iPhone to become real GPSr

I read about that this morning. I think the features mentioned will be a good addition to an already awesome phone. But I still would only use the iPhone as a hot backup for any type of navigation... it will be good to have in a pinch.

But as noted in the subject line. I sure hope this release goes smoother than the 2.0 release. Maybe Apple has learned their lesson.

I'm sorry but the Iphone to me is just a brick! Everyone I know owns them and they all have dropped or cursed them because of features they lack that are standard on other phones.

If I want a GPS I'll buy a GPS, if I want a phone I'll buy one of them too. Why does EVERYTHING these days have to do the laundry, cook dinner and wipe my butt at the same time?! (LOL) I'm stumped.

I'm very happy with my iPhone. It has worked well for me as portable Internet computer and its medical applications serve me well as a nurse. The new 3.0 operating system has added lots of other features such as cut/copy/paste that should have been there from the beginning. The firmware updates have continually added functionality at no cost.

I agree that sometimes a device that does everything usually means it does nothing well. The iPhone may be the exception here with its GPS capability. It has the processing power and memory to do what most stand-alone GPSr can do now. Sometimes having one less cord in my car seems like a good idea. It also means one less device to carry with me on business trips.

For some trips I no longer bring the laptop. Just my GPS and iPhone have served me well for quick trips to new cities. I use the GPS to find where I am going, and the iPhone for e-mail, web browsing, and finding local attractions. Its local search applications are better than my nüvi's.

I love my iPhone and with each update it gets better and better. I know far more people who have come too iPhone than I know people who have given up iPhones. I look forward to 3.0 but can see that any GPSr app that has to include maps is going to be a space hog

I don't have either an iPod or iPhone, but they are clearly successful devices. If the iPod Touch gets real GPS I may have to revisit the issue.

After the many responses from a previous thread (is that the correct term), I knew when I saw the Apple announcement, that I would find the discussion here.

I still agree the stand-alone GPS has many benefits, but if they can get the turn-by-turn right in the iPhone, it will be a great tool for those that don't already have a stand-alone GPS, and don't plan on purchasing one. And, the fact is, the screen is much better on the iPhone than my Garmin. I wonder if they will be able to get the traffic info into the program as it is on my Garmin, and if it will be free.

I for one cannot wait until June to see how 3.0 will hold in store for us.

if i had a brand new never opened iphone that i bought without a contract and it says no sim installed can i put in an old cingular sim card that used to be activated but now isnt will i be able to get to the iphone home screen and be able to use the ipod and wifi but not the phone function.

When I upgraded my iPhone, a new sim card was issued. I left the old sim card in the iPhone and use my old iPhone with wi fi. All the applications are operable. Although the phone displays "no Service" the location services are active, but apps require an internet connection for operability. Many of the GPS apps with stored maps are functional.

Removal of the sim card cripples the location services and hampers GPS functionality.

I am told there are differences in the sim card but do not know the specifics.

The touch will never become a real GPS using WiFi. Not enough coverage. If they add a GPS antenna then yes but right now after the new release of their latest version, there are more people concerned that they didn't include a camera and instead added a camera to their Nano!

Bob

Apple's history with the iPod was continuously dribble out new features to its music player. They have now added video to a Nano! They need to keep people to be buying replacement devices as they near saturation in the market. The addition of a camera and GPS is only a matter of time. One or both of those features is likely to show up in 2010.

In the meantime Apple works behind the scenes to create whatever the next device is that will make the current form of the iPod Touch obsolete. So just when the competition can catch up they come out with something totally new.

I am always stunned when they walk away from good selling devices to introduce whole new ones. Their success is due to that long range view that few other companies seem to have.

My Company just gave me a new phone the Palm Pre and it had Sprint Navigation on it...I ran a few parallel trips with it this past week and it seems to work well enough that maybe the Garmin could stay home. The Problem with though again just starting to open it and play is that the battery is very weak...one of the features I noticed was it had traffic on it too and alerted me to the problem up ahead...also I think the businesses are a little more up to date?

Again just starting to investigate...hmmm