Help Get Apple to Release the FirstClass iPhone App

[Fred Bartels]

Apple has had the FirstClass iPhone app for almost three months and no one at FirstClass is getting any informative feedback about why the app has not been approved and made available on the app store.

If your school uses FirstClass please contact your Apple rep and ask them to look into the situation.

In addition, please ask your FirstClass users to visit this URL (http://www.apple.com/feedback/itunes.html) and let Apple know their frustration with the lack of progress on getting the FirstClass app released.

Thanks for your help!

Fred

[Jamie Britto]

I've downloaded and tested the first class client on the iphone. I was impressed with aspects of the mail feature. I liked how quickly it loaded the messages, but struggled to addess an email to multiple recipients. I also had trouble viewing messages in conferences.

I was most disappointed by the awkward solution for calendaring and contacts. While it works much better than the palm conduits I've been using for the last 8 years, it still feels like a square peg in a round hole, particularly compared to other sync technologies.

My school is moving away from First Class to Google Apps but if we were staying I think I'd focus our energy on getting syncML to work rather than promoting this app.

[Dan Trockman]

SynchML is an additional cost is it not?

[Jamie Britto]

I don't believe so, when we looked at it last spring I thought it was available as part of our annual support agreement. For schools that don't have annual support, I imagine it might have an additional cost.

[Drew Forsberg]

According to my First Class rep, Apple would not allow them to release the client with a Calendar or contact portion of the program because it duplicated Apple functionality on the phone. I am not sure the reasoning there since there is also mail, but that is what I was told.

[Dan Trockman]

Yeah, I got that until they released Skype, which lets you make phone calls, a core function of their agreement with AT&T. Makes little sense considering none of the FC functionality works without the FC server which is not an open or free service..... much like Skype or google calendar for that matter for which more than 20 iphone apps exist to make that function with ical/iphone calendar. Hmff, delays my suggesting iphones for use in our setting for some time.

[Fred Bartels]

Drew,

My guess -based more on hope than anything tangible- is that the calendar and contacts will be added in future updates to the iPhone client. The iPhone app approval process is so opaque that it probably made sense for FirstClass to keep the first version as 'non-conflicting' as possible. The mobile client's present state is pretty nice, and should the calendar and contacts be added, it will be a really sweet solution.

Fred

[Karl Schaefer]

Not sure if this is an issue with version 3.0 and the FC app or part of the initial app. I of course was very happy when I loaded it on my touch only to remove it two days later due to loss of contacts (no syncing) and a constant request to log in on the touch. This made it so FC would not let me log in on my computer as it detected 3 current log ins which is our limit. Ugh, back to gmail, address book, and ical or 2 different worlds that can not sync together. Disappointed to say the least.

[Fred Bartels]

Well here is an interesting easter egg.

If you triple-tap at the bottom of the settings page you can turn on an alarm which will provide a calendar icon and contacts icon and access to these items.

So, triple-tap on the version number in the lower left corner of the settings page and you will turn the alarm on (whatever that is) and make your calendar and contacts available.

How interesting.

Fred