Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
iPod touch GPS On The Ipod Touch Question
- Thread starter youashwag
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
maybe that's why there isn't any GPS on the iPod Touch.
[sarcasm]Hey! I got a great idea! Why not store the maps in the device itself so it doesn't need GPS! Apparently noone has ever thought of that, I'm a genius![/sarcasm]
that, or a lot of people are misinformed or can't think outside of the wi-fi box.
not true, my Nav730 gps has a 1GB SD card with all the maps. but thats just for US...
well some might consider 1gb a lot of space for a 8gb devise. Granted 16gb will probably become standard on the next gen.
I think a better solution would be downloadable map data, so you can store and delete maps as you need. Just sayin'.
....google mgmaps
have a look at some of his work and you'll see what's possible. I've got 'offline' maps on my Blackberry and I can even use the GPS maps when the EDGE/Wifi networks are not working.......all maps are stored on my Blackberry's MicroSD card.
I see no reason why somebody won't attempt a similar thing for the iphone/iPod.....it's only a matter of time.......Personally, I am hanging out for TomTom to swing into action.
have a look at some of his work and you'll see what's possible. I've got 'offline' maps on my Blackberry and I can even use the GPS maps when the EDGE/Wifi networks are not working.......all maps are stored on my Blackberry's MicroSD card.
I see no reason why somebody won't attempt a similar thing for the iphone/iPod.....it's only a matter of time.......Personally, I am hanging out for TomTom to swing into action.
I would say fourthed! but no. Lol Yes i aggree, even on the iPhone i would give away 1GB of space to get maps there all the time
It uses both. It uses cell tower or wifi-based positioning to estimate its current location, which speeds up the process of acquiring a GPS satellite. Once it has the satellite, it uses that to do the precise positioning. The GPS should also work without cell or wifi service, but it will take longer for it to start up and of course you need some offline source of map data.
I've been quoted 4 times! I must be right!
But seriously, a GPS receiver on the iPod Touch with already-downloaded maps would be SO nice and useful. And just think of all the apps that would go along with it. And it would be great not to have to carry a separate receiver, if I want GPS.
I agree that real GPS on the iPod Touch would be cool.
On the original question, the current model iPod touch does not have a built in GPS chip, cell receiver, or bluetooth. It has wifi only.
You can get "sudo" GPS if you are in range of a free wifi hot spot or one you subscribe to. Wifi hot spots do not have much range, perhaps 100 feet? So you quickly are out of touch. You have mapquest or google directions to your destination but no current location information until you are in wifi range of another hot spot. You will not have real time turn by turn guidance like a typical GPS unit would have.
So until Apple incorporates a GPS chip and antenna, or less acurate cell receiver, or bluetooth into the touch, I think we are out of luck.
The iPhone has the cell receiver and I think most phones now have a gps chip for 911 purposes.
All those GPS receivers and maps designed to augment bluetooth PDAs are useless for the iPod touch. Putting bluetooth into the iPod touch may be a better way to get GPS to it... or perhaps Navman or someone else will develope a GPS receiver that has a wifi interface.
On the original question, the current model iPod touch does not have a built in GPS chip, cell receiver, or bluetooth. It has wifi only.
You can get "sudo" GPS if you are in range of a free wifi hot spot or one you subscribe to. Wifi hot spots do not have much range, perhaps 100 feet? So you quickly are out of touch. You have mapquest or google directions to your destination but no current location information until you are in wifi range of another hot spot. You will not have real time turn by turn guidance like a typical GPS unit would have.
So until Apple incorporates a GPS chip and antenna, or less acurate cell receiver, or bluetooth into the touch, I think we are out of luck.
The iPhone has the cell receiver and I think most phones now have a gps chip for 911 purposes.
All those GPS receivers and maps designed to augment bluetooth PDAs are useless for the iPod touch. Putting bluetooth into the iPod touch may be a better way to get GPS to it... or perhaps Navman or someone else will develope a GPS receiver that has a wifi interface.
How small have GPS receivers gotten down to? Surely they could cram one in, making the Touch just a bit larger.