iPhone to gain Apple Spotlight search in 2008

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
The next significant software update for Apple Inc.'s iPhone handset is unlikely to surface until early next year but will pack a system-wide search feature when it finally does arrive, according to information obtained by investment bank Piper Jaffray.



"We expect the next major update to come in February when the iPhone is opened to third-party applications," analyst Gene Munster wrote in a research report Monday. "As part of this update we also expect a contextual search feature, similar to Spotlight on a Mac."



Munster, who tapped his own sources for the tidbit, says the feature will enable users to easily locate contacts, emails, phone numbers, or calendar events through a single search interface on the touch-screen handsets.



In his report, which covered various "hot topics" of the month, the analyst also weighed in with comments on the impending launch of an ultra-portable Apple notebook, Starbucks and the iTunes Wi-Fi Store, and this past weekend's launch of the iPhone in Europe.



Specifically, he drew attention to Samsung's recent introduction of a 64GB solid state drive comprised of NAND Flash memory, which offers lower power consumption in a smaller form factor than traditional hard disk drives.



"We believe NAND Flash drive sizes have now reached capacities that Apple would consider large enough to include in a new MacBook model," he explained. "As a result, a new, smaller version of Apple's MacBook, and possibly an entirely new product, is more likely to be launched at MacWorld in early January."



Meanwhile, Munster and his team of supporting analyst were also able to test Apple's iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store experience, which has been available at New York City locations for a couple of months and just recently launched out of locations in San Francisco.



"[W]hile we do not believe it will have a direct impact on revenue, we believe its intangible value is significant.," he wrote. "Apple has paired itself carefully with another premium image, Starbucks, which further promotes Apple as a lifestyle brand."



Finally, the PiperJaffray analyst also commented on Friday's launch of the iPhone in Germany and the UK. While neither launch was able to match the magnitude of the U.S. roll-out back in June, the fact that iPhone is now available in those respective regions will go a long way towards helping Apple achieve its goal of selling 10 million units by the end of 2008, he said.



"Our checks in London at Apple's Regent Street store showed that iPhone hype was more subdued than the US launch," Munster told clients. "T-Mobile Germany, on Friday, announced the sale of 10,000 iPhones on launch day. To compare, assuming Apple sold 200,000 iPhones on day one (vs. 270,000 in first two days), in its first day of sales the company sold 1 iPhone for every 1,510 Americans, whereas Apple sold 1 phone for every 8,200 Germans.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 28
    markbmarkb Posts: 153member
    Spotlight?!?! <yawn>



    If i could use it as a disk, i would care about spotlight. Until then 8gb = some videos and music (easily navigated via ipodish interface), some pics, some email, some contacts, some calendar events. With only 8gb I dont have enough information on there that it isnt just as fast or faster to just go to the program and find it myself.
  • Reply 2 of 28
    To search what???
  • Reply 3 of 28
    Well.... the tone isn't too positive from you guys considering we are talking about the 'future' here. It does say search for contacts, emails etc but we 'may' have a certain amount of disk access by then to accompany the SDK and the 3rd party apps.
  • Reply 4 of 28
    My guess is once 3rd party apps are added, there will be a lot more stuff to search through. for ex, if there is an equivalent to the Palm app "Docs 2 Go" that will mean people can start storing a ton of docs on the iPhone, rather than just embedded in email and even at 8 gigs, that many docs would need a search function. Also, other proprietary files for yet unknown apps may lend themselves to searching. just a guess...
  • Reply 5 of 28
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ijano View Post


    My guess is once 3rd party apps are added, there will be a lot more stuff to search through. for ex, if there is an equivalent to the Palm app "Docs 2 Go" that will mean people can start storing a ton of docs on the iPhone, rather than just embedded in email and even at 8 gigs, that many docs would need a search function. Also, other proprietary files for yet unknown apps may lend themselves to searching. just a guess...



    Exactly... Mobile versions of iWork apps could store thousands of documents on an 8Gb iPhone/Touch. Spotlight would pretty damn handy for that.
  • Reply 6 of 28
    asciiascii Posts: 5,936member
    It sure would be something if the new laptop didn't have a traditional hd.
  • Reply 7 of 28
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rieuwa View Post


    To search what???



