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The iPhone doesn't have copy & paste because...
daringfireball.net — It's just not that easy. Really.
TannerC- 1054 diggs
- digg it
- YouGotDugg, on 07/15/2008, -7/+29Copy and paste would be great. I was so used to the blackberry. Hopefully they will have an update to add it in the future.
- superkendall, on 07/16/2008, -18/+3You don't need it as much as you think you do. In many places where you would typically cut and paste, there's a button to do that for you - sending a link via email for example.
- bcr8u, on 07/16/2008, -1/+9viewmymessage.com
- worminater, on 07/16/2008, -1/+10Instead of complaining of a missing feature; "no one needs that feature anyway". lawl
- trejrco, on 07/16/2008, -3/+10I have had my BlackBerry two days and have copy/pasted several times already ... I did this frequently on my old 700W as well ... useful, to say the least.
- jsully, on 07/16/2008, -2/+19Here's a good mockup someone did last year
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/fake-iphone-cut ...- VivaLaUndead, on 07/17/2008, -0/+2i wish i hadn't of watched that.....now i'm mad at my inferior iPhone.
- coldeve, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1@VivaLaUndead
if it makes you feel any better, a comment in that blog post pointed out a flaw in that mockup.
VikoRasmussen:
"Nice, now there is only one catch...
If I want to copy text from the new e-mail, I just... mmm, lupe, second finger, aaaaaaand...
The "paste" dialog shows up... I want select mode damnit!
-----------------------
Maybe he planned some kind of timeout.. In which case it could be a good concept :)"
... I guess it is really not that easy
- okaroleo, on 07/16/2008, -2/+1I agree. I never used it on any of my other phones and i don't miss it in my iPhone
- etruscan, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1A lot of people don't use it - but emailers do - and the iPhone is trying to break into the enterprise/emailer market. They need three more things to be able to achieve this successfully, and I think all three are do-able on the 3G via firmware:
1) Search
2) Better push support from Exchange or MobileMe
3) Copy/Paste
...then they can start comparing themselves to Blackberry. I really hope these things get added too, because I plan on picking up an iPhone shortly.
- etruscan, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1A lot of people don't use it - but emailers do - and the iPhone is trying to break into the enterprise/emailer market. They need three more things to be able to achieve this successfully, and I think all three are do-able on the 3G via firmware:
- superkendall, on 07/16/2008, -18/+3You don't need it as much as you think you do. In many places where you would typically cut and paste, there's a button to do that for you - sending a link via email for example.
- znicket, on 07/15/2008, -63/+61I have a feeling that this is an artificial demand. Instead of copying text from a website to send in an email, simply send the webpage link. People seem to try to use the iPhone as a laptop instead of a portable ultralight wifi device and in reality, less than 2% of the iPhone owners have any specific requirement for cut&paste.
Really... what do you need to cut&paste so much on a portable device?- zephc, on 07/16/2008, -11/+20Agreed - for just about everything that can be done with copy/cut/paste, there is an alternative to do it. I think the primary argument for it is text editing. Woe to anyone who has to do extensive text editing (typing more than a couple paragraphs) on a PDA/phone.
That said, my ideal interface would be some unique finger press/hold that would pop up a large pie menu with just copy, cut, paste, and 'save clipping'* as options, with the appropriate ones grayed out based on the pasteboard server's state.
* For those unfamiliar, OS X lets you drag selections of text to your desktop as text clippings, which I use quite often. The only similar functionality I have seen on Windows is in Wordpad, where dragging a text selection to the desktop makes a file out of it, which itself opens in Wordpad.- intangible, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2Firefox on Linux does it too... never use it though.
- goph, on 07/16/2008, -6/+32I have a treo 700w and use copy/paste at least once a week. mostly to copy and paste a phone number, or copy something in a text message.
But if they're talking about only working on what's most important as far as programming goes, I'd say picture messaging would be pretty high up there- sammyc53, on 07/16/2008, -1/+7ditto. i use it a lot
- FoxOrian, on 07/16/2008, -3/+4I will say, at least Apple has done a good job at relieving the need for copying and pasting that kind of information. The OS will usually highlight things like phone numbers and other obvious information so that you can activate them with a tap. If I visit a website with a phone number listed, I can actually tap the number and it will call it, which will in turn be saved in my recent calls list.
For me, copy and paste would be useful for storing certain info in my notes, but at the same time I also usually carry a tiny pad of paper and a pen...
So I guess doing things like copying and pasting an image from a site into an email or saving it to my photos app would be a little better. - GliTCH82, on 07/16/2008, -3/+7The most basic reason that I would like to have copy/paste has to do with the lack of ANOTHER feature on the iPhone... MMS. Whenever I get an MMS from a friend I have to remember a randomly generated user ID and password to log into viewmymessage.com in order to see it. This usually means that I go back and forth between Safari and the SMS app at least twice so I can get the strings in there in order to view the MMS. Complete *****.
- jkoke, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2You can now save images from Web sites to your photo library on your phone. Tap and hold on an image and it brings up a little menu. Then you can email it from your photo library.
- rgodfrey, on 07/17/2008, -1/+2I don't get why MMS is so important. Emailing a picture is easy and free.
Much more important than that or copy/paste is search. If I'm going to keep a couple of thousand emails on the thing (likely), I gotta be able to spotlight my way to what I'm looking for quickly.
The minute that happens, I give up my BlackBerry. - eyefork2, on 07/17/2008, -0/+4In after the comments about how E-mail is better than MMS. Apple fanboys talk about how no one uses MMS and it sucks, but this is simply untrue. Most phones have MMS nowadays. I use it, my friends use it, basically lots of people use MMS. Picture messaging makes it easier for us to share photos on the go than getting tangled in a mess of email data plans etc. My phone and many phones have MMS as a no-brainer, the iPhone is a minority, and I don't see why it hasn't been implemented yet. Digg is the only place where you will hear this talk of MMS being outdated and dying, unsurprisingly.
- Blizaine, on 07/16/2008, -13/+8I agree that this is an artificial demand.
I have had a Treo700w for 2.5 years and have used Copy/Paste maybe 10 times. All of those where when I was delving around in the file browser and moving files around for no good reason. - kraetos, on 07/16/2008, -6/+15In a lot of places on the iPhone where copy and paste would come in handy, there's a more than adequate replacement. If you get texted a phone number, you can call it or save it right from there. If you want to email someone a link, you can do it right from the browser.
I don't think there are too many places were copy and paste would really come in handy. For the most part, Apple's anticipated the places where you might need it and offered a faster alternative. - sparkmonkeyz, on 07/16/2008, -4/+9I actually disagree with much of this as a Blackberry Pearl user who does have copy and paste. I use it all the time; usually it is for copying some contact info and sending it in a text or e-mail. Or it is nice when I use the google sms, and have movie times, directions, or something else that I may need to relay that has already been written somewhere on my phone. I wish I had an iPhone, to damn expensive a month for me though. "The things you own end up owning you"
- cleverboy, on 07/16/2008, -0/+3Curious. How much do you spend per month for your BlackBerry Pearl plan?
