The unsustainable iPad interface

I have a 64 GB iPad. I have a lot of apps. It is impossible to find things, and I don't always remember the name. The new folder mechanism in iOS 4.2 is not good enough. I do a lot of organizing and forget I have things. Something new is needed. What is it?

When I installed iOS 4.2, I made folders of everything: games, news sites, etc. But then I realized that my habit was to often go to the same 5-10 apps each time I used the iPad. So I started moving apps out of folders to the front of the line. This solves my open-the-iPad and work problem, but forget about everything else I have unless I'm willing to wade knee-deep into an app swamp.

One of the ways the folder mechanism is insufficient is that, for example, if I wanted to keep a folder of games, I cannot, as each folder can only contain 16 items. That is very limiting.

Besides, sometimes something is a game and it's for kids, should I create a games folder or a kids folder or a kids game folder? And then forget trying to remember where something is. If you aren't sure of the name, you will give up quickly.

The first change Apple could make is to remove the home page limits. There's no reason I can't have more than 16 screens. Further, let me name them so I can easily understand how I've organized everything.

Finally, a few simple additions could make things easier. Make one big list instead of page by page. Let me scroll up and down or left and right. Let me view the list with smaller icons so I can see more at a time. Let me filter and sort. Give me a 3D effect like Time Warp.

For more power, I propose to Apple to look elsewhere for inspiration, Mac OS X, and implement a label system instead of a folder system.

I could have said Google as for Gmail you don't have folders, you get to assign multiple labels to any piece of mail. This works out good because you might want to label something invoices and electricity for easy searching later on.

The good thing about this system is that there is one built in to the App Store already. Each app is already assigned a category by Apple. When you purchase an app, it could retain that category at the outset, until you re-assign it.

Whatever Apple comes up with, I hope it comes soon, before iOS leaves my original iPad behind.