The Digg Crew wants to hear your thoughts!
Please take our short survey about Digg and potential feature ideas.
TouchType Makes iPhone Email Better With Landscape Mode
techcrunch.com — For whatever reason, Apple decided not to allow “landscape mode” on iPhone email. If you want to turn the phone when the web browser is open and get the larger keyboard that makes two thumb typing realistic, no problem. But the email app is portrait only.
jaybol- 535 diggs
- digg it
- socialexpert, on 10/08/2008, -6/+7GREAT STUFF
- mrmayor92, on 10/09/2008, -0/+6A+++ SELLER WILL BUY AGAIN!
- supdude, on 10/09/2008, -0/+4If we were in prison, I'd protect you in the shower. Highly Recommended! A++++
http://xo.typepad.com/blog/2008/05/weird-ebay-feed ...
- supdude, on 10/09/2008, -0/+4If we were in prison, I'd protect you in the shower. Highly Recommended! A++++
- mrmayor92, on 10/09/2008, -0/+6A+++ SELLER WILL BUY AGAIN!
- hansolo007, on 10/08/2008, -1/+14It's always the simple little fixes that are the best ideas
- StevenBullen, on 10/08/2008, -0/+13They must have a reason, because you cant look at your mail in landscape either. Probably a crap reason.
- LennyX, on 10/08/2008, -0/+3I'm pretty sure it's because it's a navigation-based application - which is basically what the template is called when an iPhone app has the back arrow on the top left corner and a title bar to let you know where you are. Making that go landscape would just make it awkward. I can't think of any navigation apps that do it.
- davidwasman, on 10/08/2008, -0/+4I get what you mean by the app itself having built in navigation for pages, but since a good majority of the apps are based on HTML/XML coding (The Springboard can be altered using XML codes) I don't see why it couldn't be possible.
- GothAlice, on 10/08/2008, -0/+4You are correct, using the stock tools, it is very difficult to do landscape work with a UINavigationController. Bloomberg does this, but it flat out displays an alternate view, not the navigation view rotated. (Now there is -no- reason the Mail app can't do -that-.)
- brownr21, on 10/08/2008, -0/+3WRONG. It's really easy to let navigation apps rotate. The reason is definitely not the toolset.
- Gloony, on 10/09/2008, -0/+3You mean other than *the whole damned ipod app*?
Apple had a huge oversight tbh - this and haptic feedback would have been a great addition.
- LennyX, on 10/08/2008, -0/+3I'm pretty sure it's because it's a navigation-based application - which is basically what the template is called when an iPhone app has the back arrow on the top left corner and a title bar to let you know where you are. Making that go landscape would just make it awkward. I can't think of any navigation apps that do it.
- digitalpencil, on 10/08/2008, -0/+4at long ***** last, this will make things MUCH easier!
- davidwasman, on 10/08/2008, -0/+7I'd prefer it if it altered the Mail app to do this (so I can read AND write emails in Landscape), but it's a good start. Maybe Apple will take notice.
- MWeather, on 10/08/2008, -2/+3"Maybe Apple will take notice."
Why? It's not like you have any choice but to use their Mail app.
- MWeather, on 10/08/2008, -2/+3"Maybe Apple will take notice."
- ddrirc, on 10/08/2008, -0/+7Here's hoping texting will get a landscape mode in an official Apple update soon...
- ComicTonyCarr, on 10/08/2008, -3/+1This is awesome. I'm adding this app as soon as possible.
- franklymister, on 10/08/2008, -2/+7When I first got the iPhone, I was livid at not having landscape keyboard access everywhere.
Now that I've owned it for a year and a half, I find that the smaller keyboard in vertical mode is actually *easier*. I think it's because there's less thumb travel needed, and when you're typing a long email or note, that kind of thing matters.