- jcaino, on 07/16/2008, -10/+15You know - sending that web page link would be a lot easier if you could cut and paste it...
- mediaphile, on 07/16/2008, -6/+15Easier than pushing the "mail link to this page" button?
- Rudegar, on 07/16/2008, -1/+4people could also want to copy paste from the office docs that iphone can view
- tomz17, on 07/16/2008, -14/+43"It's not there because it's not necessary." --or-- better yet "It's not there because the product is designed so well that it doesn't need it"
*****.
It's the same lame apologist story whenever someone mentions the single mouse button asshattery apple has pulled over the years.
There IS a compelling functional advantage to having copy and paste. I use it all of the time on my HTC touch. So why should apple do it? BECAUSE it makes LIFE a little bit EASIER, is stupid simple to implement, and detracts nothing from the iphone!- ophello, on 07/16/2008, -11/+2they would have to add a copy button to every screen. theres no command-c command-v in the iphone. are you retarded?
- nolemonplease, on 07/17/2008, -0/+8single mouse button asshattery. hee.
- TheUngod, on 07/16/2008, -9/+30Many of you are missing the point of copy/paste. It's supposed to be a timesaver and make things easy. You shouldn't HAVE to retype things, or recall phone numbers, or send an entire link as opposed to a snippet of a page. There is no justification to not have copy/paste, I'm sorry. Just because you paid hundreds of dollars for the thing and it's missing basic functionality doesn't mean you have to defend your purchase. It's a missing feature which should be there...end of story.
- CobaltBlue, on 07/16/2008, -14/+34Wow. I love apple fanboys. They can excuse apple of anything.
- jsully, on 07/16/2008, -5/+17Why stop with the iPhone? Why bother having copy and paste at all on a computer?
Well, what if I'm giving friends directions to my place via SMS. Instead of copying and pasting I need to type it out every time. What if I want to send someone a phone number in my address book? What if I want to move a number from the mobile field to the work field? There are hundreds of obvious uses for copy/cut/paste on the iPhone. The iPhone is a "Breakthrough Internet device", and a revolutionary mobile phone. While you can argue that it's not the biggest deal in the world, you surely can't argue away the utility and usefulness of copy and paste. - Books, on 07/16/2008, -5/+9I think it's more the fact that one of the most trivial functions in any computing device, is not available on one of the World's most 'advanced portable devices'. I mean, it's kind of stupid, just imagine your car not being able to have windows that roll down (auto or manual).
- brundlefly76, on 07/16/2008, -0/+15Yeah with Apple fanboys they play down every feature it doesn't have - until it arrives, and then its like Apple invented it.
But I have an iPod Touch and would LOVE to have copy and paste.
Copy and paste would be great and very useful on the iPhone, just as it is on the Blackberry.- ilgaz, on 07/17/2008, -4/+2Sad thing is, Apple _really_ invented copy and paste and that poor disabled thing is in fact World's first Unix handheld device for general public. You disable multi tasking on Unix running device. Unix has multi tasking since late 60s! It was _invented_ on Unix.
If Apple fanatics had brain, they would figure why people commenting about it.
We are sad about the second wasting opportunity... Yes, Apple could be 80% market if they didn't act like stupid in early 1990s... Now they make same mistakes with Steve Jobs. - nosecohn, on 07/17/2008, -0/+2ligaz, I'm guessing you're Russian... right?
- ilgaz, on 07/17/2008, -4/+2Sad thing is, Apple _really_ invented copy and paste and that poor disabled thing is in fact World's first Unix handheld device for general public. You disable multi tasking on Unix running device. Unix has multi tasking since late 60s! It was _invented_ on Unix.
- phoomp, on 07/16/2008, -7/+8If Apple says we don't need cut&paste, then we don't need it.
- digitaldivinci, on 07/16/2008, -1/+4Just today my friend sent me an email with the address of the hotel where we were staying at. I had to grab a piece of paper to write it down so I could put it into the Maps application.
Copy/Paste would have been great, but I'm not going to complain. Everyone else is doing that enough for me.- mgill3, on 07/17/2008, -3/+0Next time you could have him go to google maps, and get directions, then use the "Send to Phone" (or whatever it's called) link... you'd simply receive it in the text or email, tap on the link, and it will take you directly to Maps with the route all set up for you.
Or- You could just go to Maps, and type the name of the hotel + City & State (if you're not already in that area within Maps) and it'll pinpoint it for you, I almost NEVER type in the actual address anymore, just type the name of it and find the pinpoint...
Copy&Paste is nice to have, i used it on my old Treo 650, but I think Apple made easier ways to do things without having to copy & paste things. (Wouldn't mind it being there though)
- mgill3, on 07/17/2008, -3/+0Next time you could have him go to google maps, and get directions, then use the "Send to Phone" (or whatever it's called) link... you'd simply receive it in the text or email, tap on the link, and it will take you directly to Maps with the route all set up for you.
- MrMongoose, on 07/16/2008, -0/+8Try forwarding a text message to another friend. Took maybe 5 keypresses on my dinosaur nokia, impossible with my iphone. Absoloutely aggravating.
- gthrank, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1What crap! Often times I need to copy a phone number or an email address from an email to a contact's entry (for example if someone sends me an email that their details have been updated). I often have to copy a number off a website. And if iPhone ever wants to get serious with email users (which doesnt seem to be the case, given it's error-prone and too narrowly spaced keyboard), they have to have copy and paste. Frequently I need to excerpt part of an email and send it to someone else.
- AeonTorpor, on 07/16/2008, -4/+1***** YOU FRANK!
- schroeder, on 07/17/2008, -1/+1This isn't a poll.
- Jorg, on 07/17/2008, -0/+2I think you are wrong.. I would use copy and paste at least 10 to 20 times a day. I deal with lots of compound pages and emails that have pieces of content that needs to be split up to be really useful.
For example I may be looking at a page with 7 different versions of a down load link for a software update. If I had cut and paste for links, I could cut the correct link and send it to the right person. I can't uses the existing interface to do this as I cannot view the linked page (an exe) and then use the email page button.
Almost the same situation with emails. I often get links of items and want to send different pieces to different email addresses. Simple with cut and paste.- jgtg32a, on 07/17/2008, -0/+120 times that's it?
I just got home from work, I did data entry all day couple thousand records about 5-8 c/p per record.
- jgtg32a, on 07/17/2008, -0/+120 times that's it?
- ElbowGeek, on 07/17/2008, -0/+2Dude, my Palm Pilot from 1999 had copy/paste. It is now some nine years later.
I actually went backwards from an iPhone to a Palm Treo, because it is much stronger as a business-oriented organizer, has copy/paste, and the battery life is vastly better. Yes, the browser isn't as sexy, but it gets the job done, and I don't miss WiFi one bit, thank you. In fact, I figured out that the reason for horrible battery life in an iPhone is due in large part to the WiFi.
