NaviGadget

GPS on 3G iPhone: what you need to know

Jun 10, 2008 gps navigation

First off there are GPS features on the new 3G iPhone like everyone predicted. It gets location data from cell towers, Wi-Fi, and now from GPS – more specifically an A-GPS receiver. For those who don’t know: A-GPS stands for Assisted GPS which helps your device get a position fix faster than regular GPS. It is no way a “fake” or a “light” GPS.

This means when you are in the middle of nowhere where there are no cell towers it will take longer to get a position fix – but at the same time since there are no towers around you also won’t be able to download any maps.

Now back in the city you still won’t get your next direction announced when the turn comes up. In other words, it is not dynamic navigation – however it will give you all the directions at the beginning of your trip. It is pretty much just like using Google Maps on your desktop but you never have to enter “from” part.

And this is where TomTom comes in. Soon after Jobs announced the GPS feature on iPhone, TomTom announced that they already have a version of their software ready for the 3G iPhone. We’re assuming TomTom will rely on their own maps and probably keep that A-GPS chip constantly on to give you a better navigation experience. This would of course drain your battery faster – but you can’t have everything.

Without any add-on software, out of the box iPhone uses the ultimate Google Maps for their maps. Free of charge, including satellite view, traffic, etc. For TomTom you’ll probably have to pay a monthly fee.

Slate magazine pretty much sums of what the GPS industry is facing… even Garmin which has a product coming up that could compete with the iPhone:

But Garmin has bigger concerns than the Nuvifone. Every new iPhone sold means one fewer person needs a GPS unit in his car. Considering that the 3G iPhone starts at $200 and integrates music, phone, gaming, the Web, and GPS into one unit, the thing is going to siphon serious business away from the old-line GPS manufacturers. Garmin’s entry-level portable GPS models hover north of $100. Almost all of the rest retail for more than $200, which isn’t looking like a great deal right about now.

In other related news AT&T will let you swap your old iPhone with a new 3G iPhone if you bought it after May 27th. But of course you’ll have to accept the new contract terms – which is an extra $10/month for the data plan.