Tomtom or GPS Software on iPhone 3G

As for what is coming nobody really knows...but google maps is the only current solution, and that does not provide turn-by-turn.

I personally think that nothing beats a dedicated SatNav device, the antenna on a dedicated device is better and the receiver can pick up a weaker signal and aquire satelittes faster.

Agreed. iPhone is for those that don't want to spend the extra money or don't need a real Sat turn by turn. I'm in that group! iPhone with Maps meets my needs.

I agree with Greg. Casual navigation (where is the nearest Apple Store) is about all that the GPS applications are designed to do.

Search these forums for a wealth of GPS Navigation threads, no point in repeating them here.

Go out and get a Garmin. Even if the iPhone worked as a Personal Navigation Device you would never have all the features that a Garmin/TomTom has, and the screen is too small, the processor too slow, the battery too weak, an the OS too restrictive to do a good job as a PND.

Unless Apple makes a deal with TeleAtlas (TomTom) its not going to happen. Navtec, the only other map source, is owned by Nokia. I don't see them falling all over themselves to help a competitor.

I think a great app would be for a tomtom or garmin to use the features to give it many of the features that the dash has. Tomtom has a new gps for the UK (940 live) that uses the entire vodaphone network to learn about traffic data.... not just a type of gps like dash does.

I am sure though that this could be a function that ATT would have to be involved with but could be implemented much easier then building a whole app for the iphone. Basically this would use the iphone as the bridge between the cloud-based services that come through the att network and the GPS device that is much better at doing turn by turn then the iphone. Also this would probably be better on battery life for the iphone too.

This has the fundimental limitatation of requiring a data connection for it to function. There are far too many areas of the country with no or unreliable data service for AT&T or Apple to take on the legal restraints of a driving/turn by turn navigation device. Also, the iPhone screen is much too small for use while driving alone.

For a quick "Where am I", the IP GPS is fine. For almost any other application, it ***** (mainly because it ***** battery juice like mad. When I first got my IP, I thought I would give the GPS a try while the IP was plugged into my vehicle power port. When I started the operation, the battery bar was about half way down. Even with the IP plugged in, after about a half hour, I got a "Low Battery Dismiss" warning. This tells me the GPS ***** battery juice faster than the input rate.

I've also used it for some hiking (about an hour or so) and that's about all you get with a full battery in the GPS mode. I may have had the iPod music going also. There is NO WAY you can use the GPS feature if you're on a hike of over an hour and expect it to point you back to your starting point.

Macaby wrote:

I've also used it for some hiking (about an hour or so) and that's about all you get with a full battery in the GPS mode. I may have had the iPod music going also. There is NO WAY you can use the GPS feature if you're on a hike of over an hour and expect it to point you back to your starting point.

You don't have to have the GPS APP running all the time.

Just whip it out once in a while, get the Lat/Long with one of the free apps, and check your paper map. Even in the back-country this works. Got Towers? Even better!

If you can't get more than 3 hours, your phone is running some application. Kill the app, and sleep the phone. 6 or 7 hours easy, even with gps chip switched on.

(For all the dire warnings about GPS battery drain, my GPS is always on. I charge once a day.

Unless Apple makes a deal with TeleAtlas (TomTom) its not going to happen. Navtec, the only other map source, is owned by Nokia. I don't see them falling all over themselves to help a competitor.

I think NavTeq is quite happy to sell its map data to anyone.

For instance, Sprint has a [deal for developers|http://developer.sprint.com/site/global/develop/technologies/locatio n based_serv/mapping_tools/p_mappingtools.jsp] where you get to use free NavTeq data during development.

[More info on using NavTeq data here.|http://developer.navteq.com/site/global/home/20 sprint_comingfrom/psprint.jsp]

icebike wrote:

You don't have to have the GPS APP running all the time.

Just whip it out once in a while, get the Lat/Long with one of the free apps, and check your paper map. Even in the back-country this works. Got Towers? Even better!

(For all the dire warnings about GPS battery drain, my GPS is always on. I charge once a day.

I understand about not leaving a GPS App running all the time, but that's part of the fun of using a GPS, whether its a hike or a road journey (especially when you don't really need GPS info). As for your post about your GPS running all the time, I assume you mean the "Location Services". Yes, mine runs all the time also.

Hey, I love my iPhone and the only thing I can really knock it for, is that it's NOT an all day phone without access to a charger IF you want to use some of the non-phone goodies like streaming radio (which I do a lot of). I don't question that a person could use the IP all day IF he/she stayed away from all the goodies that are a click away, but then why have an IP?

Rubbish, I've done GPS on a crummy HTC Typhoon with a 200MHz OMAP processor.

The iPhone has a power VR 3D processor and OpenGL ES, it's better equipped than a Tomtom unit is.

In my opinion the GPS hardware in the iPhone should be capable enough to work as a in car navigation device. It is far more capable than many other smartphones on the market.

But as proper GPS software has not been released for the iPhone yet, I suspect the issue here is that Apple:

- Wants to regulate what is released because of quality concerns, maybe they want to properly certify that the GPS software works flawlessly. Or maybe they feel the hardware is not reliable enough (GPS on competing phones does not work 100% flawlessly either, so that should not stop them).
- They are working on their own GPS software
- They are negotiating a deal with a third party

I think it is only a matter of time until GPS software is released.

I don't think I successfully explained what i was talking about. Why can't Garmin or TomTom make an app so the iphone works with one of their GPS devices not just an app to get the iphone to do turn-by-turn.

One of the coolest GPS devices on the market lately has been the Dash Express. The concept of always on data and GPS gives it some unique features. Now that they have killed off their hardware division, other companies need to figure out how to beat what they did.

The GPS device would use the iphone to access its data for search, traffic data, weather and other location based services. Obviously, this would only work in areas that you can get ATT, but currently any device like this (again like the dash express) is only going to work in an area covered by cell service. When you don't have data service, the gps device just can't access those data-based features from the iphone.

By doing this, there would be zero turn-by-turn navigation being done by the iphone, nor would you need to use its screen to view the map. This would enable it to still be used as a phone in the car (even without a headset).

The advantage of the iphone over a standard cellphone with a data connection would be that the app could build in hooks to access things like your address book (to either make calls or get routes), email/sms notification, and even itunes control. This could also open up a whole new type of app that is designed to work with the GPS device.

The final constraint is power. Using the iphone constantly in data mode drains the battery. This is very easy to solve. This is a in car solution. Just make a charger that simultaneously can power the GPS and the iphone.

I realize that something like this is just a pipe dream. But I think it is something that could make a very powerful car solution without having to build all of this into either the gps or the iphone.

dgtlman wrote:

This is a in car solution. Just make a charger that simultaneously can power the GPS and the iphone.

Not sure what you mean by powering the GPS AND the iPhone at the same time? Are you talking about a separate GPS?

TomTom previously announced several months ago that they have a GPS turn by turn navigation app for the iPhone 3G but haven't released it to the App Store. I believe they are waiting for Apple to provide a software update so the iPhone can tell which direction it is facing not just show where it is while in motion. This way users could see a street level view of the road when following directions using the Google Map system.

imagine engine wrote:
I believe they are waiting for Apple to provide a software update so the iPhone can tell which direction it is facing not just show where it is while in motion. This way users could see a street level view of the road when following directions using the Google Map system.

Static direction info requires a digital compass, which is hardware that the iPhone 3G lacks, and can't be obtained from GPS. No firmware update can provide this. Since TomTom never said they require this, it's pure speculation on your part.