Could all the rumors — and even Kevin Rose — have been right? Will we see a longer, widescreen iPod Nano that brings the candy-bar shape back? MacRumors rounds up some “leaked” “case designs” that suggest maybe they are — or merely that even the Chinese read Kevin Rose’s blog? Roughly Drafted, on the other hand points out that a new aspect ration for the screen might cause problems for existing iPod formatted videos and games.
Wilder still is the rumor that the next generation iPod Touch might just beef up its LocationServices with… GPS. Lacking the cell radio of the iPhone, it probably wouldn’t be aGPS (which uses the cell towers to pre-crunch, and thus really speed up, GPS location discovery), but it would certainly supercharge the current, WiFi only offering.
So, will we be seeing tall-boy Nano’s and GPS Touches? And more importantly, will they finally feature Phasers?! September cometh!
Running out of things to say about the ongoing (and ongoing, and ongoing, and ongoing) TomTom and general turn-by-turn GPS on the iPhone saga?
Lucky for us, MSNBC’s Suzanne Choney (via MacDailyNews) found out the big industry players certainly aren’t.
Says TomTom:
“We have made our navigation system run on the iPhone; it looks good and works very well. We will have to look more closely to Apple’s strategy before we can say more about what kind of opportunities this will bring us.”
Says Garmin:
“We’re always looking at new phone platforms to expand into for Garmin Mobile, but we don’t have any announcements regarding the iPhone at this time.”
Says Magellan:
“[We do] not have immediate plans for this, but we are looking into it.”
Wow, could Garmin and Magellan sound any less enthusiastic? Sure, they have to play their cards close to their vest (though TomTom is obviously faster and looser in that regard), but how about a little hype-jacking?
No matter. Smart money says we should see turn-by-turn soon-ish. However, given how 3G network connectivity, MobileMe, and some other functionality has rolled out (never mind cut and paste!), turn-by-turn is something that Apple (or TomTom, or whomever provides it), really can’t afford to get wrong. 2.1 has already dropped push notification, so if turn-by-turn was even on the list, chances are it’s been bumped down again. No matter how “complicated” it may be, they have to nail it from launch, or people will be more than just inconvenienced.
That is, depending on how badly we still want turn-by-turn GPS? Dieter is all over it, of course, but how high is it on your iPhone firmware fix wish list?
Thanks to CoreLocation in the iPhone SDK, Apps can make use of WiFi, Cell, and A-GPS (for the iPhone 3G) information to keep track of where you are. Your Twitter feed can be tagged with your current location, or can show you just those contacts in a certain vicinity. A movie app can automatically fetch show times for all the theaters in a certain radius. A to-do app can pop up location-based (rather than just time-based) alerts, reminding you to help your mom change a lightbulb next time you’re there, or ping you when you pass the electronics store so you remember to pick up that cable you need.
Convenient? You bet. Powerful? A game changer. Invasive? Er… Could certainly be.
What if you don’t always want whereabouts broadcast, if you don’t want everyone to know (or potentially be able to find out) where you are, when you’re out shopping, where that picture of your child was taken?
Read on to find out how apps ask for permission to use your location, how you can change your mind and make them ask you again, or how you can turn off location services completely.
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Greg “Joz” Joswiak, Apple’s head of iPod and iPhone marketing shed some light on the iPhone 3G/2.0 and some of its highly requested, yet still missing functionality, like where’s our ability to select text, cut it or copy it, and paste it?
Apple has a priority list of features, and they got as far as they could down that list with this model
Why isn’t there a constant yet ever-so-slightly-disappointed voice telling us we missed our last ten exists and threatening to “re-calculate”?
[T]here are some murky “complicated issues” preventing driving directions apps at the moment. “It will evolve. I think our developers will amaze us.”
Like TomTom?
With regards to David Pogue’s claim that Apple said the iPhone 3G GPS antenna was too small for turn-by-turn?
Find his answer after the jump!
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We’ll be bringing your our iPhone 3G review in two parts. Part one (the part you’re reading now) is where we’ll give you a full, in-depth review of the new iPhone 3G Hardware. Here you’ll find details on GPS, 3G speeds, the feel of the actual physical device, etc. If you’re on the fence as to whether or not you should upgrade to the iPhone 3G, we’re here to help and here’s where we are, uh, helping.
