I am as excited about the release of the Apple iPhone and it will likely be on my shopping list come June. However, here are five key components that I think are missing in the first generation of the device as described during the keynote and on the Apple website.

  1. No third party applications. If this device is truly running OS X, then I don’t expect Apple to be able to predict or deliver the full suite of applications I might need. We need a way for users to intall applications and/or support for some general productivity apps like word processing.
  2. No VOIP. This one has me stunned. I need iChat with VOIP or ability to load Skype. I fear that this is a result of the alliance with Cingular. If so, it is a damn shame. Want to really impress me? Put the camera on the face of the phone instead of the back and give me video chat.
  3. Attachment viewing. There are a lot of examples of viewing photo attachments in email. I don’t need to be able to view photos, I need to be able to view Word documents and PDF files.
  4. Wireless sync. I want to sync this device over bluetooth and WiFi. I want to buy stuff on iTunes over WiFi/Edge and download directly to the device even if it means that it is one of my five authorized computers.
  5. Games. I see no mention of support for iPod games.

What features will you be looking for in the June release?