Unsupported widgets, apps listed in iPhone firmware
References to several unsupported widgets and at least one new application have been discovered within Apple's iPhone firmware, leading to speculation that some of the hidden features could be unlocked with a future iPhone software update.
While rummaging through the Apple handset's embedded version of Mac OS X, one user located preference files for 3 unsupported widgets (phonebook, translation, and worldclock) and what appears to be two native iPhone applications (radio and unitconverter).
Unlike the widgets, which have Mac OS X equivalents, the radio application is drawing particular attention. While resources from the widget files could have been carried over to the iPhone's software accidently during development, Apple has never offered a standalone radio tuner application, either on its iPod digital music players or via Mac OS X.
The preference files aside, the user was unable to locate an additional references to the applications or widgets in the iPhone software. A screenshot of the preference file listing follows:
iPhone preference file listing | Source: iPhoneology
While rummaging through the Apple handset's embedded version of Mac OS X, one user located preference files for 3 unsupported widgets (phonebook, translation, and worldclock) and what appears to be two native iPhone applications (radio and unitconverter).
Unlike the widgets, which have Mac OS X equivalents, the radio application is drawing particular attention. While resources from the widget files could have been carried over to the iPhone's software accidently during development, Apple has never offered a standalone radio tuner application, either on its iPod digital music players or via Mac OS X.
The preference files aside, the user was unable to locate an additional references to the applications or widgets in the iPhone software. A screenshot of the preference file listing follows:
iPhone preference file listing | Source: iPhoneology
Comments
World Clock is an "unsupported widget"? Is it not the thing called "World Clock" that's on my iPhone?
Was wondering about that one myself.
Here's an example on the Blackberry support site.
Does anybody else find many of these widgets a "waste of space"? I think they all look very cool, BUT there are some apps that would come in more handy. Seeing the list of POSSIBLE new apps really bugged me because I think there are already enough apps that I don't use.
I mean, first off, the STOCKS APP is worthless for a lot of people. I have other ways of checking my stocks, and I hardly find it necessary to be on the MAIN MENU for my phone. You also have the NOTES widget, which I've used 1 time because a friends Starbucks order was more complicated than I could remember. The calculator would be better placed in a TOOLS folder along with the clock... CLOCK? How often do I need to look at the time when there is a clock on the top of the screen. Theoretically they could have consolidated the PHOTO and CAMERA button.
I'm really not a HATER, but this list of TRANSLATOR, CONVERTER, PHONEBOOK seem really weak.
WHAT DO WE NEED TO TRANSLATE?
WHAT DO WE NEED TO CONVERT?
WHAT DO I NEED YELLOWPAGES FOR? - lame at&t plug if you ask me...
now... after you answer these questions, ask yourself if you need to do these things on your phone?
These are all things that could be web apps.
If you are going to clog my iphone with actual apps, make them useful or let me remove them or hide them.
If you are going to clog my iphone with actual apps, make them useful or let me remove them or hide them.
I have to say I agree with you. I think there should be a "Dashboard" style button for access to widgets such as weather, stocks etc. These things are nice, but hardly essential apps. In addition if you're going to have widgets, why not have a load of them. Translation would be excellent on the go, I can't understand why Apple didn't add more of them. Certainly it would be a lot nice also if we had an "iPhone Dashboard" to allow people to develop their own widgets for it. Accessing iPhone apps via MobileSafari is just a pain in the ass.
Surely Apple will at some point have to develop a subdirectory/subset system on the iPhone's front page, much like they had on Palm Pilots back in the day (I'm sure they still do but I haven't used one since 2001).
Also, I saw an image of the 'fancy' trash can, link in OS X, but I've not seen that on the iPhone either.
I'm really not a HATER, but this list of TRANSLATOR, CONVERTER, PHONEBOOK seem really weak.
Could it be that Apple thought the same thing, and the files are remnants of apps that did not make the cut.
CLOCK? How often do I need to look at the time when there is a clock on the top of the screen.
I do because I travel to different cities with different time zones. I also call people in different time zones around the world. It can help to take a quick look to see what time it is in their city.
WHAT DO WE NEED TO TRANSLATE?
The translation converter in OS X translates Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.
It can be handy to have. I can only see it being completely useless if you are either fluent in all of these languages or you only ever around one language.
It makes sense on your phone because if you are in a foreign country it can provide a quick way to translate something.
WHAT DO WE NEED TO CONVERT?
The Unit Converter Widget in OS X can convert Area, Currency, Energy, Temperature, Time, Length, Weight, Speed, Pressure, Power, and Volume.
