Filed under Many mobile phones with far fewer features than the iPhone offer an in-built GPS application, so it might surprise many people to learn that the iPhone doesn’t. It does include a Google Maps app with the ability to give directions when connected to a wireless internet connection, but as for a voice turn-by-turn GPS like a TomTom, the iPhone has no such feature.
What about Bluetooth GPS receivers?
Even before the iPhone was released, many people speculated that it would include GPS. After it was clear it did not have such a feature, many thought it would be possible to get a GPS Bluetooth receiver to use via the iPhone’s Bluetooth connectivity. However, as it turned out, the iPhone could not connect with a GPS Bluetooth receiver, moreover there is no suitable working software. It seemed Apple did not initally give support for this third-party application, leaving many iPhone owners disgruntled that the device did not meet their expectations.
So what next?
In September 2007, it seems Apple finally succumbed to consumer demand and Navizon released a virtual GPS navigation app for the iPhone which relies on Wi-Fi and cellular tower triangulation. Although some would say this kind of localisation cannot be as accurate as a real GPS receiver, this is as good it could get for iPhone owners. Navizon initially offered the app for a free 15-day trial period after which users would be required to pay $25 to continue using the software.
Rumours that a GPS feature would appear on the most recent iPhone 3G were also turfed on its release, with no dedicated GPS feature included then either. However, since then Apple has allowed for third-party applications to be downloaded for use on the iPhone if sold through the iPhone App Store in iTunes. Nowadays there are many different GPS app products, both free and premium, for iPhone owners to add to their iPhone at their discretion.
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