Operator surveys could indicate future face of iPhone

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By Peter White (Tuesday, 28th October 2008)

Cellular operators are always trying to increase their influence over future handset features, and US carriers, in particular, are used to a high level of power over their handset partners. Those who believe operators understand their customers' requirements better than device makers suffered a setback when AT&T and O2 agreed to terms for the iPhone that left Apple firmly in the driving seat, but now AT&T is seeking to stamp its mark on next generation iPhones, and ensure the handset continues to work its magic over customers. The feedback it is gaining from its subscribers may point to future enhancements to the iPhone, and UK exclusive carrier O2 will be running a similar survey in the coming month.

AT&T has started conducting a major survey of its iPhone base, particularly those who have used the phone for a long period. Some of the results, as revealed by Apple blogs such as AppleInsider, highlight some weaknesses that competitors could exploit, and possible enhancements for next year - if Apple chooses to listen to its carriers, something it is not accustomed to doing. However, as the iPhone inevitably loses some of its novelty value and comes under pressure from other high profile smartphones - some, like BlackBerry Storm, heavily engineered by carrier partners - Apple may find itself having to listen more keenly to its user base and its operator friends.

One question in the survey asks users to choose the five features or add-ons they would most like to see in the iPhone in future. Among the choices are features that AT&T has already seen most commonly requested by its customers and by the wider Apple community. These include support for cut and paste, built-in instant messaging, Flash/Java support, direct download of ringtones to the phone, and MMS messaging - most standard features of most other smartphones.

Apple has said before that it will add new features and listen to its user base, but it has to prioritize enhancements - copy and paste, directional GPS and other features have been put on the back burner in order to concentrate on more urgent additions or to fix problems. In this respect, like Google with Android, it is struggling with the dilemma shared by any new mobile system - ensuring robustness and security, versus rolling out a full feature set to rival those of more established platforms.

Other requests that have reportedly been commonly made on the AT&T survey include GPS turn-by-turn directions, landscape mode for email, user replaceable batteries, better search for iTunes playlists, editing of documents, video recording, larger screen with more pixels, more storage, and iChat.

Significantly, AT&T specifically asks whether users would like to be able to use the iPhone with other carriers, perhaps pointing to its awareness of the drive towards open access, and the eventual end of its exclusive. According to the blogs, AT&T should be concerned by the response - the most common complaints about the iPhone do not concern the device per se, but the coverage and connection quality on the AT&T network; and a large number of respondents want the freedom to take their handset to another operator. Users are also clamoring (unsurprisingly) for lower voice and data tariffs, no 3G data caps, and for SMS to be included in iPhone data plans.