iPhone 2.0? Things we'd like to see.

With the one-year anniversary of the iPhone nearly upon us, rumors of a refresh for Apple's category-defining smartphone are swirling through the blogosphere. Apple is mum, as usual, but the bloggers' best intel suggests a new model will debut this Monday at the Apple Developers Conference in San Francisco.

If and when a new iPhone arrives, we'll of course buy and test it immediately and post the results soonest. Meantime, though we like and recommend the current iPhone, it's far from perfect. (If you are a ConsumerReports.org subscriber, you can see our complete review of the current iPhone as well as Consumer Reports' recommendations of cell phones online.)

So Mr. Jobs, if you're listening, here are our top five requests for a new iPhone:

1. Use a faster network. Web browsing on the iPhone's full HTML Web browser is plenty speedy over a Wi-Fi connection at home or at Starbucks. But doing so via AT&T's sluggish EDGE network—which you'll likely use more of the time—can be a real drag, especially when streaming videos or downloading graphics-heavy pages. Let's hope this new model takes advantage of the much faster HSDPA, a so-called "3G" network that AT&T is building. Note: Though AT&T has been middling in our Ratings of cellphone service (available to subscribers), we aren't putting "change carriers" on our wish list to Steve Jobs, since that's out of the question. (AT&T still has four years to run as the exclusive U.S. carrier of the iPhone.)


2. Add GPS. The current iPhone has useful Google maps and directions, with live traffic. But the device figures out where you are by triangulating with cellphone towers and Wi-Fi hotspots, and is notably less accurate than the satellite-based technology used by true GPS navigation units. Also, unlike GPS, it doesn' t provide the real-time, turn-by-turn, voice-assisted directions. Many phones, including some AT&T models, have GPS navigation. Let's hope the new iPhone adds it.


3. Enable Bluetooth stereo. A growing number of cell phones support wireless Bluetooth stereo headphones for tangle-free listening. Yet the current iPhone requires an inelegant $40 attachment to do so, a real disconnect for a phone that purports to be a multimedia powerhouse.


4. Add voice command. Another all-but-standard feature that's glaringly absent from the iPhone. This feature allows you dial numbers from your phone book by speaking the name or by pronouncing the digits—a must for hands-free users.


5. Add last-number, one-button redial. On even the simplest cell phones, tapping one button will put you in touch with those you speak to most. But not the iPhone. True, the iPhone lists recent callers and you can tap any of them to make a call. But if you're not already in that menu, finding that list can end up being a multi-step process. A simple software update could add speed dial to the virtual keypad.

We could go on—to suggest the likes of an unrecessed headphone jack (the current one requires purchase of an adapter to use standard headphones) and more. But tell us what else you'd like to see in your next iPhone.

—Mike Gikas 

Comments

[Greg]

Along with all other recommendations, i would like an SD expansion slot, and grafitti software to be able to jot quick notes with a stylus on screen.

[Patricia]

More than anything else listed in Mike's blog, for me, it would have to be a user-replaceable battery so I can carry a spare.

[Agneta Sarinske]

I will not get an iPhone until it can be unlocked without losing other functions. Even though I am satisfied with AT&T services and love my iMac and Apple in general - this is my most serious complaint. I travel frequently to Europe and will keep my Sony Ericsson unlocked phone (keeping my AT&T service) because I can take out the SIM card, insert a SIM card and just charge it on-line in whatever country I am. AT&T offer a World traveller service for a monthly fee, but it is much more expensive than the ability to have a local SIM card and cell phone number. For travellers, this is a very important feature, or should be, for those who are aware of it.