I type about 45+ wpm on the iPhone, because I stopped trying to hit every key properly, and just started letting my thumbs fly. The amazing error-correction, combined with the limited distance my thumbs have to move and the lack of a physical keyboard to slow down my key presses, make it an amazingly useful and fast keyboard.
Landscape mode just slows me down.- Cargo8, on 10/08/2008, -0/+3I think part of it is that the phone naturally learns your mistakes. Also i think that landscape mode is still easier, for me anyway. I have pretty large hands, and I'm not complaining about mistakes on portrait mode, but rather my thumbs (my right one especially) gets really sore from the angle at which I am bending it to type while holding the phone with both hands (my natural speed texting position).
Landscape mode is nicer BECAUSE of the extra space my thumb travels, and it doesn't slow me down. And it is more accurate, usually , for obvious reasons. - DeathJux, on 10/09/2008, -0/+2Landscape mode is slower one-handed, but two-thumbed I can murder my portrait-keyboard typing speed in landscape mode.
I really wish they'd allow landscape mode for all of the major "text entry" apps... if I could write notes in landscape mode, that would be an insanely huge benefit.
- Cargo8, on 10/08/2008, -0/+3I think part of it is that the phone naturally learns your mistakes. Also i think that landscape mode is still easier, for me anyway. I have pretty large hands, and I'm not complaining about mistakes on portrait mode, but rather my thumbs (my right one especially) gets really sore from the angle at which I am bending it to type while holding the phone with both hands (my natural speed texting position).
- groberts1980, on 10/08/2008, -0/+8Now if Apple would just add this into the standard mail app, and add landscape typing in SMS, the sky would be a brighter shade of blue.
- asskicker32, on 10/08/2008, -0/+4Now if we could just READ emails in landscape mode, our world could learn to come together.
- positron, on 10/08/2008, -0/+8Fear not iPhone users. This application will soon be removed from iTunes for "duplicating existing functionality".
- MWeather, on 10/08/2008, -0/+3A portrait only email app? Oh well, I'm sure someone will make a better one. /sarcasm
- usingpond, on 10/08/2008, -2/+2A ***** dollar for an app that populates an email client with text? A ***** dollar for a workaround? Kill yourself, dev.
- d0ugfunny, on 10/08/2008, -0/+5This is great, although I'm not thrilled about paying for something that should have been built into the iPhone in the first place. But whatever it's only .99 cents.
- spiffyfitz, on 10/09/2008, -0/+3I thought when they demoed the SDK they showed off how easy it was going to be to code apps to go landscape. Where the hell is this feature in ALL of the apps?
- DigDugDigger, on 10/09/2008, -0/+5We need landscape mode for SMS and AIM too.
- asilentecho, on 10/09/2008, -1/+1Personally, I type easier and much faster in portrait, but this is a good option to have.
- bizkit00, on 10/09/2008, -0/+2I dunno, $0.99. I use gmail, and at the bottom click the 'view as desktop' button. Then it's just a browser and you can type sideways.
- OPR8R, on 10/09/2008, -0/+2Takes a while but once you're used to trusting the auto-corrector, typing on the small, portrait keyboard is just fine.
However, I agree Apple should make it so you could do it either way (landscape or portrait). Though, I dunno how the heck we could read our email landscape... - danesis, on 10/09/2008, -0/+2Can someone please make a .99 cent program that can copy/paste text. That's the million-dollar app up for grabs.
- bobfoster, on 10/09/2008, -1/+2Lotsa luck finding it in the crappy App Store.
- Optiks, on 10/09/2008, -0/+2Too late. I've long since passed on the iPhone. Sign me up for a Blackberry Storm.
- Visarga, on 10/09/2008, -1/+2Shhh! Don't question Steve! He is our iSavior. His decisions are always good.
- funnyboy88, on 10/09/2008, -0/+2There are about 4 apps that all do this. I personally bought Wide Email for 99 cents after I saw the developer talk about it on the Macworld forums.
Browsing Digg on your phone just got easier with our enhancements to the 
© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is