In my iPhone review last June, I pointed out a big privacy concern I had about iPhone’s SMS application: namely, the inability to turn off SMS Preview, which interrupts whatever you’re doing when you receive a text message and displays an excerpt of the message content on your screen.
As you can imagine, this can create an awkward situation when you’re expecting a private text message and someone else is using, or wants to use, your iPhone.
Maybe you’re:
- watching a movie or YouTube video with someone, or
- letting a friend check their e-mail, or
- sharing photos with family, or
- having your copilot navigate using Google Maps
and then… *INCOMING*
…you receive a crude text from a buddy, or a sexy message from your significant other, or some other private text message.
Ouch. iPhone’s SMS Preview could put you into some potentially embarrassing situations.
So I’m wondering…
Has SMS Preview gotten you into trouble?
I was surprised to see how many people shared my concern about this privacy issue when I posted a sort of solution to turning off SMS Preview (which requires you to set a tedious passcode lock on your iPhone and does not always work, according to some readers).
Now I’m asking you to share any embarrassing moments or close calls you’ve had due to privacy issues with iPhone’s SMS preview.
Let’s get a discussion going in the comments so we can show Apple that SMS Preview is a real privacy concern that MUST be addressed in the next iPhone firmware update.
I’ll go first:
Recently I was at a meeting and someone in my group had to reference a PDF file but had forgotten her laptop. Since iPhone supports PDF files, I offered up my phone.
As she was scrolling through the page with the iPhone set on the table, in comes a private text message from my ex-girlfriend. Upon hearing the ring, I said “excuse me” and quickly grabbed my phone.
I avoided a potentially embarrassing situation, but why should I have to worry about incidents like these? iPhone should display text message excerpts ONLY with my permission.
So what’s YOUR story? Leave a comment below and let us know.
Written by Chris on March 6th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on News & Discussion and iPhone Problems.
In my iPhone review last June, I pointed out a big privacy concern I had about iPhone’s SMS application: namely, the inability to turn off SMS Preview, which interrupts whatever you’re doing when you receive a text message and displays an excerpt of the message content on your screen.
As you can imagine, this can create an awkward situation when you’re expecting a private text message and someone else is using, or wants to use, your iPhone.
Maybe you’re:
- watching a movie or YouTube video with someone, or
- letting a friend check their e-mail, or
- sharing photos with family, or
- having your copilot navigate using Google Maps
and then… *INCOMING*
…you receive a crude text from a buddy, or a sexy message from your significant other, or some other private text message.
Ouch. iPhone’s SMS Preview could put you into some potentially embarrassing situations.
So I’m wondering…
Has SMS Preview gotten you into trouble?
I was surprised to see how many people shared my concern about this privacy issue when I posted a sort of solution to turning off SMS Preview (which requires you to set a tedious passcode lock on your iPhone and does not always work, according to some readers).
Now I’m asking you to share any embarrassing moments or close calls you’ve had due to privacy issues with iPhone’s SMS preview.
Let’s get a discussion going in the comments so we can show Apple that SMS Preview is a real privacy concern that MUST be addressed in the next iPhone firmware update.
I’ll go first:
Recently I was at a meeting and someone in my group had to reference a PDF file but had forgotten her laptop. Since iPhone supports PDF files, I offered up my phone.
As she was scrolling through the page with the iPhone set on the table, in comes a private text message from my ex-girlfriend. Upon hearing the ring, I said “excuse me” and quickly grabbed my phone.
I avoided a potentially embarrassing situation, but why should I have to worry about incidents like these? iPhone should display text message excerpts ONLY with my permission.
So what’s YOUR story? Leave a comment below and let us know.
Written by Chris on March 6th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on News & Discussion and iPhone Problems.
Soon Apple will release its much talked about iPhone SDK for developers to build native iPhone applications that run on non-Jailbroken iPhones.
So what third-party iPhone apps are you hoping to see developed?
I’ve personally given up on Jailbreaking my iPhone since I’ve had my phone replaced a number of times and I’ve been keeping up with the iPhone firmware updates — which undo the Jailbreak — so I haven’t had the chance to enjoy the expanded iPhone functionality that third-party applications offer.