Cheers - ilgaz, on 07/17/2008, -0/+2I can't imagine the chaos if Nokia/SE/Samsung disabled copy and paste from 100M smart phones running Symbian.
Copy and Paste is a life saver. Especially if you deal with business on your portable device.
- zephc, on 07/16/2008, -11/+20Agreed - for just about everything that can be done with copy/cut/paste, there is an alternative to do it. I think the primary argument for it is text editing. Woe to anyone who has to do extensive text editing (typing more than a couple paragraphs) on a PDA/phone.
- diggid3, on 07/16/2008, -3/+8The only proper way copy/paste could be implemented is using the gestures currently used for zooming / panning etc. (to make a selection), i.e. it can't be done at the moment, unless it depends on some state, either user-settable or application-dependent, which would clutter up the current UI-experience.
- Blizaine, on 07/16/2008, -0/+6yeah, implementing it will be a challenge for Apple.
I was thinking they could allow you to press and hold on the screen for 1 or 2 seconds, next to what you want to copy, and then pop up a special highlighter magnifying glass. Then you could drag right or left to highlight a section of text. Once highlighted, pressing and holding on the text would pop up an context menu for copy/paste.- jgtg32a, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1No they can't do that that's what Adobe does select text and hover over it for a second and a menu pops up.
- GliTCH82, on 07/16/2008, -1/+2Here's an easy way to do it. Double tap on a word, then tap and hold to bring up a circular menu around your finger that you could then slide your finger to to either cut/copy/paste. Triple tap the word instead and it would select the entire line.
- CCB0x45, on 07/16/2008, -1/+3umm except right now that wouldnt work because double tapping(in safari) resizes to that section of the page.
- MrMongoose, on 07/16/2008, -0/+5This guy thought it through pretty well:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXgsQhiGeag- jgtg32a, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1I like it almost has an EMACS feel to it.
- Blizaine, on 07/16/2008, -0/+6yeah, implementing it will be a challenge for Apple.
- abediz, on 07/16/2008, -23/+20it aint that easy?
was safari on the iphone easy?
was multi touch easy?
was accelerometers easy?
its not about ease, its about priority and Apple is too big headed to appeal to power users. They think their customer is solely the non-savy consumer and has no idea about copy paste. This phone cost $200/300 and about $80 a month, I think people willing to pay that deserve a very basic feature over....mmmmm...a scientific calculator!!!!- Diggnabbit, on 07/16/2008, -1/+20Really? You think that only power users have any idea about copy & paste? That's a pretty broad definition of "power user."
- santaliqueur, on 07/16/2008, -1/+3Because it was either cut/paste OR the scientific calculator. You got it.
- kraetos, on 07/16/2008, -4/+1None of those were easy to implement, you're right. But ALL of them were way higher priorities than copy and paste. Despite all the bitching on the internet, C&P actually isn't the most important thing in the world. Like I said in another comment, the UI hurdles for implementing C&P are more significant than you think, and the benefit is NOT as significant as you think.
Honestly, I use my iPhone every day, all the time. I have tons of apps and I develop web apps for the iPhone. I rarely stumble into a situation where copy and paste would be helpful and Apple hasn't already anticipated it (phone numbers in texts, emails or webpages, emailing links, etc).
Here's a really good rule of thumb regarding anything Apple: the right answer is almost always the opposite of what the "internet consensus" is.- DragonForce4, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1I hope I'm not the only one who read C&P as CP
- davepascoe, on 07/16/2008, -3/+4scientific calculator was exactly what I wanted from day one.
I never even thought about copy/paste until teh interwebs started screaming about it.
- Diggnabbit, on 07/16/2008, -18/+47I think the article has a point. What gesture/tap/drag or whatever would work well for copy/paste? How to select text (or anything else) on the iPhone is a tricky question. I think you'd have to create a pop-up menu or something to allow you to pick a "select" tool. Which would be a pain, and particularly hard to implement system-wide.
- toekneebullard, on 07/16/2008, -15/+15So your excuse is "they couldn't come up with a gesture for it, so leave it out"
That seems pretty weak to me. - ebrooks, on 07/16/2008, -3/+1using a pop-up menu to pick a "select" tool is exactly how it's done on a blackberry. I assure you Apple will not use a pop-up menu when they have multi-touch available.
- Crucible1001, on 07/16/2008, -1/+5The same way it works on windows mobile I would think. You just press down on the screen and hold for a second and a menu pops up to copy, paste, delete, etc.
- GliTCH82, on 07/16/2008, -4/+3I don't think it's that complicated, why would it need a gesture when you could tap. Just double tap on a word to highlight it, then tap and hold to bring up a circular contextual menu with cut/copy/paste. Triple tap to select the entire line. There's no need for complicated swipes to get it done. The magical zoom tool that helps you relocate the pointer wouldn't come up if there was something already highlighted, you'd have to tap again to cancel the highlight then single tap and hold would bring up the conventional zoom tool just as it always has.
- griz, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1I've used an ipod touch and I thought you could select text by highlighting it with the magnifier which then allows you to edit it.
It would be a simple case if adding an intuitive gesture. Pehaps something that is "muscle memory" similar to the action of pressing cmd-C and cmd-V. with 2 fingers. - stubear, on 07/16/2008, -3/+2And this, my friends, is why touch computers will NEVER take off for personal use. Gestures are limited and trying to remember more then a handful will be a hinderance to adoption.
- chrishirsch, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1computers will never work
- Kazbaeden, on 07/16/2008, -1/+1The way it works on my Latitude XT (which is also multitouch) is I can drag the page with two fingers, select with one finger, copy with a UL flick, and paste with a DL flick. Of course, double finger scrolling is a problem on a screen the size of the iPhone, but if that's the only limitation perhaps there needs to be a toggle gesture to switch between scrolling and selecting, just a double tap or something.
Honestly, I don't think the limiting factor is "Apple engineers couldn't think of a way."- DelMonte, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1"The way it works on my Latitude XT (which is also multitouch) is I can drag the page with two fingers, ..."
The Latitude XT is not really multi-touch, it's a Dell marketing buzz-word. It can only sense the difference between using one or two fingers, but that's it, only one position is registered. It cannot detect independently the position of multiple fingers, so something like the pinch-zoom and two fingers rotation would be impossible. It's like the difference between normal track-pads supporting two-finger scrolling, and the true multi-touch track-pads on the Macbook pro and air.
The iPhone already uses the two-finger gesture in Safari to enable scrolling of embedded scrolling text fields.
- DelMonte, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1"The way it works on my Latitude XT (which is also multitouch) is I can drag the page with two fingers, ..."
- vdogg89, on 07/16/2008, -0/+3oh my gosh, did you not freaking watch the video? it shows how you would copy and paste
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/fake-iphone-cut ...- jtanang, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1That was great! "I Love You".
- toekneebullard, on 07/16/2008, -15/+15So your excuse is "they couldn't come up with a gesture for it, so leave it out"
- juliaperesypko, on 07/16/2008, -14/+14Copy and paste is a very useful function.. hope they will create it soon ..
