iPhone Feature Idea: Phone-only Mode
Monday, July 13, 2009 at 5:48AM 
There are plenty of ideas that float in and out of HQ, some we hope will make millions of dollars, and others that we're willing to part with for the good of humanity. This is one of those.
Wouldn't be great to have phone-only mode on the iPhone? Why, you ask? Several reasons.
Let's say you're looking forward to a weeklong vacation this summer, and you want to have your iPhone with you, but leave the email behind. Just throw your iPhone into Phone-only mode, and you won't have those new message notifications mocking you at the bottom of the screen.
Or imagine you have a young child or a technophobic parent who needs to borrow/use your phone. Make it easy on them and you by enabling phone-only mode!
Perhaps a friend wants to borrow your phone at a party. Maybe that friend is known as a prankster, and you would prefer that they not have access to your email, contacts, safari history etc.
So how about it Apple, A pin-based phone-only mode for those times when we have to trust others with our iPhones, or we're just looking to shut off the rest of the world for awhile. It's yours for free. Of course if you have a few extra minutes to fill at the next keynote, you know where to find us...
iPhone, phone-only mode, suggestion Permalink
Reader Comments (6)
Or how about when you're traveling to Canada for 3 weeks and don't want to rack up a $5,000 cell phone bill because of data usage.
Apple doesn't need to create this. I'll be some enterprising programmer could come up with a security lock app that permits access on an app by app basis. There could be a checklist and the user would simply turn off all or turn on all or check individual apps to include or exclude.
Now, I must say that I think the idea is a little wacky, too, however! :)
There's so much more one would want to use the iPhone for, even if you turn off e-mail. In fact, it'd be better to turn off the phone and e-mail and leave only games, books, and music-- now that's a vacation!
Yes! This needs to happen! I will be in Ireland in a few weeks and simply want my phone and no e-mail, etc. Also, I would love to see a feature that locks the landscape flip in place. Great stuff guys! I really hope you all make a million!
<I>"I'll be some enterprising programmer could come up with a security lock app that permits access on an app by app basis. There could be a checklist and the user would simply turn off all or turn on all or check individual apps to include or exclude."</I>
Oh yeah! I'm sure Apple would allow <I>that</I> app to happen.
bingo! love it!
I love my iPhone, but the phone is the only BAD part about the iPhone haha!!!!!! (AT&T Sucks!)