    This is my most requested feature for the iPhone!! Searching previous e-mail text, looking for a contact where you know the first or last name but it's listed under the company. I wish I had this feature at least 10 times a day. I've got over 600 contacts though and many e-mails.
  • Reply 8 of 28
    Sorry to hear that, markb. The iPhone having a "global find" (aka Spotlight) capability is a BIG deal for me.



    When I first checked out the iPhone, after playing with it for about 30 minutes, I asked the sales rep two questions: (1) does it have a global find, and (2) is there a way to input text docs from a Mac? Not knowing the answer, he scurried off to consult with the Genius Bar. Upon his return, the short answer was: NO.



    After expressing my dissatisfaction, he offered the following words of wisdom: "The iPhone is not really a smartphone. Think of it more as a lifestyle device...".



    Excussssee me!..... now, show me the door.... I'm outa here!



    On my trusty (but aging) Treo650, I'm constantly using global find to scan through hundreds of contacts, and hundreds of screens of text docs. And notes. And specifications. And calendar events. And to-do lists. And.... you get the idea.



    The addition of global find on the iPhone puts it back on the contender list. And the ability to import text docs via The Missing Sync for iPhone (Mark/Space) seals the deal for me.



    And I was "this close" to getting a Treo 755p, but Verizon just couldn't deliver (and still can't...).



    But now, I'm holding out for the iPhone.
  • Reply 9 of 28
    The iPhone will improve dramatically over the next few months with all those apps coming. How much do you think will a thin Macbook cost?
  • Reply 10 of 28
    melgrossmelgross Posts: 33,510member
    February will be here before we know it. Meanwhile, I'm sitting back and watching.



    By the way, isn't there a typo in the last paragraph? The numbers are certainly screwy.
  • Reply 11 of 28
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post




    "Our checks in London at Apple's Regent Street store showed that iPhone hype was more subdued than the US launch," Munster told clients. "T-Mobile Germany, on Friday, announced the sale of 10,000 iPhones on launch day. To compare, assuming Apple sold 200,000 iPhones on day one (vs. 270,000 in first two days), in its first day of sales the company sold 1 iPhone for every 1,510 Americans, whereas Apple sold 1 phone for every 8,200 Germans.





    Well, checks in Reading, UK on Saturday (late in the day) revealed two Carphonewarehouse Stores (within 2 mins walk of each other) packed with Customers and one salesman saying he was exhausted with the sales occurring that day, but with a big smile across his face! When asked if the iPhones had been selling well, there was an emphatic yes! The nearby Phones4U store had no Customers in it at the same time! It will be interesting to see the UK figures in due course but I suspect they will be pleasing enough. It would also be interesting to know how many sales per store it is in Germany and the UK compared with the US as the number of stores (availability) will be a determining factor in the sales.
  • Reply 12 of 28
    This Search feature would be helpful, but it better be accompanied by some other core apps as well....like synced To Dos.



    The iPhone honeymoon is over, at least for me. I really like my phone, but not being able to sync To Dos, or record voice notes, or do IM chats is really annoying, especially since these features are standard on every smart phone I can think of, and many standard phones!



    I was willing to overlook these functionality gaps in June, when the iPhone came out, but 4.5 months later, I'm really surprised that Apple hasn't quickly followed up to fill in some glaring holes. Apple's smug attitude towards third-party development (which only appeared to change recently with the Feb 08 SDK announcement...and the jury's still out on how effective that SDK will be) only makes things worse.



    Apple may be preparing a big iPhone software update for some time in the future, but it would have been better if it released one new app after another. That would keep the fan base excited, and feeling that progress was being made, instead of feeling like we're in a doldrums (which is how I feel now, as well as a bunch of my iPhone-owning friends).



    In other words: Hurry up, Apple!
  • Reply 13 of 28
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by k2director View Post


    This Search feature would be helpful, but it better be accompanied by some other core apps as well....like synced To Dos.