Part two will focus on iPhone 2.0 software, where a lot of the real magic this week is happening and it’s available on both versions of the iPhone. That review is coming soon, for now, let’s take a look at the iPhone 3G hardware with (much) more depth than we gave you in our iPhone 3G unboxing video and picture gallery
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This is it. We’re in the home stretch. Third period power play, clock’s all but run out, and Steve Jobs is cranking back for the slap shot. In 5 days we find out if Apple scores the go-ahead goal, the two-peat for smartphone (even gadget) of the year, or if they bounce it off the goal post with their mostly evolutionary, not so much revolutionary, next generation handset.
Yesterday we mentioned one big change: the fast 3G data chip. The other big change? GPS. (Global Positioning System).
What is this and why should it matter to you? Read on after the break!
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The status of the TomTom GPS app may still be up in the air, but we’ll still have Google Maps for turn-by-turn directions (albeit not in 3D and without voice prompts). Looks like we may to have another option, too, an AT&T-Branded “gps enabled application.” So says an AT&T insider who adds that in addition to the GPS app, AT&T is also developing a “yellowpages.com mobile” app as well.
Good news? We hope so — because our fear is that the Apple SDK user agreement prohibiting developers from creating turn-by-turn apps means that this AT&T GPS app will be our only option, an option that could potentially include a monthly fee — our worst fear.
As though the increased monthly fees on the iPhone 3G weren’t bad enough already. Say it ain’t so, AT&T!
Hoo doggy. First we thought that we were definitely getting TomTom for the iPhone, giving us 3D, realtime navigation. Then we heard that the iPhone SDK explicitly prohibits just that sort of application. We weren’t worried, though, because TomTom told us we’d get it and we, you know, trusted them.
Whoops.
Turns out TomTom was, like many a GPS manufacturer, “Scared [expletive]-less” by the thought that the new iPhone would have 3G, so when a Reuters reporter asked them about it, they said “sure, we’ll make some software for it. It’ll be grand.” So writes Joel Johnson of BoingBoing Gadgets, adding that an anonymous source within TomTom let them know that there’s no internal development yet and no prototypes either.
Bummer? Bummer. Here’s our worst fear: that line in the SDK agreement is there specifically so that only one company can create turn-by-turn 3D GPS navigation: TeleNav. TeleNav is nice and all, but it costs somewhere in the neighborhood of $10 a month and they have agreements with AT&T that lock down the GPS on many handsets (we’re looking at you, Verizon BlackBerry!) so they can only access the GPS via TeleNav. We at least know that the GPS works in Google Maps, but will Apple really prohibit other companies from using it to make full GPS apps? Are they jonesing for some kickbacks revenue sharing now that they’re not getting that from AT&T anymore?
Well now, we told you that TomTom is bringing full-on, real GPS driving to the iPhone, but apparently they’re going to be the exception that makes the rule. Engadget has dug into the developer agreement for the iPhone SDK and came across this little nugget related to what developers can and cannot do with the Location services:
Applications may not be designed or marketed for real time route guidance; automatic or autonomous control of vehicles or aircraft, or other mechanical devices; dispatch or fleet management; or emergency or life-saving purposes.
…While we’re (reticently) on board with the requirement that you can’t make an app that will drive your car for you, the rest seems pretty egregious. No control of ‘mechanical devices?’ Sounds like that sweet iPhone-driven Lego Robot is verboten. No ‘fleet management?’ Sorry UPS, no iPhone for you. The big one, of course, is no ‘route guidance.’ Pish posh, we say, TomTom said they’re coming and we’re guessing they weren’t lying. We have previously said here we were slightly worried that Apple would be overly-stringent about what apps they would let into the App Store — here’s to hoping that rules like these don’t get strictly enforced.
Ready for developers to take advantage of the new features in the iPhone 3G, namely GPS? Well don’t worry, TomTom, makers of popular GPS units and GPS software, has already developed navigation software for the iPhone 3G. A TomTom spokesperson was quoted as saying,
“Navigation System runs on the iPhone already”
There is no official release date or press release but be prepared for an onslaught of GPS software to take advantage of the GPS in the iPhone 3G and not just from TomTom. Who knows which will be best? Will it be TomTom, Garmin, or a totally unknown company? This should be fun.
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