We can hope this is actually going to be used. At least we know with high probability that the firmware, and the software will get a change from what has been shown at the keynote. Has the general press actually had *any* hands on time with the 3G iPhone? I haven't heard they have, which indicates a preview, which leans towards possible changes (Apple love the trickle feed, and what better than bettering what was shown at the keynote, or going "ooops, didn't we say x,y,z at the keynote? ooopsies")
(e.g. The nuvifone
does Panoramio mode on Google maps apparently.)
kuckiemonsta - hope you know a bit more about GPS now. A-GPS has GPS. There are multiple sorts, and so different A-GPS chips can be used differently, the same A-GPS can be used differently. No need to to use *. (No flaming, but if anyone wants a primer, try
here
Seeing as the teardowns don't show a GPS chip in the v1's, the v1's will only get GPS by an add-on GPS dongle or GPS enabled dock (for the car lets say). v1 iPhone's dont have GPS hardware inside.
To be honest, I haven't seen that much discussion of the breakdown of say the top 10 models with A-GPS in (Nokia N95 sold more last quarter than all the iPhones worldwide I believe, and it has A-GPS, so there's a starting handset to more closely inspect). I'm not a GPS expert, but I can read. Surely there is some more info out there on the state of A-GPS to help us out?
(I went through a summary of some of the previous GPS threads on here a bit on
thispost, if anyone's interested, or wants to add more links to that thread).
To quote
http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/gps.html
"Get a fast fix on your location."
"Track your progress as you go."
A-GPS definition "GPS...technology uses information from earth-orbiting satellites to find locations. A receiver estimates the distance to GPS satellites based on the time it takes for signals to reach it, then uses that information to identify its location. But the A-GPS (Assisted GPS) solution on iPhone 3G goes a step further, using a unique approach to find the closest satellites and more quickly identify your position. That gives you a faster fix on your location than with regular GPS."
More than GPS "In addition to A-GPS, iPhone 3G uses signals from GPS satellites, Wi-Fi hot spots, and cellular towers to get the most accurate location fast. If GPS is available, iPhone displays a blue GPS indicator. But if youre inside without a clear line of sight to a GPS satellite iPhone finds you via Wi-Fi. If youre not in range of a Wi-Fi hot spot, iPhone finds you using cellular towers. And the size of a location circle tells you how accurately iPhone is able to calculate that location: The smaller the circle, the more accurate the location."
Route/near turn by turn "Maps on iPhone 3G use GPS to help you get from point A to point B. Find a location, get directions, and, if you like, follow your progress along a highlighted route with live GPS tracking."
Use for apps "iPhone 3G provides GPS-powered location feeds to built-in applications as well as to applications available on the App Store. Take a photo with the camera, for example, and iPhone can geotag it with GPS location information. That way, when you share photos online, friends and family can see where every snapshot was taken. And you can shop the App Store for GPS-enabled applications such as mobile friend finders or interactive city guides. Learn more"
Battery "GPS on iPhone is active only when you need it. iPhone powers the GPS unit on and off quickly and automatically, so it wont adversely affect battery life"
http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/maps.html clearly shows Google Maps, with their traffic feeds etc.
http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/maps.html has a video if you want to watch.
Points of Interest
Not that many non-Satnav users will have heard of POI before. Same goes with "the cloud" and SaaS, (or even Microsoft Exchange 2007 perhaps
)
Apple is saying it's turn-by-turn directions:
Note that Apple hasn't even mentioned that you might be able to do Street View and do navigation that way, using polling the GPS that way. So Apple does have a few things left to talk about.
(e.g. The nuvifone
does Panoramio mode on Google maps apparently.)
(Otherwise, why not include in this paragraph? "Just like Google Maps on your computer, Maps on iPhone lets you switch between map view, satellite view, and a hybrid view of both. Multi-Touch makes the difference: Tap to zoom, pan, and change your view on the move."
If you don't want to fork out on TomTom
(GPS as aftermarket/addon pros and cons
here)
(As
this blog points out in a quick look at the 3G iPhone wrt GPS, TomTom Navigator 6 is $149.95 currently)
or other software, Google will now five you entry level live traffic information, with a traffic light colouring - simple, effective, indicating traffic speed along your route. Whilst Google might not dynamically reroute, or give voice turn by turns currently, it isn't too far a fetch to say the drag and change the route (adding a waypoint effectively at where the user touches) ala Google Maps on a desktop could come soon too. A nüvi 770 - is 4.5 inches. Apple iPhone is 3.5inches. So it might be smaller than a best seller, but it doesn't have the smallest GPS screen on the block. Heck , it matches the screen size of the
Garmin StreetPilot c330 i ("a groundbreaking product" in 2005).
The Garmin nuvifone is looking dated before even coming out!
Screen sizes of the nuvis pretty much (bar the Nuvi 5000) are either 3.5 inches or 4.3 inches as shown
here
nuvi 200 is nuvi ~ $150 (Halfords had a sale on GPS just before WWDC, coincidence?)
Nuvifone does have some useful features
as per Garmin, but if you exclude Google functions, it's primitive. The link shows the nuvifone also has the same size screen as the iPhone.
as shown here. Ships in the 3rd quarter (as does 3G iPhone). Pricing?
"According to an online survey, gauging customer interest in the combination GPS/HSDPA/touchscreen handset, AT&T are
considering a price of $499.99 with a 2-year contract, together with a mandatory $19.99 unlimited data & navigation plan and a standard voice tariff." Cheapest voice plan on offer is $39.99." Ouch.
video
App Store by Garmin? Unless it's running Android, I doubt it'll match up.
Presumably access to 3G, towers and wifi will help with initial satellite lock, as almanac information could be pre-cached, or got from non-GPS sources?
3G iPhone could 0wn better proper GPS SatNavs - just look at what teh Nuvifone looks like compared to the iPhone. Push email coming to Garmin?
Disappointed? Disappointed? Geeez
Article From October 2007:
Wants:
1. HDTV
2. Windows notebook - CAN DO
3. Digital camera - 2 MPxl
4. Windows desktop computer - CAN DO
5. GPS navigation - TICK
6. Cell phone - YUP
7. Digital video camera - POSSIBLE FLIP QUALITY
8. Nintendo Wii - HANDHELD GAMES
9. Sony PS3
10. HD DVD or Blu-ray player (Apple? Blu-ray?
)
Maybe a cheap oil finder will be #1 app on July 11. It ain't going down folks.