- StevesJobs, on 07/16/2008, -6/+24Did anyone here read the article? Most of the above comments are 'copy and paste would be awesome.'
- ravage86, on 07/16/2008, -7/+2Did you read the comments? That's not what most people are saying.
- ElSnuggles, on 07/16/2008, -1/+9Wait, you mean you expect the comments to be based on the content of the article? Perhaps you are mistaken, but this is digg, not slashdot.
- ThinkBox, on 07/16/2008, -31/+2I owned a first gen iPhone for about a year now.
I now own a new 3G iPhone.
STOP WITH ALL THE IPHONE STORIES- teh_techie, on 07/16/2008, -0/+15Thanks for your helpful insight into this story!
- ravage86, on 07/16/2008, -0/+8You should post an article about how you used to have the old iPhone, but found it worthwhile to upgrade to the newer one. I'm sure a lot of people will be interested in your unusual situation.
- MtheoryX, on 07/16/2008, -1/+6Change your digg settings. Wow, that was easy.
- hydroplane, on 07/16/2008, -17/+76Who needs functionality when you have shiny plastic and loud commercials.
- TheUngod, on 07/16/2008, -2/+9You should work for Steve Jobs advertising department
- JeremyGrieves, on 07/17/2008, -1/+2Sir I like the way you think and wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
- ers35, on 07/16/2008, -16/+10Drag with two fingers to highlight and release to copy. Hold two fingers and release to paste.
Apple keeps raving about how easy and powerful objective C is, but they cannot even get simple features such as copy and paste working?- macsox, on 07/16/2008, -5/+14Finger size? Finding the insertion point? Carrying between applications?
Why, if it's so simple, didn't they just do it then? Spite?
And, I must obligatorily ask - did you read the article?- ers35, on 07/16/2008, -7/+4What I am trying to get at is that they do not even need to give it a UI. Just add another finger motion to activate it.
And yes, I did read the article. - mathben, on 07/16/2008, -2/+3Oh. Did you also read up on what UI means? A finger motion would count as such.
- ers35, on 07/16/2008, -4/+2Sorry, I meant to write GUI instead of UI.
- ebrooks, on 07/16/2008, -3/+1Well how would you determine the insertion point when your two fingers take up a square inch without a modification to the UI??
- ers35, on 07/16/2008, -2/+3The same way it is done now. You would use the magnifying glass when dragging.
- Kazbaeden, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2Or you could just arbitrarily place a cursor and use the accelerometer by tilting the device to move it. It's all about multi-modal input.
- ers35, on 07/16/2008, -7/+4What I am trying to get at is that they do not even need to give it a UI. Just add another finger motion to activate it.
- roosterjm2k2, on 07/16/2008, -5/+11Your comment was so dumb I actually took the time to login to reply.
Objective-C has NOTHING to do with the copy/paste functionality.
Jesus, the things know-it-alls will say- ers35, on 07/16/2008, -7/+3Why doesn't apple just add copy/paste functionality to the API then?
- Radan, on 07/16/2008, -1/+5Two finger dragging is already used for scrolling in frames and similar in Safari.
I think the simplest way of solving this and many other problems would be to simply let three-finger-pinching open up a contextual menu where you could choose to go into copy or paste mode.
- macsox, on 07/16/2008, -5/+14Finger size? Finding the insertion point? Carrying between applications?
- RATM4EVER, on 07/16/2008, -47/+148Stop trying to stick up for apple.
They didn't listen/care about your concerns...I don't see why that would warrant them this credit. "It's not easy" my ass....what's so hard about putting an icon of a scissor on the bottom corner of the touch keyboard? Then it turns to a glue dabber when pressed....Or some other trendy icon I'm sure apple can conjure up.
Go ahead, bury me.- roosterjm2k2, on 07/16/2008, -25/+11They don't listen, i know...thats why it was on, and is still on the list of items to take care of, right?
They have to prioritize...copy/paste is not that big a deal (i have yet to find a situation that i need it on the iphone) so it's lower priority. Simple as that.
But hey, it gives people like you something to bitch at so you feel more important, so at least they're doing something for you.- divisional, on 07/16/2008, -7/+4Right on roosterjm2k2. Absolutely correct. I purchased a 1st gen iPhone a week after launch - I use it everyday, often, and for a variety of things, and have never encountered the need - not ONCE - for a copy/paste function.
- stubear, on 07/16/2008, -1/+0You've seen this list of stuff Apple has yet to do for the iPhone OS? Oh, I'm sorry, it was on a blog, not the MSM so ti MUST be true. Carry on then.
- mathben, on 07/16/2008, -14/+7the fact that the keyboard isn't aviable att all times, e.g. when you surf the web (probably the most common place where cut/copy would be needed), and, as stated, it's really not just about coming up with an icon to create a cross-application feature, bet you've never written a line of code in your life? Not saying it can't be done, but it really isn't that easy.
Oh, and yes, I did bury you. - kraetos, on 07/16/2008, -18/+5Alright smart guy, if it's so easy to implement, why hasn't Apple done it already?
Think about it for a second before you spurt out a knee-jerk answer that makes you look like an idiot. If you give me an answer that makes sense, then I'll give you credit where its due. But I don't think you will. - clak, on 07/16/2008, -12/+3Did you watch the WWDC keynote? Steve Jobs actually said they listened to people and the number one concern was 3G and price. Well, hey, they delivered those 2 things, plus GPS, an App Store, and a flush headphone jack, which as far as I can remember, are also stuff people bitched about.
- locojones, on 07/16/2008, -2/+5LOL You Apple fans are just priceless. I wish I were a psychology student so I could do my doctorate on your cognitive dissonance and how you'll justify even the most negative news about Apple and turn it into a positive. How long do you think it took someone to design a flush headset jack? Is that person's job to even write code? What did they do with the rest of the year that it was in development where they only added 3 new features?
If this was the government dictating what is and isn't on your phone, you people would be burning cities down. But if Steve Jobs tells you what you can and can't have on your phone, you lap it up like starving kittens.
If a computer company ever told me that copy & paste was too hard to implement, I'd laugh them right out the door. What a joke. - gcnaddict, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1One of the features I frequently use on my Blackberry is cut & paste.
I know it sounds retarded to the Apple fanboys, but this is the largest reason behind why I'm not switching to an iPhone. (That and the lack of tethering without a hack) - chadpyle, on 07/18/2008, -0/+1I'm sure you watched the keynote, and pleasured yourself in the process.
Oh, and the way they implemented GPS is gay as AIDS.
- locojones, on 07/16/2008, -2/+5LOL You Apple fans are just priceless. I wish I were a psychology student so I could do my doctorate on your cognitive dissonance and how you'll justify even the most negative news about Apple and turn it into a positive. How long do you think it took someone to design a flush headset jack? Is that person's job to even write code? What did they do with the rest of the year that it was in development where they only added 3 new features?
