@NortonSnail: True but Apple adding copy & paste functionality to the iPhone is not a priority which is silly in itself. It could be a year from now.

Besides, like other open source projects, I would imagine this project will span and provide better functionality than what Apple will include. Here's to hoping.

jarhead

Cool idea, but doesn't help with the necessary apps like mail, safari, and contacts. Plus, as soon as Apple implements c&p, this effort will be wasted.

NortonSnail

I find it humorous that I have to dig out pen and paper to write down confirmation codes to view a multimedia message. This would be a great workaround, but I'd rather see better handling of incoming picture messages.

ColinHero

Neat idea, but... am I the only one that is tired of seeing so many iPhone blog posts? Perhaps Gawker should come up with a blog devoted to it alone. How many people even use iPhone? They're ridiculously expensive and I'd have to drive a couple hundred miles to be in an area where I could get cellphone service for one. (No - I don't live in the middle of no-where, plenty of people around here have mobiles.)

jeevzycreezy

@cabalist:
I'm just shooting in the dark here: To discourage plagarism???

Honestly though, I completely agree with you. What's up Apple?

icedicicle

I'm sorry, but cut & paste is so ubiquitous, and necessary, that the only reason it could possibly have been left out of the iPhone by Apple IS ON PURPOSE.

I hate to say that (I have an iPod Touch sans cut & paste as well), and I know that I will get flamed for it by Macophiles (I have three macs and my Touch, so take one step back and no one will get hurt ;), but this is the only possible reason.

Why Apple? What exactly is your reasoning here?

cabalist

Yeah... but didn't apple not allow apps to "run in the background" -- so say you're typing in notes or surfing the net -- how will this work?

qugeist

I'm certainly tired of seeing so many "I'm tired of all these iPhone posts" posts. You don't have to read it.

Personally, I'm sick of all the GTD/Merlin Mann posts, but I just skip 'em. It's not that big a deal. Lifehacker is about making your life better; that can be done with iPhones as well as many other things. Not every single post is going to apply to you.

jmontana

This just strikes me as stupidity on Apple's part. Do you really mean to say that my two-year-old Windows "Pocket PC" can do something that the equivalent Apple product can't (other than crash, I mean)?

cmadler

my theory is that apple is so into usability, which I appreciate. but because of this, they want the perfect implementation of copy and paste and won't take just good enough. but that keeps the iphone owners waiting and waiting.

I'm waiting for android. I have a gut feeling they'll have it.

qrius

Srsly?! iPhones can't copy and paste? Hell, Palm has had than since, what, PalmOS 1.0? (OK, maybe 3.0.) How is it that PalmOS is continually losing market share to these proprietary lame excuses like Symbian and iPhone's OS (and the myriad other phone-specific systems)?

krom

@jeevzycreezy: I agree. I have an iPhone and I love it. But even I wonder why there's so much iPhone coverage on Lifehacker. Why not an Adam Pash iPhone Lifehacker spinoff blog? I'd totally read that.

presterjohn

@jarhead: Of course it's going to come out a year from now... that's when the next iPhone is going to debut!

Parapraxis

@snapplez: How about a double (two fingered) tap?
I'm thinking the first double tap puts it into selection mode. Highlight the text with a single finger and a second double tap pulls up a context menu like in the pic.

rabiddachshund

apple probably wants to implement copy and paste using a technique which is currently covered by patent.

you'll notice that there are no multi-touch functions which require you to hold your finger down in the same spot for a period of time to shift function or access context sensitive features.

there is also the problem of distinguishing between moving a cursor and selecting text.

hmmm.

snapplez

@NortonSnail "Plus, as soon as Apple implements c&p, this effort will be wasted."

They've released two versions of an internet capable product without cut/copy/paste already. The word 'soon' does not belong in your sentence. ;-)

Talthybius

The perfect example of needing copy and paste on my iPhone is for all the packages I send and receive. I have an automated system that emails me all the tracking numbers I have coming to me today, and all the tracking numbers I have going out today.

A bookmark on my home screen for each shipping carriers tracking page, and copy and paste from my email into Safari would be insaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaane. I carry around a stupid spiral pocket notebook to jot down these numbers from my email, and retype them into Safari, lol.

Of course, this is only when I'm out and about on the shop floor or on the road. Not something I ever even though I'd be using when I bought a phone, but now, I sure could use it. Retyping 12 character long random gibberish codes on a touch screen sucks. Autocorrect THIS.

x3r0

@jmontana: Touche'

jeevzycreezy

@snapplez: Now I don't actually own an iPhone so I don't know if this is true or not, but I do believe that when the keyboard appears and you hold down on the question mark then you have the option for the "Spanish question mark".. and so on and so forth.

Correct me if I am wrong, please. - pj24

pj24

@jeevzycreezy: There's an easy way for Lifehacker readers to filter out iPhone/Touch related posts. Can Lifehacker come up with a way for us to filter out all of the "I'm tired of iPhone posts" comments?

C'mon people; if you're not interested, don't read it. Please stop littering the comments for those of us who do.

jdoree

Hardly even worth commenting until Apple gets their head out of their ass and stops being the most anti open-source company going.

Onouris