iPhone’s reminders need some work
The Apple iPhone is the best mobile phone out there. Period. From the sleek and simple industrial design to the “light-years-ahead-of-any-other-phone-out-there” software and user-interface, there is no arguing that it’s the device of the 21st century. After recently upgrading my unlocked 8GB iPhone from early firmware version 1.0.2 to 1.1.4 using ZiPhone (great job, by the way to the developer), I’ve become even happier with the device. A review of 1.1.4 is coming later in the week. However, there is just one issue that needs to be addressed by Apple on the iPhone even in the latest software update: calendar reminders. Let’s get down to it.
When the iPhone’s calendar is set to produce a reminder, it does so by displaying a message overlaying everything else you’re doing, like so – as seen below when the iPhone is “locked” or when hold is on:
This overlay is accompanied by a vibrate or a sound – depending on the user’s settings. This is great so far, but what happens when the user wants to push back this reminder? Well, currently there is no such option. If I’m in a meeting or in a class or watching a movie and get a reminder, there is no way for me to easily push it back by a certain amount of time. The only way I can do this is by going into the Calendar app on the iPhone and selecting the reminder time there. However, if the time for the event is 6:00pm and the reminder was set for “5 minutes before” (at 5:55pm), there is no option in the reminder panel to pick “in 30 minutes from now”, as seen below:
Having this ability is important for many reasons, but the most important one is when, during a busy day, I am occupied with a client and a reminder pops up on the iPhone, there is no way for me to have the iPhone bring up the reminder again, only later. In other words, there is no way to “push back” a reminder. This can result in forgetting appointments and things to do (especially the latter since the iPhone currently doesn’t have a to-do list that synchs well with the Mac/PC on the desktop – but that’s a different topic).
On the Mac in iCal the ability to push back a reminder exists. I can have the reminder present itself again in the amount of time I choose, as seen here:
Maybe with the recently-announced iPhone firmware version 2.0 , Apple will give me the ability to push back reminders. Until then, I’ll just have to use my head a little more than I should be with my state-of-the-art smart phone.
Posted in Calendaring, iPhone
15 comments to “iPhone’s reminders need some work”
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7. May 2009 at 11:39 am :
I cant agree more with you here. Phones such as the HTC 8525 have better calendar reminders. Once you get out of the initial screen, you cannot make your reminder reappear, unless you get into the calendar.
Another short fall I am facing in the calendar reminder is that, there is no way for the phone to remind you exactly at the time when the appointment is due.
7. May 2009 at 11:52 am :
My point exactly. It’s kind of embarrassing for Apple and the iPhone that Windows Mobile – which runs the HTC 8525 – does something better. I hope this is something Apple plans to address with iPhone OS 3.0 – which Apple will release this summer
http://www.engadget.com/2009/05/06/iphone-os-3-0-beta-5-now-available/
10. September 2009 at 6:42 pm :
Hi There
I am new to this stuff so please excuse my ignorance.
I have just bought a new I phone and it is great.
I am not sure how to link the i phone to a diary/calendar which I can update at the PC at home or via the I phone (obviously i need to sync both regulalrly) and get reminders of events.
How do i do this.
Thanks
Peter
Thanks
11. September 2009 at 1:04 am :
Hey Peter,
Welcome to TNR and welcome to the iPhone world!
My recommendation would be to open a free Google account (google.com) and use Google Calendar on the web. If you want to sync your calendar to your iPhone, you can do so easily. Once you got you Google account up and running, just go to sync.google.com from the iPhone. It will ask you to log in and will give you the ability to select the calendars you want synchronized.
The cool thing here is that your calendars are always in sync: you don't need to plug anything in or do any manual updating – once you make a change (like add an event) on the iPhone, the Google Calendar will automatically reflect those changes. And vice-versa. You can set reminders from your iPhone or your PC on the Google Calendar website.
That's the solution I use and it has worked beautifully for me.
Let me know if you need help. I'm here for ya!
Alex
2. November 2009 at 4:13 pm :
Hi, I want to setup a birthday reminder in calendar app 2 days before the date, but I do not want the reminder to wake me up in middle of night. Is there a way to say remind me 2 days before @ noon perhaps?
Thanks
2. November 2009 at 5:14 pm :
There is!
Just set the appointment time for when you want it to remind you. So if you want the reminder to pop up at 2pm, set it the appointment time for 2 and then set the reminder for 2 days before. That way, the appointment will pop up at 2pm 2 days before the appointment.
Also, make sure that there are 2 days before the actual event.
Hope that makes sense!
Alex
2. November 2009 at 7:49 pm :
Yes, that makes sense. Since, this is a birthday event, I was setting it as "All day event". I guess for reminder purposes, I will not set this as all day event.
Thanks
2. November 2009 at 8:09 pm :
I think there is some room for improvement there too: an all-day reminder should have the option to have a reminder at a specific time on that day (or another day). But that makes it a to-do, and the iPhone doesn't have that yet. Hopefully they'll think it through.
- Alex
16. November 2009 at 11:24 am :
I have problems with calender reminders when i have the key lock on, the reminders come up on screen, but when you get a few you cant read them all, or if you just don't pay full attention, and you unlock the keypad they just disappear. Its really annoying, sure I can just look in my calender but sometimes i set reminders birthdays a few days in advance so it can take a while to look through and work out what i was reminding myself about. Anyone know a workaround to this/Apple please fix this!
Answer for Peter, I have an outlook account at my work, I am not exactly sure how but my two calenders talk to one another, as long as I select which calender to add it in when adding an event directly in my iphone, if i choose the outlook calender it appears in both, if i chose just the iphone it just appears in that calender. I would like to tell you how to set this up but its just one of those things i stumbled upon without really knowing how, but may be worth some research if you dont want to shift your cleander from outlook to google.
19. November 2009 at 11:23 pm :
Amy, I recommend reading the entire response thread above. What you're experiencing with the reminders is exactly what I (and many others) are complaining about here. Specifically, reminders on the iPhone have much room for improvement: they need to stay on the screen longer and become more "in your face." The ability for a reminder to not go away until you tell it to is important for me (and I'm guessing for you).
As for Peter, I provided a specific step-by-step outline of how to sync calendars using the best calendar on the web – Google Calendar. See my response to him immediately below his comment.
Cool beans!
- Alex
17. September 2010 at 2:21 pm :
I found a great solution with an app called "Calendar Alarm". It adds louder and longer sounds to all my events in the native calendar. What I really like about It is that I can use the native calendar app.
At last, I can choose a better alert sound!
Greg =
17. September 2010 at 2:46 pm :
Our app does a way better job at reminding you.
http://www.ripeapps.com/reminders/
Let me know what you think
11. November 2010 at 11:35 pm :
This app is "Reminders!" awesome! thanks for the tip
15. January 2011 at 10:48 pm :
As a former Blackberry user, I miss two features on the iPhone:
1. A "go to date" (it takes considerable time in order to enter a reminder on Nov. 30, 2018, on the iPhone)
2. Not being able to set a reminder only two days but not 1 week in advance, to remind me on time about birthday cards to be mailed from the USA to Europe (have to do this in Outllook at my desk).
22. August 2011 at 8:44 am :
a lightyear is a distance not a time unit…