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A new Web service called "Pastebud" is showing off a cut-and-paste feature for Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone, but as of yet, the showing off is limited to a YouTube video. Though it's apparently reserved an online domain, Pastebud's site carried no contact information as of Thursday, and details are few and far between.
The Pastebud.com site simply says "pastebud is bringing copy and paste to the iPhone tomorrow." There's no date, but a Dec. 9 post to Twitter by "pastebud" says, "Launching this Friday, stay tuned!"
The Video
So what does the YouTube video show? It depicts an iPhone user selecting text from a Safari-browser window on an iPhone and using a bookmark-based Pastebud service in between to copy and hold the selected data, which then lets the user create a new mail message with the text in it.
It appears to work, but it doesn't actually utilize memory resources within the iPhone, and it bypasses the need for an App Store-based application.
It also only works between Safari Web pages and Mail, so it's not a 100 percent cut-and-paste solution -- though it covers the bases for those iPhone users who want to snag some online text to share with friends.
Some third-party developers have attempted to create applications for copy-and-paste, only to be stymied by Apple's iPhone OS software and development rules. For example, third-party applications would require some sort of persistence with the iPhone's built-in software to enable copy-and-paste to span applications. Right now, the only way to exit a third-party application is to close down that application -- running apps in the background is not allowed. The reason? To protect the iPhone's core functionality.
If anyone is going to deliver full-fledged copy-and-paste, it will most likely need to be Apple itself.
But Isn't There Always a Workaround?
Pastebud, of course, seems to have created a basic workaround -- and one that theoretically could be utilized by other developers, too.
"If someone is willing to do an Internet-based copy-and-paste data repository, it's certainly doable now," Raven Zachary, founder of iPhoneDevCamp and a contributing analyst for The 451 Group, told MacNewsWorld.
To make it broadly useful in other applications, though, "All of the developers would need to agree to basically incorporate the same framework that allows you to copy-and-paste to the Internet and share between apps -- but that would require a number of developers to all agree to the same solution," Zachary explained.
"As to why Apple hasn't prioritized copy-and-paste over other features? I really couldn't speculate. I assume it's a feature on a list for future updates, but as with any addition to the iPhone, it has to be done in an elegant way and take advantage of multitouch in an effective manner. It sounds easier than it is to implement," he explained, noting that there are some very basic issues to consider. For example, would it only select text or could a user copy photos as well?
As for the elegance issue, the Pastebud YouTube demo video isn't particularly clear. At one point, the user misses the target while trying to select a text paragraph with a diagonal slash movement and only selects a portion of the paragraph. The user tries again and manages to select the entire paragraph, which is then copied and pasted via Pastebud.
Of course, if Pastebud indeed launches Friday, more details will be revealed.
