Jul

12

The launch of Apple’s iPhone / iPod touch App Store appears to have been a great success. Apple managed to pull in several well known Mac, Palm, and game developers to contribute to the over 500 available applications at launch. Already there is an application to meet nearly every need, and with the majority of remaining developers being accepted into the developer program, I’m sure there will be more great applications in the coming days and weeks.

While the App Store and applications have been a huge hit, playing around with applications over the past two days has filled me with some worries. Worries that Apple will need to address if they want the iPhone to succeed as a platform.


Application Data

After trying out several applications yesterday, a major flaw in the way application data is stored became apparent. Application data (preferences, files, saved data such as games) are all stored directly linked with the application that created them. Therefore, if an application is uninstalled, everything that application ever created is cleaned up and throw into the ether. Sounds like a great way to make sure the iPhone stays uncluttered, no? Well it is, but keeping the iPhone clutter free brings problems.

Due to the nature of the application / data relationship, if an application is removed from the iPhone unintentionally, everything that application ever stored is removed permanently. Let me give you an example.

While messing with iTunes’ settings yesterday, I changed my iPod touch’s Application syncing preference to selective applications only. I forgot to select a few applications, and they were removed from my iPod touch the second I clicked apply. No big deal, right? I reselected the applications, and they appeared on my iPod touch with one exception - they were reset to their default settings and no longer contained my saved data. Thankfully, I only lost my Facebook login settings, my Flickr login settings, and my level 8 save game of Enigmo, but the results could have been much worse.

Looking at the list of applications currently available in the App Store, I would say 95% of applications would be fine with their data reset. Users would only loose some display settings, maybe a login or two, and that would be all. However, as the platform matures, more applications (and their users) will become reliant on stored data. Imagine finding out a year’s worth of mileage logs disappeared during your last iPhone’s restore. That could be a disaster.

Syncing

Part of this problem is due to the application / data relationship, but the bigger issue is the lack of a standardized syncing method in the iPhone OS. I would have no problem loosing data after a restore if that data could easily be added back, but at the moment there is no way to restore application data (yes, I’m aware iTunes currently stores a backup, but that is only of the most reason sync, and is no help if a single application looses its data).

Currently all of the native iPhone applications, with the exception of Notes and SMS, sync through an application that manages the iPhone’s stored data. Calendar items sync with iCal, addresses sync with Address Book, and so on. However, third-party applications are left to fend for themselves. Some application developers have cleverly worked around this by utilizing “the cloud” (great example is OmniFocus’ WebDAV sync), but applications without desktop counterparts are left stranded.

How to Trust the iPhone Platform

If Apple wants the iPhone platform to be trusted among businesses and consumers, they need to address these issues. Start backing up application data separate from the application itself. So, when the application is reinstalled, the data can be restored as well. With simple changes such as this, the iPhone will not only be the most innovate mobile platform today, the iPhone can become the most trusted platform as well.

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