- ophello, on 07/16/2008, -9/+1apple is not our mothers. i could give two ***** about whether or not it has my petty concerns in mind. apple decided to focus on other *****, and copy and paste wasnt one of them. why dont you talk about all the stuff iphone got right instead of bitching about one feature that most people wont use?
- TheShad0w, on 07/17/2008, -0/+2I have. I have pointed out that the other ui elements and the media management and playback are all really nice. But this is a smart phone that isn't smart. They stated that they focused on business users for the this generation but they decided to side step something that business people would find important.
- JBabin3xB, on 07/17/2008, -1/+5i sir, digg you
- umbrellainabin, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1great song
The Kill (Bury Me)
30 Seconds to Mars
- roosterjm2k2, on 07/16/2008, -25/+11They don't listen, i know...thats why it was on, and is still on the list of items to take care of, right?
- exomni, on 07/16/2008, -10/+8UI would be extremely easy:
Drag and release on text to highlight and copy. Then, in the keyboard, a small key for "paste from clipboard".
Easy as that. Of course, if you highlighted some text to delete it between copying what you wanted and pasting it, it would ruin it, but that just means changing how you use Copy and Paste.- thejokell, on 07/16/2008, -9/+19That IS easy. Oh wait, I already drag and release to scroll. Now it will highlight too? But how do I know when it does what? And what about when I don't have a keyboard - where do I click that small key?
Oh right - it's not that easy.- akeldama, on 07/16/2008, -1/+9You're right, it's so mind numbingly difficult, no one could have possibly figured out a way to copy and paste on an iphone using gestures, not even the great Apple!
http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/09/fake-iphone-cut ...
- akeldama, on 07/16/2008, -1/+9You're right, it's so mind numbingly difficult, no one could have possibly figured out a way to copy and paste on an iphone using gestures, not even the great Apple!
- samsoffes, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1so highlighting always copies. that intuitive. what if i want to highlight and delete?
- ahpro, on 07/19/2008, -0/+1You delete by selecting where you want to delete from and pressing backspace. That feature is there already.
- thejokell, on 07/16/2008, -9/+19That IS easy. Oh wait, I already drag and release to scroll. Now it will highlight too? But how do I know when it does what? And what about when I don't have a keyboard - where do I click that small key?
- alcimedes, on 07/16/2008, -3/+27Since there's no specific gesture that means "copy" or "paste" you'd think Apple would just pick something and run with it. I'm hearing a lot of excuses, but if Apple gave a crap they could figure out a way to make it work.
Just seems like a really odd option to hit the cutting room floor. Copy/Paste is one of *the* original functions computers/word processors could perform. You'd think they'd have put more effort in to retain that stuff.- serif69, on 07/16/2008, -5/+6Apple was the first to implement copy/paste on any device on a large scale, period. The method of doing so was so great that it became the benchmark. Mac OS and Windows have both used Command/Control - X, C, V for cut, copy, and paste for decades. Imagine if Xerox (or Apple, whoever decided on the shortcuts) stuck to being literal and used Command - Shift - C for copy and Command - P for paste. It wouldn't have caught on because it would be too poor an interface. And that was 25 years ago. Do you really think Apple would tread heavily and just toss in the same feature without thinking as thoroughly about the interface for another device paradigm?
- waydee, on 07/16/2008, -4/+5Stop apologising for your idols, they've had over a year since the first iPhone to work this out and instead spent it jacking each other off and working out how to implement features every other mobile phone has managed for the past half decade yet still they leave some out.
You can throw about all the ***** buzzwords you want, they ***** up and you need to accept it as the serious flaw it is - criticism such as this is constructive and will lead to a better product.
- waydee, on 07/16/2008, -4/+5Stop apologising for your idols, they've had over a year since the first iPhone to work this out and instead spent it jacking each other off and working out how to implement features every other mobile phone has managed for the past half decade yet still they leave some out.
- ophello, on 07/16/2008, -1/+2the iphone is not a word processor.
- serif69, on 07/16/2008, -5/+6Apple was the first to implement copy/paste on any device on a large scale, period. The method of doing so was so great that it became the benchmark. Mac OS and Windows have both used Command/Control - X, C, V for cut, copy, and paste for decades. Imagine if Xerox (or Apple, whoever decided on the shortcuts) stuck to being literal and used Command - Shift - C for copy and Command - P for paste. It wouldn't have caught on because it would be too poor an interface. And that was 25 years ago. Do you really think Apple would tread heavily and just toss in the same feature without thinking as thoroughly about the interface for another device paradigm?
- xsecretfiles, on 07/16/2008, -7/+6Sure Copy and paste would be nice, but I don't need it really.
maybe once or twice I ran across a website where I felt too lazy to write things down - Draculecom, on 07/16/2008, -8/+11My Blackberry has it. Neener-neener.
- Palaceguard, on 07/16/2008, -6/+4My Mac has it too. So there
- superkendall, on 07/16/2008, -12/+6Your Blackberry has a UI than NEEDS it. The iPhone doesn't.
Triple neener.- akeldama, on 07/16/2008, -0/+8Ever had the need to copy and paste snippets of email? How about moving phone numbers from one field to the next, or addresses? Copy an address and past it to an email? Do you enjoy typing your WPA key into your iphone for wireless connectivity? I don't know about you, but typing this:
D1.jHr2@@,(S{[5gYV3Fe4(qu))*X"7!}5;b0s0xSg4RM5yDIF{$9Nb!WgAE|,
on the iphone keyboard instead of copy and paste is akin to torture! - chadpyle, on 07/18/2008, -0/+1You probably don't even need an 'answer' button because nobody's calling.
- akeldama, on 07/16/2008, -0/+8Ever had the need to copy and paste snippets of email? How about moving phone numbers from one field to the next, or addresses? Copy an address and past it to an email? Do you enjoy typing your WPA key into your iphone for wireless connectivity? I don't know about you, but typing this:
- Draculecom, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2Tap-dancing is for pussies.
- AeroSquid, on 07/16/2008, -8/+110it took them 10+ years to get a second button on their mouse so this copy paste business can wait a while longer.
- waluigi14, on 07/16/2008, -15/+5They invented copy and paste (or were first to make it popular, at least), and all their computers always supported two (or more) button mice. This seems to be the only argument many Apple-haters have.
- MacParrot, on 07/16/2008, -17/+10If you're going to troll, at least try to be accurate. It took Apple approximately 13 years (with the release of System 8) to add contextual menus available either through a control-click OR with an ADB mouse that supported it, right-click for the Macintosh. Mice so equipped to work with Apple's proprietary ADB ports were few and far between as compared to Windows compatible serial port supported mice, though many companies simply made a small piece of hardware that would attach to the serial port connector and make it also support ADB.
Once Apple embraced USB starting with the original iMac (don't get me started on Apple's Hockey Puck mouse as I just finished lunch), almost any mouse that had both a right and left button would work with the Mac OS (up to and including OS X) to include right-clicking.
