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In car GPS with iPhone?

Tom Tom will create their own software with their own maps etc & functions.

So hopefully they allow the ipod use & the app.
 
markym07931 said:
but, the iphone won't let anything run in the background, so when you hit home, and go to ipod, it'll have lost everything about your gps route you've just planned...

maybe?!
Click to expand...
Not 100% true. iPod is a special app that can run on the background. In addition, most iPhone apps (including Maps) saves the state (e.g., last addresses) before quitting entirely.
 
The key here is integration.

From the looks of the keynote, specifically the iPhone SDK section, developers will be able to integrate various functions of the iPhone into the application itself.

For example, upon developing the GPS application, hopefully they had the ability to manipulate the software so that it doesn't necessarily quit the entire application in order to answer the phone, make a call, or listen to music. Rather, the application itself allows for that functionality.

So, here's my scenario:

  • Get in the car, dock it, and set up coordinates for your destination.
  • GPS application is active at this point and will remain active until manually turned off.
  • Menu bar on the GPS application allows you to access your MP3/playlist folder. Choose a playlist and play.
  • Settings/Preferences menu allows you to choose a music versus navigator voice volume level.
  • As you drive along, you receive an incoming phone call. Here, instead of the entire screen showing a picture and phone number of the incoming call, you simply see the name/number scroll across the top of the screen as well as the ringtone.
  • Obviously, at this point a headset of some sort would be required. Answer the call with your bluetooth.
  • Navigation continues. Conversation takes place over the headset.
  • Making a call: Menu has an option to access the address book or punch in a phone number.

Now obviously, this would be the ideal scenario at least in my opinion. It would be integration into the functionality of the iPhone rather than having the GPS run in the background if another function needed to be used.
 
CKtoph - agree. Apple can do Integration. The whole reason the don't want to do background apps is so they can have good fast swaps between applications, phone calls etc. They can do music in the background, whilst browsing, so they're perfectly capable of doing it, but they do it carefully, and basically have vetoed it unless for v. good reason that they approve of.

If the app is quitting, it can store the info so when the app is restarted, it goes right back to where it was. If you're driving along, you get a call, take it, then finish it then it'll maybe take a few seconds to recalculate position, but then, to be honest you'll be using hands free, right? 😉

You'll probably need a few seconds to make sure you're still concentrating on the road (studies have shown that the time period shortly after a call can be distracting, not just mid-call).

The app will be hitting the A-GPS, wifi or towers as soon as it's opened if the app sees that it was mid way through a journey before a call interrupted it. (A simple poll of info held within the phone should do that).


Data dependency isn't too much of a problem - some GPS out there already pre-caches route information. Heck, if you wanted to, you could use the accelerometers to give you a fix 😉

Don't forget also that the iPhone is likely to also have an internal compass ala Android I/O conference demo, and also have Street View - Street View shows that Google can do non-North views. If you have a compass, you just alter the data. Not too much of a technical problem to fix I imagine. If you look at Google Street View, the indicator of position shows direction also, so it could reverse that, and have the direction up, and the map rotate around it.
Why shouldn't developers code so it pre-caches the route map data? It isn't like there isn't enough storage, or data capacity through 3G / HSDPA when the signals there.
 
Well, since TomTom seems to already have it working on the iPhone, I'm assuming they do have plans and maybe Apple is reserving that application spot for them.
 
I'm not to worried about it, I'm sure in time updates will be available and we can get that nav voice. I agree a GPS isn't all that hot if you have to look at it every inch of the way, useful yea, but not as great as it can be. Tom Tom is a leading company and I know they will come through.
 
CKtoph said:
The key here is integration.

From the looks of the keynote, specifically the iPhone SDK section, developers will be able to integrate various functions of the iPhone into the application itself.

For example, upon developing the GPS application, hopefully they had the ability to manipulate the software so that it doesn't necessarily quit the entire application in order to answer the phone, make a call, or listen to music. Rather, the application itself allows for that functionality.

