I for one am not surprised it doesn't have flash, and I'm certainly not expecting it.

My dual core notebook gets hot and loud enough thanks, there's no way the iPhone could handle it surely!

A nice little touch and it is one that I have been wanting since I got my iPhone is that the recent call history now separates incoming and outgoing calls properly. My Sony Ericssons had it years ago.

That is another thing I wouldn't expect to be "new", but a basic feature.

The iPhone is a wonderful piece of kit and its internet and music side is fantastic, but when it comes the basic 'phone functionality, it seems to have some right doozies under the hood.

Have they patched the emergency pizza function back in, for Gareth?

How many other two year old phones are getting major updates? Normally to get new features don't you normally get a new phone?

I am still waiting for Nokia to provide an update for CKs 6600. All I want is for the ability to stop it from dimming after 5 seconds. How long do you think I will have to wait for the updated software?

CC

Are you sure there isn't an option to change that somewhere CC?

Many on the internet say not.

But Nokia will fix it, right?

It's already fixed. It used to turn off the back light completely, which really was annoying. I use the volume button on the side to turn it back up if I can't read it. I don't find it a problem, since I already have a thumb there.

It will never change, because it's part of the battery saving and it's the best possible compromise. The battery only lasts a crappy 10 days standby / 6 hours talk anyway so imagine how fast it would run out if you set the back light to stay on! If you made it an option, people would complain even more...

It actually happens more often than you think, especially with smartphones. However generally speaking if you have a carrier supplied phone, you can't get the new firmware over the internet from the phone's manufacturer, you have to get the phone re-flashed at one of the carrier's service centres.The carriers have a bunch of testing they choose do on it before they'll install the upgrade so there's a big lag between the maker announcing an updates availability and you actually being able to obtain it for your phone.
If you buy a phone that's not locked to a particular carrier (from somewhere like Expansys) you can do the upgrades yourself. Nokia even supply a windows app that will update your phone to the latest firmware if you plug it in via USB, but most 'carrier branded' phones have this functionality locked out.

Once again, as seems to be the case frequently, the manufacturers of the phones provide a perfectly adequate service, but the carriers shove their oar in, wreck the whole thing and cause both other parties in the deal a world of grief simply to slightly help their bottom line. They don't put a lot of money/resources into supporting firmware upgrades for exactly the reason you state - they'd much rather you paid them for a new phone and renewed your contact to do so thank you.

Basically put, the carriers are a bunch of selfish, money grabbing, anti-competitive twunts who wouldn't know good customer service if it ran up behind them and hit them over the head with a spade. I mean, just look at the way AT&T in the states basically won't support any of the new features in iPhone OS 3.0 for months despite none of them actually being at all revolutionary. It's just pathetic. Imagine if that lot were also in charge of OS upgrades - we'd still be on iPhone OS 1.1...

Keeping control of the hardware platform away from the carriers at all costs was arguably the smartest thing Apple did in the whole iPhone strategy.

Jon

I have been left in a serious state of shock over just how badly some carriers cripple a good phone. I'd tell you the details, but I've repressed the memory.

It's one thing to change the skin, but they scalp the damned things.

Now that is a good tip. I never thought of that.

CK will love you for that one.