I'll bet they're gonna have live filtered updating, and hopefully it'll be better at it than the current Search.app (for jailbreak).
When I scroll to the B's, I always hit A or C, so I just keep moving my finger till I get it right. It still only takes a fraction of a second.
iPontus said 4:01PM on 3-09-2008
It'd probably be part of the list. If you hit it instead of A, you'd still have A below, just as if you get to O and want to P, nothing is stopping you from just flicking your way there.
Matt said 5:36PM on 3-09-2008
I see now how they could have it, they could have the search above the A, as in another section called "Search" above the A contacts.
Mo said 1:46PM on 3-09-2008
I'm hoping Apple will include MobileSpotlight in the iPhone 2.0 OS—the system-wide search was one of the best features of Palm OS.
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punkassjim said 1:57PM on 3-09-2008
And what would it search? Your contacts, email and bookmarks? That's kinda an over-powered search tool for just three different data types...I doubt they'll do it that way.
Mo said 6:55PM on 3-09-2008
@punkassjim: …and Mail messages, Calendar appointments, Notes, To-do items (here's hoping there IS a To-do app)—all of the normal PDA stuff.
But perhaps most importantly, data from third-party apps. I'd expect MobileSpotlight, if implemented, to be as extensible as its big brother.
William said 10:01PM on 3-09-2008
@punkassjim:
also music and photos. It would be nice to be able to quickly pick a song rather than having to browse through lists. And if you have thousands of photos, it'd be nice to be able to bring up all the photos of a particular person or place that you've tagged in iPhoto, rather than having to jump and scroll in and out of numerous albums.
Ryan Schmidt said 1:46PM on 3-09-2008
Is it really that hard to believe that APPLE just decided to "label" the "ABCD..." column? Could the magnifying glass simply mean "Search by letter"?
This is clearly just another case of "no news sundays". Move along, nothing to see here.
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Sam Gross said 6:52PM on 3-09-2008
If they thought that it was necessary, it would have been in the 1.1.4 update that came out last week. It wouldn't be that hard to implement, because it would just be a tiny .GIF added to the OS. Also, I think that it is quite intuitive to use, and anyone who buys an iPhone could pick up it's use within a few seconds.
atothej said 3:05PM on 3-09-2008
But if you have support for exchange servers you need a search feature. Or do you really want to scroll through thousands of contact entries??
mark said 4:10PM on 3-09-2008
But we already *have* search by letter, and we know what the alphabet column does. So what would be the point of Apple simply "labeling" the existing alphabet column? Not much.
The icon is there for a reason.
mark said 4:22PM on 3-09-2008
Plus, the existing feature is *not* "search by letter." It's scroll by letter. Search is a different feature, all together, and the magnifying glass is always used for *search*.
vandy1997 said 1:59PM on 3-09-2008
I don't understand what has taken so long to add a search feature. At least in the telephone modes (contacts, favorites, keypad), but also in the music/video mode. They put it in the YouTube app and in the Mobile iTunes app. And it will be in the MobileSafari and App Store. I can't understand why it wouldn't have one in the other app. There could be an option to do search only within an app or systemwide. It makes search tasks, especially when searching through contacts, much easier to accomplish. This is one of the omissions that would be very easy to include, and I cannot think of a valid reason not to do so.
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MacGeek Pro said 2:08PM on 3-09-2008
I, for one, would love a global, spotlight-esque search feature. I would love it to draw information from my contacts, calendars, email, and yes, even my music. I'd love to search easily for the name (or part of the name) of a song, album, or artist. We have a keyboard on the iPhone and iPod touch, so let's use them! Even the classic and nano have a search feature using the click wheel.
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PalmerDeville said 2:25PM on 3-09-2008
A search icon in an unexpected place and a finder icon in the Cocoa Touch UIKit. (11:39 into the iPhone Application Development - Getting Started video)
Looks like 2.0 will be a major leap forward toward opening the OS.
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PA said 3:08PM on 3-09-2008
It would be great to be able to search a section of lyrics, too. Often I hear some lyrics in my head but can't quite remember the song. It's weird that this feature isn't in iTunes, either.
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Jarques said 3:21PM on 3-09-2008
It's called Google.com, use it?
PA said 3:28PM on 3-09-2008
I was thinking of searching one's own music. I've heard of Google but it doesn't filter my library and let me start playing the song right away.