That’s why I’m really looking forward to native apps, which some developers speculate will be available via the iTunes Store.
These are some third-party apps I’d like to see when Apple opens the iPhone up to developers:
- A karaoke-style app that displays lyrics to the songs you’re listening to, just like TuneWiki.
- A Search app that will let me search through all the data I have stored on my iPhone, including contacts, notes and calendar items
- an Instant Messenger application
- and of course, some good old time-wasting game apps, like NES, Solitaire, Poker, etc.
What kinds of apps would you like to see on the iPhone after Apple releases its software development kit this month? Are there apps you use on your Jailbroken iPhone that you want to see translated to the “legit” iPhone platform?
Let’s discuss in the comments below.
Written by Chris on February 22nd, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on News & Discussion and iPhone apps.
When Apple dropped the iPhone price $200 last September, just two months after the iPhone’s release, some of you said you were okay with it because you willingly paid a premium to be an early adopter, while others of you were understandably frustrated because you would have delayed your iPhone purchase if you’d only known about the looming price reduction.
The latest rumor is that Apple will once again drop the iPhone price — this time by $100 — not long after releasing the 16GB iPhone just two weeks ago.
A tipster told 9to5Mac that news of the iPhone price reduction will come at a rumored Apple event in late February (where Apple may also release a software development kit for building native iPhone apps).
Word is that the 16GB iPhone will drop from $499 to $399, and the 8GB iPhone might be phased out altogether.
Why reduce the iPhone price?
Price drops such as these may help Apple meet its target of 10 million iPhone sales in 2008, while also making it possible to release a higher-priced 3G iPhone later this year.
But as we saw last September, they also run the risk of ticking off important customers. The last iPhone price drop was so controversial that Apple gave early adopters $100 Apple Store credits in an attempt to quell the outrage — but don’t count on another store credit the next time around.
So what do you think?
Would it upset you if Apple drops the iPhone price again soon? Do you think Apple would be blowing off its loyal customers with such a move, or are frequent price drops just a reality of the fast-moving technology industry?
Although I did pay $499 for a 16GB iPhone recently and I’ll be irked to see it drop in price so soon, I thought this 9to5Mac reader made a good point:
My VCR is worth $0 now. WHERE’S MY REBATE???
Written by Chris on February 19th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on News & Discussion and Rumors and iPhone price.
When Apple dropped the iPhone price $200 last September, just two months after the iPhone’s release, some of you said you were okay with it because you willingly paid a premium to be an early adopter, while others of you were understandably frustrated because you would have delayed your iPhone purchase if you’d only known about the looming price reduction.
The latest rumor is that Apple will once again drop the iPhone price — this time by $100 — not long after releasing the 16GB iPhone just two weeks ago.
A tipster told 9to5Mac that news of the iPhone price reduction will come at a rumored Apple event in late February (where Apple may also release a software development kit for building native iPhone apps).
Word is that the 16GB iPhone will drop from $499 to $399, and the 8GB iPhone might be phased out altogether.
Why reduce the iPhone price?
Price drops such as these may help Apple meet its target of 10 million iPhone sales in 2008, while also making it possible to release a higher-priced 3G iPhone later this year.
But as we saw last September, they also run the risk of ticking off important customers. The last iPhone price drop was so controversial that Apple gave early adopters $100 Apple Store credits in an attempt to quell the outrage — but don’t count on another store credit the next time around.
So what do you think?
Would it upset you if Apple drops the iPhone price again soon? Do you think Apple would be blowing off its loyal customers with such a move, or are frequent price drops just a reality of the fast-moving technology industry?
Although I did pay $499 for a 16GB iPhone recently and I’ll be irked to see it drop in price so soon, I thought this 9to5Mac reader made a good point:
My VCR is worth $0 now. WHERE’S MY REBATE???
Written by Chris on February 19th, 2008 with no comments.
Read more articles on News & Discussion and Rumors and iPhone price.