The "Mighty Mouse" (also an Apple device I have absolutely no use for) was first included or sold in August of 2007 making it actually over 20 years before Apple sold a mouse for the Mac with right-click capability.
Maybe you should rethink being a troll as you're not very good at it.- MacParrot, on 07/16/2008, -2/+2And to show that I seem to fail at trolling as well, the "Mighty Mouse" was actually released in August of 2005. I still hate it though I do like the scroll wheel being able to go in just about any direction in large documents or websites.
- WomensUnderwear, on 07/16/2008, -1/+6wow, you sure have your head up your own ass
- gcnaddict, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1MacParrot, you succeeded at being a troll: you got buried.
- Stevo23, on 07/16/2008, -13/+26Blah blah blah..."designing a UI for copy-paste is hard!"
Not if you had right-click, it wouldn't be.- waluigi14, on 07/16/2008, -9/+3How the ***** do you right click on a capacitive touch screen?
- omgdspmpg, on 07/16/2008, -0/+5multi-touch
- blergle, on 07/16/2008, -0/+1Press and hold. Works on iPhone - you can save images from Safari like that.
- superkendall, on 07/16/2008, -5/+2How Does Windows Mobile right click?
- AdamFromMyspace, on 07/16/2008, -0/+9Press and hold..
- akeldama, on 07/16/2008, -0/+4Tap and hold
- stubear, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2Tap and hold the screen with the stylus (not sure on a SmartPhone but this was the way it was done on the PDAs).
- EtherGnat, on 07/16/2008, -0/+3My last phone (Samsung SCH-i730) had a "right click" context menu key on the slide out keyboard as well.
- ahpro, on 07/19/2008, -0/+1Exactly. You use your index finger to do stuff you would do with a left click button? Well now you can use your forth finger to right click. It's just that easy.
;-)
- waluigi14, on 07/16/2008, -9/+3How the ***** do you right click on a capacitive touch screen?
- Retnuh730, on 07/16/2008, -0/+44This is a great concept of how it could be done, not to mention how hilariously creepy the iphone guided tour guy is in here.
http://www.vimeo.com/266383- EverTheCynic, on 07/16/2008, -5/+1"The pop-up shows you what you grabbed and you can tap the copy button to.....copy....it."
Probably should have done another take on that one. That being said, the video showcases a really good idea for implementing a copy/paste feature and is hilariously creepy at the same time. The only problem I saw was that the second finger tap motion is pulling double duty by taking you into select mode and bringing up the paste dialogue. He implies that you can have multiple items in the clipboard, but if you tried to copy two things in a row, it'll bring up the paste dialogue instead of the selection mode for the second item. Additionally, if you just want to paste something that was previously copied and should still be on the clipboard, there's no way to bring up the paste dialogue without copying something new. It's not a deal-breaker per se, but it could be annoying at times. The solution would be to not allow more than one item in the clipboard or to offer a choice between selection mode and paste mode after the finger gesture is used. One sacrifices some function and the other is less elegant. Either way, we'd still have copy and paste. Regardless, I think he nailed the proper finger gesture for this feature. - ahpro, on 07/19/2008, -0/+1A problem i see with this is what if you go into select mode by accident? there's no cancel button. Maybe tapping on the top bit which changes colour would take it out of that mode.
- EverTheCynic, on 07/16/2008, -5/+1"The pop-up shows you what you grabbed and you can tap the copy button to.....copy....it."
- LoudNoise, on 07/16/2008, -11/+24I like how the interface is missing a fundamental text editing feature, yet so many people continue to rave about its usability.
- Sairynn, on 07/16/2008, -8/+11Usability != Features
In fact, an increase in features usually leads to a decrease in usability (not that the iPhone shouldn't have copy+paste).- EtherGnat, on 07/16/2008, -4/+3Simplicity != Features would probably be more accurate, and I think copy-and-paste is a good example of why. Adding it would increase the complexity of the device, but it's hard to argue that retyping information offers higher usability that copy-and-paste.
- divisional, on 07/16/2008, -9/+2I purchased an iPhone about a week after the original launch, use it everyday, for a variety of things - and have found it to be the most used, most functional piece of tech that I have ever owned... and not ONCE have a felt the need to have a copy/paste function. Just simply never missed it. I wouldn't have even thought it's an issue until people bitch about it, and it's just got me thinking - why? I use the hell out of my iPhone and I could give a crap. Low priority.
- akeldama, on 07/16/2008, -1/+6Ever had the need to copy and paste snippets of email? How about moving phone numbers from one field to the next, or addresses? Copy an address and past it to an email? Do you enjoy typing your WPA key into your iphone for wireless connectivity? I don't know about you, but typing this:
D1.jHr2@@,(S{[5gYV3Fe4(qu))*X"7!}5;b0s0xSg4RM5yDIF{$9Nb!WgAE|,
on the iphone keyboard instead of copy and paste is akin to torture! - EtherGnat, on 07/16/2008, -2/+2Everybody on Digg repeat after me (people on both sides of issues on Digg need to learn this):
Everybody is not just like me. People do things differently and have different priorities.
If copy and paste is not an issue for you then great, don't worry about it. It doesn't mean it's not an issue for other people, though. - divisional, on 08/14/2008, -0/+0"Ever had the need to copy and paste snippets of email?
No I haven't. I forward the email with the relevant text in it.
"How about moving phone numbers from one field to the next, or addresses?"
No. Have not encountered the need for that.
"Copy an address and paste it to an email?"
Still no. Sorry. Doesn't take that long to type 1234 E. Pine Street.
"Do you enjoy typing your WPA key into your iphone for wireless connectivity?"
Again, I have not encountered the need for this. My iPhone finds my home wi-fi, friends wi-fi, and various restaurants and coffee shops with ease. I have not had to ever type in some sort of "key"
My point is that it just seems to be a really minor addition to the iPhone software. Fine if they want to include it - I couldn't care less... I am just interested why it seems to be such a make or break proposition for people. The device is pretty awesome as it is... Just my opinion of course. I guess if copy/paste is so critical to your daily use, then buy a different phone.
- akeldama, on 07/16/2008, -1/+6Ever had the need to copy and paste snippets of email? How about moving phone numbers from one field to the next, or addresses? Copy an address and past it to an email? Do you enjoy typing your WPA key into your iphone for wireless connectivity? I don't know about you, but typing this:
- superkendall, on 07/16/2008, -8/+3The fact you think it's fundamental shows you've never used an iPhone. You can design software around not needing cut & paste.
- waydee, on 07/16/2008, -0/+5Do you never notice your own fanboyism? come on, accept some constructive criticism for once.
- locojones, on 07/16/2008, -0/+3Fantastic Kendall, so perhaps you could tell us how Apple solved the problem? Let's say someone send you an e-mail or text message with an e-mail address, a phone number, a complex URL, or anything you need to insert into contacts, or a web browser address bar, or even to forward to someone else. How did Apple get around the copy & paste exactly?
- blergle, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1The fact you think Copy and Paste is not important shows you have absolutely no ***** clue about anything.