So, here's my scenario:

  • Get in the car, dock it, and set up coordinates for your destination.
  • GPS application is active at this point and will remain active until manually turned off.
  • Menu bar on the GPS application allows you to access your MP3/playlist folder. Choose a playlist and play.
  • Settings/Preferences menu allows you to choose a music versus navigator voice volume level.
  • As you drive along, you receive an incoming phone call. Here, instead of the entire screen showing a picture and phone number of the incoming call, you simply see the name/number scroll across the top of the screen as well as the ringtone.
  • Obviously, at this point a headset of some sort would be required. Answer the call with your bluetooth.
  • Navigation continues. Conversation takes place over the headset.
  • Making a call: Menu has an option to access the address book or punch in a phone number.

Now obviously, this would be the ideal scenario at least in my opinion. It would be integration into the functionality of the iPhone rather than having the GPS run in the background if another function needed to be used.
Click to expand...

Please don't kill me on the highway while you're gabbing to your friends on how cool your iPhone is.
 
nutmac said:
...snip...

The main problem, other than lack of turn-by-turn directions with audio feedback on included Maps application, is data dependency. While 3G will allow simultaneous data + voice calls, in most cases, 2.5G won't (when you are in non-3G area). Worse, if you happen to be driving on area without any data service, iPhone's Maps application will not be able to retrieve map data.
Click to expand...

Good point. Is this really true?

What if you travel overseas and have data roaming OFF to avoid the exorbitant fees? Will it be possible to, say, download a map and use it offline like a typical GPS, in the absence of a data signal?
 
that was my point about the GPS, it is NOT reliable the way a Garmin or TOM TOM separate navigation device is.. and even those are not perfect in tunnels, ect.

I just think that it is a nice option to have, but nothing to rave about having, or complain about not having. just my opinion though.
 
operator207 said:
Yes we do, though no where near as frequently as you do in the UK.

There is one in Addison, Texas. I have purposely gotten stuck on it to reenact the National Lampoon's European Vacation scene. (Clark drives his family endlessly round the busy Lambeth Bridge roundabout for hours, unable to maneuver his way out of traffic, mentioning the Big Ben clock and Parliament with each pass.)

My wife was not impressed. Though the kids thought it was hilarious. Even if they didn't know what a roundabout was, or what NLEV was, or the Griswald's were. They thought Daddy was just being funny.


Back on topic though. If Telenav gets a product as good or better than their BB program, I will buy it/subscribe to it. Just get some better colors. The blue you use for route traveled is the same blue as a body of water or river. We have quite a few streams here, at my work, when I set it up to go home (I know how to go home, I use it for traffic updates) the route traveled looks like I got drunk randomly, and drove off the road.
Click to expand...

Heh heh heh.......

'look kids, Big Ben , Houses of Parliament........'

Thought I'd chip in my tuppence here. I am a rep and have used a tomtom (replaced with built in car sat nav). I tend to use satnav only when I get near to my destination. I basically kno how to get from one city to another but finding the exact street can be a pain. I found that when I used the Tomtom I set the route and switched the sound off until I got near to the detination when I needed the turn by turn guidance. on way back I would set route home and turn off once I hit the motorway. So for me if you cant have music playing whilst getting directions its no biggy, as long as the voice guidance can be turned off easily and music turned on.

As for receiving calls when I need to concentrate, particularly when driving on an unknown route I will habg up calls and phone them back when I am free to take the call without risking taking a wrong turning (or killing myself or someone else......)
Sounds like Satnav may work well for me......
 
Core Location is a service available on the SDK - meaning anyone wanting to develop a GPS app can do so...don't really see Apple stopping that. It's like stopping people using the camera or the speakers...
 
Some of you might want to look into products tomtom have, it might answer some of your questions.
I have a tomtom go 910, it has a 20gb hard drive, on which you can store music, it has an mp3 player built in, it has voice directions, and it connects to your phone via bluetooth and the calls are audible through its internal speaker, infact all sounds come from the internal speaker.
So basically you can compare this to an iphone with tomtom installed, which means it's very do-able.

Link: http://www.tomtom.com/products/product.php?ID=212&Category=14&Lid=1
 
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