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The Next iPhone Needs To Be Better At Content Creation

Though Apple has remained mum about the existence of a new version of the iPhone, the blogosphere is rife with reports and rumors about what it will bring. Whether or not those reports are accurate, one thing is for certain, the next iPhone needs to be much, much better at creating content.

If there was one point that Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo hammered time and again during his presentation of the Nokia N97, it was that N Series devices are all about creating great content. Looking at the N Series range, this is obviously their forte. Many of the N Series phones carry 5-megapixel cameras that have autofocus and flash -- two key features for taking better pictures from a phone. They also can shoot high-quality video (up to 30 frames per second), record voice notes, stream video to other phones, and they integrate with Nokia's burgeoning Share on Ovi services.

Both the original iPhone and the 3G iPhone have very mediocre 2-megapixel cameras. Neither has autofocus or flash, and neither is able to record video. The software controlling the camera could not be worse. Users can't make any adjustments to the way the camera operates, its settings, and the iPhone still doesn't have the ability to send MMS messages, a feature that most basic phones have.

Today's announcement from Samsung and T-Mobile about the 8-megapixel Memoir underscore the fact that other manufacturers are moving forward with phones that are better at creating powerful content. Companies such as Sony Ericsson and Motorola are endowing their camera phones with red-eye reductions, smile detection, face detection, panorama modes that auto-stitch together, and more.

Can I write blog posts from my iPhone, and post pictures to my blogs directly from the handset? Yes. But those capabilities are not provided by Apple, but rather by companies such as Google and myriad others have stepped in to fill the (many) voids left by Apple.

That strikes me as odd, because one of the core features offered by Apple on its computers is the iLife suite, an entire set of software devoted to creating and managing content. I use iLife software for many of my daily work tasks, such as editing pictures and creating videos. Why hasn't Apple extended these capabilities to what has become its most prominent product, the iPhone?

Then I look at MobileMe, which is a place for Apple users to store information and use as a synchronization tool for content. Why on earth isn't MobileMe natively integrated into the iPhone? All it does is sync contacts, calendars, and such. As vital as this service is to many, MobileMe tightly paired with the iPhone could offer so much more. This would be an obvious home run if implemented correctly.

My colleague, Alex Wolfe, believes that Apple is working on a phone that can shoot video, and not just clips, but one that can be used as a videoconferencing tool. That would be a step in the right direction, for sure.

Many believe the Apple iPhone is the phone to beat. In many respects, it is. But there are plenty of phones that offer a lot more than the iPhone does, especially for those interested in creating content, and not just consuming it. Unless Apple steps up to meet this kind of content-creation competition, I'll be ditching my iPhone as soon as the Nokia N97 becomes available.

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