- waydee, on 07/16/2008, -2/+2It's revolutionary and don't you forget it hater!
- Sairynn, on 07/16/2008, -8/+11Usability != Features
- arjie, on 07/16/2008, -5/+10This article has a link claiming that the iPhone had "the highest-performing battery life of any 3G phone PC World tested." The page linked as a source for that says that a Blackberry Curve (EVDO) lasted half an hour more. Just for reference.
- ErikHK, on 07/16/2008, -0/+0even if it were true, it wouldn't be that weird considering the size of the jPhone ;)
- eddieroger, on 07/17/2008, -0/+3In this case, 3G only refers to GSM phones. EVDO is a CDMA, so it's entirely feasible for an EVDO phone to have better battery life than the iPhone 3G, but it doesn't matter since it's (sorry) apples and oranges.
- chaynes68, on 07/16/2008, -7/+6Seems like the UI would be simple:
COPY: Hover over text, when the magnifier bubble pops up position the cursor to the right place click home button and drag to select text. When home button or finger is released text is copied to clipboard.
PASTE: Hover over text, when the magnifier bubble pops up position the cursor to the right place and double click home button.
The home button rule seems simple enough, if the magnifier bubble is being shown then the home button is being used for COPY/PASTE.- ebrooks, on 07/16/2008, -1/+5Whatever they do, they're not going to require two hands to copy and paste.
- emanaydin, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2that doesn't sound too comfy..
- JBabin3xB, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1that's crazy karma sutra ***** right there
- newwildlife, on 07/16/2008, -19/+13Is anyone else REAL tired of seeing articles about the freaking IPHONE? ?!! !?!? !? ?!?!?!? !?!!? !?!? !???!
- Palaceguard, on 07/16/2008, -3/+8Then filter it out. Why is this so hard?
- superkendall, on 07/16/2008, -5/+2Apple haters just aren't that bright.
- MtheoryX, on 07/16/2008, -2/+2Is anyone else REAL tired of seeing people NOT use the interrobang ‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽‽
- Palaceguard, on 07/16/2008, -3/+8Then filter it out. Why is this so hard?
- BOFH2, on 07/16/2008, -1/+3No Iphone here - however I do know that it has really helped me on my phone when getting an address for mapping or URLs email.
- mogebier, on 07/16/2008, -8/+7They don't have it because they will have it in the series 3 iphone that will come out in 8 months.
Just you wait and see.
Apple makes suckers of you people who constantly upgrade your products when you don't need to.- kraetos, on 07/16/2008, -4/+4"Apple makes suckers of you people who constantly upgrade your products when you don't need to."
Given that iPhone OS upgrades are free, how is that suckering anyone?- mogebier, on 07/16/2008, -4/+2How many ipods do you own?? It's probably more than 1, right?
Did you buy both iphones?? I bet you did. - ftx437, on 07/16/2008, -1/+2Because even though there was an software update people still went to buy the 3g version..
- lvlln, on 07/16/2008, -2/+2Tell that to iPod Touch owners who are fed the classic "accounting reasons" BS line about charging for firmware upgrades. FYI, this reason has been discounted consistently - no law in the books, not the SOx law, not any other law, forces any company to charge for significant upgrades on a product that has already been sold.
- kraetos, on 07/17/2008, -0/+2@mogebier
Your stupidity is astounding. If Copy & Paste is part of iPhone OS 3.0, then that update will be pushed FOR FREE to all iPhone owners. That means all 7.5m current iPhone owners won't pay a dime to get it on their CURRENT iPhones. As in the ones they paid for and own, RIGHT NOW.
I don't know how to say it clearer than this: when Copy & Paste is released, it will go on to all current iPhones, for free.
Something tells me you still wont get it.
And, not that its relevant for anything, but I have owned 3 iPods and 1 iPod shuffle over the course of 7 years, plus a nano I sold that I got for free when I bought a Mac for school. At the moment I own an 80GB iPod and a blue shuffle.
And yes, I did buy both iPhones. I then sold my first iPhone to an unlocker for $400, so I basically got the 3G one free and $100 back on the original one. I'm trying really hard, but I don't feel like a sucker.
- mogebier, on 07/16/2008, -4/+2How many ipods do you own?? It's probably more than 1, right?
- ahpro, on 07/19/2008, -0/+1By the downratings you can even see that they don't even admit it.
- kraetos, on 07/16/2008, -4/+4"Apple makes suckers of you people who constantly upgrade your products when you don't need to."
- diggtochina, on 07/16/2008, -9/+10written by a fanboy for fanboys
- Niz1, on 07/16/2008, -0/+5Sometimes apple needs to not make a big deal of things, why not have a simple copy & paste for the moment that gets the job done then have your 2 hour keynote on iClipboard, im sure people would appreciate the basic one for the moment, but clearly this is not going to happen.
- madmaxmedia, on 07/16/2008, -4/+2"Sometimes apple needs to not make a big deal of things". I don't totally disagree with your statement (especially as it applies to copy & paste). But if Apple had taken that approach with the entire iPhone, it would not be what it is today (and not nearly as popular.)
- lvlln, on 07/16/2008, -1/+2You mean it would be useful? And actually have functions that people need, want, and use all the time, like voice-dialing or stereo Bluetooth or video recording?
- madmaxmedia, on 07/16/2008, -4/+2"Sometimes apple needs to not make a big deal of things". I don't totally disagree with your statement (especially as it applies to copy & paste). But if Apple had taken that approach with the entire iPhone, it would not be what it is today (and not nearly as popular.)
- chadlewis76, on 07/16/2008, -3/+11PocketPC/Windows Mobile has had very intuitive copy+paste gestures for years. It's not difficult at all. Buried as inaccurate.
- diabulos, on 07/16/2008, -0/+6Retnuh730's link gives you an answer to that 'ooo, ahhhh, it is hard, what about the UI, it is an Apple product, it is sacred...don't you dare criticize it.....' for God's sake, the Palm had it, even the Newton I think had it...c'mon, its the old 'if Steve Jobs does not think you need it, then you don't need it, you just didn't know it' game if the Iphone was a Samsung product or a Sony product people would be shredding it to pieces and the Mac heads eulogizing on how Apple would make a far better device.
Proud owner of a 1st gen Iphone. - slochewie, on 07/16/2008, -3/+20i use copy and paste all the time. thank god I have a blackberry
- RomgRim, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1Yes but Daring ***** said it so you have to respect it.
- omgdspmpg, on 07/16/2008, -5/+9that's *****. my $150 blackberry pearl has copy/print. the apple iphone not having it is pretty much the most absurd thing i have heard all day.
- disoriented, on 07/16/2008, -5/+6Really? I mean REALLY? If its such a milestone in phones, why can't it copy and paste? My LG Dare can quite easily and it's all touchscreen...Just for reference...
- chadpyle, on 07/18/2008, -0/+1Indeed...
- beerock, on 07/16/2008, -3/+7Uh...