    The iPhone honeymoon is over, at least for me. I really like my phone, but not being able to sync To Dos, or record voice notes, or do IM chats is really annoying, especially since these features are standard on every smart phone I can think of, and many standard phones!




    have you tried iphone.beejive.com for ichat/msn/yahoo/etc IM ... great web-based app and no need to jailbreak the iphone !!



    Jon
  • Reply 14 of 28
    bah. This was really intriguing till I read the source was an analyst. Warn me next time with "analyst" or "shill" in the headline so I know not to click through.
  • Reply 15 of 28
    teckstudteckstud Posts: 6,476member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Sunbow View Post


    Well, checks in Reading, UK on Saturday (late in the day) revealed two Carphonewarehouse Stores (within 2 mins walk of each other) packed with Customers and one salesman saying he was exhausted with the sales occurring that day, but with a big smile across his face! When asked if the iPhones had been selling well, there was an emphatic yes! The nearby Phones4U store had no Customers in it at the same time! It will be interesting to see the UK figures in due course but I suspect they will be pleasing enough. It would also be interesting to know how many sales per store it is in Germany and the UK compared with the US as the number of stores (availability) will be a determining factor in the sales.



    A salesman with a big smile on his face and an empatic yes! He's a SALESMAN!

    Europeans have had much better cellphones then the US for many years. This is not a big deal for them and they saw all the foolishness here with the launch and subsequent rebate. The hard drive is way too small still to get anywhere near excited about. They are not so easily gullible or manipulated by hype like Americans. Go no further then to look at their invlovement in IraQ.
  • Reply 16 of 28
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    What answer does is bring up to the question: WhereTF was this search all along? Answer: Never mind search, the real question is; WhereTF is Copy & Paste?
  • Reply 17 of 28
    I'm just as gullible as the Americans and proud of it. The best phone experience I have ever had!! You should know that Apple don't want to overwhelm customers with a huge set of features and high end technology that they will only use 20% of (like all the other phones).



    The strategy looks pretty simple to me:



    * Give people a sniff of Apples vision for future products and attract mind share

    * Secure the Platform

    * Allow customers to discover all areas of the small but very polished feature set

    * Create a bare minimum infrastructure for the platform (EDGE)

    * Add more features and increase the product value with existing customers

    * Release a quality controlled development kit

    * 3rd party apps = more value

    * Secure the iPhone branding/mind share

    * Profit



    * Release Version 2 and start getting down to business.



    Now we have a recognizable brand, great underlying EDGE network infrastructure for bare minimum phone experience. New higher speed network (3G), new feature set for users to discover (on top of the original features which should now be second nature to most people). An SDK is in place. Growing confidence in the iPhone brand and increased profits because this is the phone everybody wanted the first time round. Possibly repeat iPods success.
  • Reply 18 of 28
    mgkwhomgkwho Posts: 167member
    I think it's important to compare the size of Germany to America if you're comparing sales.



    To compare, Germany's population is approximately 82,000,000 people versus 300,000,000 Americans. America is 3.65 times as large as Germany.



    Therefore, a more realistic comparison is a 5,500 to 8,200 ratio, or 1.49. This means approximately1.5 AMERICAN IPHONES FOR EVERY GERMAN IPHONE SOLD



    stupid misleading statistics.



    -=]Mgkwho
  • Reply 19 of 28
    I have over 7,000 contacts in my address book and it is annoying having to go to a web-based application to find one of them.



    Just to scroll my C's takes approximately 15 full swipes. I know I'm not supposed to be doing this while I'm driving, but you can see where it is a much bigger distraction than it needs to be.



    Even my Newton (that I just fired up after a 9 year rest - data still intact) had search capability.
  • Reply 20 of 28
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by runningace View Post


    I have over 7,000 contacts in my address book and it is annoying having to go to a web-based application to find one of them.



    Just to scroll my C's takes approximately 15 full swipes. I know I'm not supposed to be doing this while I'm driving, but you can see where it is a much bigger distraction than it needs to be.



    Even my Newton (that I just fired up after a 9 year rest - data still intact) had search capability.



    Then why use an iPhone? Seriously. Why complain about something you knew was not there? Why not wait until Spotlight is added and then buy?
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