I know that this has probably been talked about and blogged about ad nauseum, however it just struck me once again today that the iPhone/iPT OS really needs to better utilize that unlock screen! At the moment I am seeing something similar to the image on the right hand side of this post.

At the very least, there should be an upcoming appointments listing on the screen. Too much information can inundate the user on such a small screen (heck even on a big screen it would inundate people), so it would make sense to have the user choose what info they want to see and how they want to see it. Do they want to see emails? If yes, do they want a badge with how many unread emails from which accounts? Or do they want to see sender and subject info instead?

With push notifications now a reality, it would be nice to see either a badge, or a mini update on the unlock screen when you favorite application pushes something to you (like an IM from Beejive for instance or a status update on Twitteriffic)

Why is it necessary for me to unlock and flick through screens to see if there is something new? Or for that matter to check and see the weather conditions?

As a corrolary to this wish, there are two subsequent wishes:

1. Can we get Internet of USB please? When I had a PocketPC (those were the days!), I was able to share my desktop's internet connection over the USB cradle. Right now I have the iPod plugged into my Mac so that I can charge its battery. Why not share the internet connection while I am at it? I am sure that it's less intensive on the iPod than turning on WiFi (which I can't anyway because there is no nearby hotspot anyway).

2. Can we have a setting on the iPod touch that periodically automatically turns on WiFi, connects you to your preferred network(s), updates one or two apps (weather, mail, BeeJive would be my top ones), and then turns off the connection? That way you've got a faux-always connected feel on your iPod when it's at rest - it wastes less battery than just leaving the WiFi on.