Maybe with their massive market and remarkable profits, they could've started a new Dev team for that sole function?
"No no, we'll make more money if those hipsters have to buy the next version for that reason." - mogebier, on 07/16/2008, -7/+2ftx437 is exactly right.
- pa1ntball56, on 07/16/2008, -2/+4every time an iphone does something simple, or doesn't do anything right, why does it have to make the digg front page?
- gl77, on 07/16/2008, -6/+9i was waiting for "The iPhone doesn't have copy & paste because...it SUCKS BALLS!!!!" oh wait, that would be the TRUTH. nm.
- RomgRim, on 07/17/2008, -0/+2Yes and Gruber sucks Jobs' balls. Hard. Daily. Several times a day. ON HIS KNEES.
- p51d007, on 07/16/2008, -2/+7Don't know about you, but I could not live without copy/paste. I have an HTC 8925 (tilt), and I use copy/paste
5-10 times a day just working with spreadsheets. Why not break out the laptop? Because it's easier than
gettting it out, waking it up, logging on, opening the app, editing, saving etc etc.
I've been using a PDA for many years, and could not get along without copy/paste.
Maybe iphone 3.01 will have it?- akeldama, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2It will be on the App Store for $10.
- freakin42, on 07/16/2008, -9/+2I can honestly say that having used the iPhone since it's launch, there have been three times exactly that I wished I had copy and paste, and all three of those are when the boss sends me a Fed Ex tracking number in my email, but doesn't send a link. Yep, I can't memorize that number to type in manually, so I have to wait til I'm back from lunch to look it up. I can also honestly say that I believe 100% that every person who bothers to respond to an iPhone story on Digg with negative comments is really just jealous their broke ass can't afford an iPhone
- RomgRim, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1What a *****.
- PolishLogic, on 07/16/2008, -0/+7Why add it now, when you can just put in on one of the next 3 or 4 models they'll be releasing over the course of the next two years.
- nutmac, on 07/16/2008, -1/+2Also very much needed is block selection for delete. For instance, I prefer to exclude the original text when replying to an email. On iPhone, this is a tedious task, requiring me to hold down the delete button for a minute or so.
That said, I think Spotlight search for iPhone would be even more useful and desired. - kyledlc, on 07/16/2008, -3/+0Copy and paste is an easy implementation to add. But, I think there's probably a patent issue on copy and paste. Apple probably doesn't want to pay licensing fees to who ever has a patent on touch screen copy and paste ... or is trying to find the right UI that's patent free.
- lvlln, on 07/16/2008, -3/+2There already is an app with copy/paste on the iPhone. It's called MobileTextEditJ, a Jailbreak app. The UI is super-simple, intuitive, and easy. The only problem is that it's limited to that app itself, which the app maker obviously can't do anything about. Are people really implying that Apple's entire UI devteam isn't as skilled as an individual who's making apps for free for a hacked system?
- ninjasquirrel, on 07/16/2008, -1/+6My Nokia N800 has copy and paste implemented in what is probably the best way I've seen for mobile devices... you select the text you want, then tap a button on the on-screen keyboard that brings up a context menu with "Cut", "Copy", "Paste" and "Select All". I really can't understand what's so hard about implementing something like this, although the iPhone really doesn't handle multitasking anywhere near as well as the N800 does (having two web browsers open at once, for example).
- locojones, on 07/16/2008, -2/+2You forget that the people this phone is targetted to are considered not savvy or bright enough to figure out contextual menus.
- RomgRim, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1That's simply not true. I think the real reason they don't have C/P is it's a security risk. Go ahead and laugh but clipboards have to keep data from multiple processes at once, have to communicate with several processes, and that means pushing data over process boundaries, into different address spaces. It means "shared memory" and shared memory is always dangerous. But it's exceptionally dangerous when the basic security model of the device is already corrupted. iPhone 1.0 was a disaster and I haven't heard anything about 2.0 yet. Are they still running everything as root? Are they chrooting their apps? Apple people are really obstinate about the dumbest things and this could be another.
- locojones, on 07/16/2008, -2/+2You forget that the people this phone is targetted to are considered not savvy or bright enough to figure out contextual menus.
- AdamFromMyspace, on 07/16/2008, -1/+9My 3650, N70, and N80 have copy/paste.. comes in handy all the time, even though the UI recognizes phone numbers and URLs. And the 3650 came out in 2001. Neener!
- eatdjorange, on 07/16/2008, -5/+0someone beside apple have cut and paste patent. and that someone being microsoft.
- pcpimpster, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2You know free speech is real when they even let you talk.
- pcpimpster, on 07/16/2008, -0/+2You know free speech is real when they even let you talk.
- waydee, on 07/16/2008, -5/+11If my old Sony Ericsson K800i can manage copy/paste i'm sure the iPhone can.
Buried as ***** Apple apologist spam.- RomgRim, on 07/17/2008, -0/+1Of course. And yet the other day someone removed a line from Daring Dumbass' Wiki article that said DD is an apologist fanboy. Reason? It was a subjective opinion. I'll give DD some subjective opinion right where he likes it. What a jackass.
- BrendanSheehan, on 07/16/2008, -3/+2Sorry John, I ain't buying it either.
- ElectroBot, on 07/16/2008, -3/+1The way I'd do it would be to use the Home button as a "Command" button. You click and hold it while you select text or click on an image, then let go of the home button. A small menu would pop up asking you whether you want to copy, cut, email or save. As for pasting, you'd click and hold the home button and drag your finger over the screen somewhere (then let go of the home button while still dragging your finger. Once you remove your finger, a cursor would remain and a menu would pop up giving you the option of pasting or loading [an image from your pictures for instance])
- pcpimpster, on 07/16/2008, -4/+4I would bet money king douche Steve J. told his programmers while he was on one of his megalomania rants that copy/paste was too much like the fat windows guy from the Apple commercials and he only lets his devices function like skinny, pale, Die Hard 4 computer geeks, who can't act.
- trixterIreland, on 07/16/2008, -3/+5on my now 4 year old windows mobile phone that has equal to or better specs than "last years iphone" I had copy and paste, even cut and paste, not to mention it has real bluetooth support instead of a crippled bluetooth stack, why it even does A2DP the stereo high def audio (not just a phone headset).
My replacement windows mobile phone is likely going to be http://www.sonyericsson.com/x1 which has higher res (better for sshing) lcd and even has a real keyboard (like my old one) to make typing much less of a chore, and does not rob me of pixels when I need to type something.
I just never got the whole thing that the iphone is so great, the first version was about 5 years behind the times, the new version is only about 3 years so I guess they are making improvements. Maybe they will innovate at some point, until then I will save my money and get more features by buying something else. - neseus, on 07/16/2008, -1/+2cutting/pasting would require the user to be able to select text- something you can't really do on the iphone. so its more of a hurdle than the guy lets on. the article is good but he misses I think the most critical part, which is the execution command for cut or paste. It would either have to be like a triple tap or a gesture of some kind.
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