I can only see it being completely useless if you never have to convert values or you only ever have to deal with one currency or a single system of measurement.
I think it can be handy on your phone if you need to quickly do a conversion.
Theoretically they could have consolidated the PHOTO and CAMERA button.
Not really. Pictures on the phone can be synced from the computer. So it would make little sense to go through the camera to get to pictures that were taken with another camera.
You can also store pictures in different folder. So why go through the camera to get to the folder you need. And you don't want to go through your picture folder to get to the camera when you want to take a picture.
If you are going to clog my iphone with actual apps, make them useful or let me remove them or hide them.
I could agree if you had to scroll through 50 widgets to get to one you wanted. But at this point their are only 12. I don't think its a huge problem.
WHAT DO WE NEED...
What's this WE white man?!
I for one could make use of yellow-pages since I never bother to add local restaurants, the dog groomer, pharmacy, etc, etc into my address book... Yea, maybe I should but I really don't call those places all THAT much... Having YP would save me a costly 411 call just to get their number. Just one example but, just because you don't find something particularly useful doesn't mean its a worthless feature. I for one would never use IM or MMS (not my generation) but that doesn't mean I think it would be dumb to have those as iPhone features since I'm sure others would disagree.
Dave
I'm really not a HATER, but this list of TRANSLATOR, CONVERTER, PHONEBOOK seem really weak.
I use Translator and Convertor quite often here in Europe. Annoys the hell out of me that you don't use metric or even British Standard Imperial measures, which I can at least vaguely remember.
I wonder what we'll get in Europe since the Stocks widget is US only and apart from that we tend not to gamble stocks like you do in the US. I'm just glad there's no ESPN widget like we're forced to endure even on European Macs as standard and it's unremoveable.
What's this WE white man?!
I for one could make use of yellow-pages since I never bother to add local restaurants, the dog groomer, pharmacy, etc, etc into my address book... Yea, maybe I should but I really don't call those places all THAT much... Having YP would save me a costly 411 call just to get their number. Just one example
Dave
You can already get that through the MAPS app. on the iPhone. Just enter Startbucks or Pizza into the field and it will retrieve locations and telephone #s.
I could agree if you had to scroll through 50 widgets to get to one you wanted. But at this point their are only 12. I don't think its a huge problem.
It'll be interesting to see what they do to solve that providing they do let you have more than one screen full of apps/widgets.
On my Sony P910i I've got 66 applications (and that's after I pruned back). 13 rows per screen in list view or 6 icons per screen in icon view. You can scroll through them with the scroll wheel or page flip through them by clicking on the arrows on screen. You can also divide them into categories accessible by a pulldown. Along the top of the screen you've space for six configurable favourites.
Obviously that's more options than Apple often likes to give you but they'll surely have to come up with something other than a scrolling list and I can't see them just doing what SE or Palm have always done.
P.S. By the WAY, writing like THIS is really ANNOYING.
While I appreciate hierarchy (especially when programming), I prefer not to experience it on my phone just to get to my apps. Perhaps Apple plans to eventually allow customization of the widgets that show up on the main screen?
It'll be interesting to see what they do to solve that providing they do let you have more than one screen full of apps/widgets.
The choices I can think of at the moment. As you've stated a long list of icons or a list view. Other options could be full pages of widgets that you swipe through with your finger. Widget categories that have a main widget icon that opens to the submenu page.
Is this a big non-issue? I don't have an iPhone (yet), but in the Blackberry world "radio" refers to the wireless connection mechanism, not an AM/FM tuner.
Here's an example on the Blackberry support site.
The other apps listed all have (or clearly would have) exposed user functionality, as opposed to being just a checklist of hardware subsystems.
"Phone" functionality (which is supported by the wireless radio) is already accounted for on the list, so it's pretty clear that "radio" in this instance either means "fm/am" or "internet streaming".
I use the Clock all the time - not the world clock part of it, but the
P.S. By the WAY, writing like THIS is really ANNOYING.
Most people capitalize the names of applications, so you know whether they are talking about a clock or the CLOCK application.
But if you're talking about this guy -donlphi, I concur.
You can already get that through the MAPS app. on the iPhone. Just enter Startbucks or Pizza into the field and it will retrieve locations and telephone #s.
This kind of works, but it doesn't work that great. It would be better if there was a dedicated "search for business at this address". Typing in just the business name doesn't always work that well, for example I had a hell of a job trying to find the number for the "Starlite Drive-In" yesterday, it kept giving me the option of "Starlite Dr, South Bend, In" or "Starlite Dr, Columbus, IN" (rather than my local drive in movie theatre).