WhatWeWant posts

This is the third in a series of letters from you, the TUAW reader, to Apple detailing what you want to see in the next iPhone. In the first letter, you told Apple what you want to from the next OS. In the second, you told them what you'd love in the next hardware. This final letter is all about Apple's built-in apps and how you think they can be improved.

Even with rumors swirling that iPhone OS 4.0 will be previewed on Wednesday (along with some tablet thingy), chances are the OS won't be finalized until early summer, so there's still plenty of time for Apple to take your suggestions.

First, I want to take a moment to thank all of you. The response to the first open letter has been incredible, and it wouldn't have been possible without your suggestions. This is the second in a series of letters from you, the TUAW reader, to Apple. This time around I received over 1500 emails with suggestions on how to improve the next iPhone's hardware.

While the next iPhone is expected sooner this year than in past years, and the hardware design has most likely long since been finalized, it's clear that plenty of you have your own ideas of how you want the next-generation iPhone to look and work. With that in mind, even though the next iPhone's hardware may be a done deal, let's hope Apple uses your suggestions in a future iPhone (or, if they use these suggestions in the upcoming one -- congrats, you guys are genius-level industrial designers!). Remember, these suggestions and desires don't necessarily align with the ideals of better battery life and 3G call performance... it's a wish list, not an engineering manual, and we do realize that reality can easily get in the way of the perfect design.

Just like last time, because there were so many suggestions, I needed to whittle them down. To do that, I tabulated how many times a feature request was made. If more than 40% of you mentioned it, it made it into the letter. A lot of you want to hear the one-off suggestions so I'll add an extra letter onto the series at the end of its run to address those.

Remember, this letter deals only with iPhone hardware. If you made suggestions about any of Apple's built-in apps (Mail, Maps, Stocks, Calendar, etc) you'll see those in the next letter.

A week ago we asked you, the TUAW reader, to help us tell Apple what you want in the next iPhone: the OS, the apps, the hardware. Within two hours, I had over two hundred emails in my inbox. Within four days, the email total topped 1,100. As I was shifting and sorting through all your suggestions, one thing became clear: you love the iPhone, but you want to see it better, more intuitive, and more versatile – and you know how the iPhone can accomplish those goals.

This is the first of a series of letters to Apple on your behalf, telling the gang in Cupertino what would make their wonder-phone even more wondrous. This letter strictly focuses on the iPhone OS in general – the home screen, navigation, and settings. Future letters will deal with hardware and applications.

There were so many suggestions, I needed to whittle them down. To do that, I tabulated how many times a feature request was made. If more than 50% of you mentioned it, it made it into the letter. If you guys want to see the others (most were one-offs or had less that 15% of you requesting it), perhaps I'll add an extra letter onto the series at the end of its run.