While at the C4 conference two weeks ago, and seeing many an iPhone, I noticed a trend - the full Home screen.
As you probably know, in the iPhone 2.0 OS, you can have multiple "pages" for your home screen. If you don't change anything else, once you move past twenty applications (sixteen up top and four in the Dock) installed, a second screen is added to right of the default screen, leaving the first screen completely full. This is what I frequently saw:
On my phone, I use five distinct screens. My Home screen consists of the default (Apple) applications I use most, along with custom applications Rogue Amoeba is working on and testing, as seen here:
As you can see, I have just nine applications there. I find that never having a full screen makes it much easier to spot the application I want. For reference, my five screens are:
Screen 1: Frequently used Apple apps, including SMS, Celndar, and Maps, along with Rogue Amoeba's applications for testing.
Screen 2: Frequently used third-party apps, including Twitterrific, NetNewsWire and Instapaper
Screen 3: Infrequently used Apple apps, including YouTube, Photos, and App Store
Screen 4: Infrequently used third-party apps, including Pandora and Urbanspoon
Screen 5: Games (which I rarely play) including Sudoku and Tap Tap Revenge
This is merely my personal organizational system; it's what works for me. However, I think having some sort of system is certainly a good idea. Rapidly flipping through semi-full screens feels fast to me, compared to manually scanning through screen after screen packed with icons. To me, organizing applications in some sort of system, and never having a full page of icons, works quite well.
I think part of the problem is that re-organizing the iPhone's screens is rather onerous. It's not terribly difficult, but to move an application from screen 1 to screen 5, I need to press and hold on the icon, then drag it right until the screen switches, pull back slightly, drag it right again, pull back slightly, drag it right again, pull it back slightly, then drag it right and finally release.
This hassle discourages much in the way of customization. For me, however, spending five minutes to organize things makes it much easier to find the app I want. I showed my own extempore system to a few people at C4 who've since converted to less full and categorized screens. Perhaps more organization will help you as well!
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This is a good idea. I've started doing the same, and have run into the same onerous problem you have in moving apps. I'd like to be able to move more than one app at a time.
You're making it too difficult. Best way to move app icons from screen to screen is to relocate the bottom row app icons you always use (the ones that stay the same no matter what screen you're on) to the last screen. Then you can move 4 app icons you want onto the bottom row, change to the screen you want, move them off the bottom row to their new location, repeat as needed. Then go back to the last screen and move the apps you always use back onto the bottom row. Saves a lot of time.
I agree basically with your approach. My variation has been
Page 1: Main Apple & 3rd Party App (I use more than once a day)
Page 2: Lesser Apple & News Apps (I use at most once a day)
Page 3: Location, Social, Storage Apps (I use at most once a day)
Page 4: Multimedia Apps and Never Used Apple apps
Page 5: Games
If you download more apps, their icons will rush in to fill up your carefully crafted blank spaces. I find it better to fill up the screens.
Of course, the main annoyance I have is when you update your apps they get rearranged. I hope Apple changes the update process to place the update where it was originally.
abbad0n: That's an interesting idea, particularly for when doing large-scale reorganization.
emaven: Sure, you need to move apps as you download them. It seems like if you download a lot of apps, this would be even MORE of a problem, as you'd never remember where anything is if it's just random.
David Sica: It sounds like you haven't updated to 2.1 yet - in 2.1, updates wind up on the proper screen. While installing, the icon sits at the first available spot, but once done, it winds up where the previous version was. Finally!
I strongly agree with setting up an organization for Apps!
I, too, try to keep some empty space on each screen, but I'm not totally rigid about it. Actually, for me it makes it easier to "notice" newly downloaded Apps because they *do* show up on the first or second screen - where they don't belong. I simply move them to the proper screen.
With 2.1 I find that updating Apps does NOT change their location!
I make no distinction between Apple and 3rd party Apps. I group them functionally, not based on who authored them.
I have evolved this organization as I add Apps, and it will probably continue to change.
My organization (for the moment) is as follows:
1. Frequently used Apps
2. Often used reference Apps, like Google, Wikipanion, YPmobile, Yelp, Bloomberg, etc.
3. Less often used reference Apps
4. Weather Apps & other infrequently used Apps
5. Calculators and unit converters
6. Media Apps such as last.fm, Shazam, Simplify, YouTube, etc.
7. Favorite games
8. Less used games
9. Network testing Apps and other rarely used Apps
Well I guess I haven't test the rearrangement in 2.1 yet, that's good news. Now, I can arrange my apps again. I tried it initially with 2.0.x but gave up when they got rearranged during updates. Thanks for the heads up.
What I'm beginning to hope for is an app management utility in the next iPhone upgrade. Maybe a window that opens and asks on what page do you want to place an app. My wallpaper app has a similar feature that allows me to go directly to any page in the program and not just forward or back one page at a time.
Or, how about the iPhone offering a customizable list of categories that can be assigned to specific pages. This would allow you to just click on a name and automatically send an app to that page.
Better app management tools are definitely needed. Especially when we are talking four or more screens of icons. (Which I'm discovering are very easy to collect and to use.)
Linda: That's an interesting idea. Perhaps it should be inside of iTunes, actually.
The idea of categories is reminiscent of the Palm (and the Newton too, I believe), but it worked decently well there. I doubt you'll see it on the iPhone though.
You guys theres this one application called "Categories" that is already available on the jailbroken version. Somebody just needs to copy the same idea and put it officially on the App Store. Basically, what "Categories" does is that it lets you make subfolders. My friend has one icon for Multimedia where he has apps like You Tube, Music Quiz, iPod. Theres one for Games and one for Utilities like Converters, Grocery Lists, To Do Lists. Basically, the opportunity to organize is endless. I am so jealous I need this application but it is only for the hacked phones. Apparently theyre better off than us law abiding apple supporters.
Shadez is so right, except replace "jealous" with "extremely frustrated and increasingly tempted to JB"...