how hard is it to put GPS in that iTouch??

Posted:
in Future Apple Hardware edited January 2014
why? why?

how hard is it, for company in the magnitude of APPLE, to release a satisying product to the market which will include as many features as possible on it's debut date.???

one that will not lose it's value like a pair of socks after 3 months on which 'they' of course release anoter version with just one improvent (either memory upgrade or a one/two features they could have included 3 months ago without skipping lunch times? does it really worth it ?

i want to see an iThing that will be have kick ass hardware which will compliment at least one year forward tech wise, would be able to download new features AND will have slots (yes with an "s"!) for memory so we can upgrade memory as we see fit ( oh and while making those please make sure we can take them with us to iThing II the following year.

In that case i woule start growing memory, buy a memory farm, grow memory , become a brand flash memory APPPLE IQ you still making money AND happy buyers.



that being said? anyone knows something about GPS/Navigation feature for the iTouch ?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    onlookeronlooker Posts: 5,252member
    You are in the future Hardware forum. Try the iPod Forum next time please.
  • Reply 2 of 15
    mrtotesmrtotes Posts: 760member
    What has GPS got to do with playing media?



    I can see future versions of iPhone using mobile-phone masts to obtain user location but that's about it.



    Apple does a small number of features well. If you want a does-it-all-badly product look elsewhere.
  • Reply 3 of 15
    bigcbigc Posts: 1,224member
    so do you really want your battery to wear down continuously so that your machine can keep in touch with the satellites continuously???
  • Reply 4 of 15
    kareliakarelia Posts: 525member
    If I hear or read "iTouch" one more time...



    It's "iPod touch". Not. That. Tough.
  • Reply 5 of 15
    buddhabuddha Posts: 386member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Karelia View Post


    If I hear or read "iTouch" one more time...



    It's "iPod touch". Not. That. Tough.



    that's merely the tip of the iceberg of the incorrectness of his spiel too.
  • Reply 6 of 15
    The iPhone and iPod Touch internals weren't designed by geniuses or even people hell-bent on elegance: they were designed under a mandate to be secretive, so they don't use cutting-edge technology. Usage of cutting edge technology requires multiple partnerships, which greatly increases the risk of the secret getting out. In upcoming versions, we'll see a lot more elgance in the internals via silicon integration, and this will free up room for a GPS chipset, should that be a priority (the secret is out).



    For the record, most cellular "GPS" isn't actually satellite-based GPS. The smallest true GPS packages are about the size of a thumbnail, which is actually a reasonable amount of real-estate in embedded electronics.
  • Reply 7 of 15
    mcarlingmcarling Posts: 1,106member
    There is no reason why a future iPhone shouldn't have at at least all the features of my Nokia N95, including GPS. That being said, there is no reason to put GPS in an iPod. If someone needs GPS + iPod features, he should buy a future iPhone with GPS.



    Also, I don't want multiple memory card slots in a phone. I'd rather keep the size and weight down.
  • Reply 8 of 15
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mcarling View Post


    There is no reason why a future iPhone shouldn't have at at least all the features of my Nokia N95, including GPS.



    Are you sure your N95 has a satellite GPS transponder?
  • Reply 9 of 15
    mcarlingmcarling Posts: 1,106member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Splinemodel View Post


    Are you sure your N95 has a satellite GPS transponder?



    I'm not quite sure enough to bet a finger, but the following facts tend to suggest that my N95 does have a satellite GPS transponder:

    - whether or not to use cell sites to enhance the accuracy is configurable

    - GPS works without a SIM card installed

    - the number of satellites to which a connection is established is displayed

    - when GPS is enabled, battery life is less than half what it is with GPS off
  • Reply 10 of 15
    palegolaspalegolas Posts: 1,361member
    Apple has touched and tried the map thing with Google Maps. If GPS will surface I believe it'll be the iPhone, not the iPod, and it'll be combined with Goggle Maps. But while anyone could learn to like GPS navigation, I believe it's a feature that only a few of us really want and need. Tha's why for example Nokia selected their expensive top model to run GPS, and not the mass consumer models. I don't think the iPhone needs GPS.. though I'll admit it would be cool. I'd probably buy the cheaper none GPS model.
  • Reply 11 of 15
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mcarling View Post


    I'm not quite sure enough to bet a finger, but the following facts tend to suggest that my N95 does have a satellite GPS transponder:

    - whether or not to use cell sites to enhance the accuracy is configurable

    - GPS works without a SIM card installed

    - the number of satellites to which a connection is established is displayed

    - when GPS is enabled, battery life is less than half what it is with GPS off



    Sounds like it does. However, I took a look at the N95, and it's a bulky thing. I wasn't very impressed. Comparing it to the iPhone isn't very productive.
  • Reply 12 of 15
    mrtotesmrtotes Posts: 760member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Splinemodel View Post


    For the record, most cellular "GPS" isn't actually satellite-based GPS. The smallest true GPS packages are about the size of a thumbnail, which is actually a reasonable amount of real-estate in embedded electronics.



    Quite. Surely this is the point of having Google Maps in the iPhone. Position given by triangulation between phone masts is sufficient to tell you where's nearest to get calamari.
  • Reply 13 of 15
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mrtotes View Post


    Quite. Surely this is the point of having Google Maps in the iPhone. Position given by triangulation between phone masts is sufficient to tell you where's nearest to get calamari.



    No arguments here. I think it's quite clever to use the cellular baseband for location purposes, given that it doesn't take a lot of computation and doesn't require the powering (or implementation) of an alternate receiver.
  • Reply 14 of 15
    wizard69wizard69 Posts: 13,377member
    I will try to respond but your message leaves a lot to be desired as far as communicating what you want.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by tafkuki View Post


    why? why?

    how hard is it, for company in the magnitude of APPLE, to release a satisying product to the market which will include as many features as possible on it's debut date.???



    Actually for Apple this appears to be very hard to do. If you want a reasonable feature set, in consumer friendly packaging Apple is not the vendor to o to.

    Quote:

    one that will not lose it's value like a pair of socks after 3 months on which 'they' of course release anoter version with just one improvent (either memory upgrade or a one/two features they could have included 3 months ago without skipping lunch times? does it really worth it ?



    Actually, with respect to memory Apple is right on the bleeding edge. If there is one thing I find hard to fault them with is the secondary storage in its line of iPods. About the only lagging unit is the shuffle.

    Quote:

    i want to see an iThing that will be have kick ass hardware which will compliment at least one year forward tech wise, would be able to download new features AND will have slots (yes with an "s"!) for memory so we can upgrade memory as we see fit ( oh and while making those please make sure we can take them with us to iThing II the following year.



    I've become convinced that Apple simply doesn't know what they have in the way of the Touch and iPhone. In any event Apple has never been about offering feature rich hardware, at the same time it is hard to understand how the iPhone and Touch wouldn't be considered leading edge hardware.



    As far as memory card and even a swappable battery I have to agree that Apple is bit out of touch here. Batteries need to be swappable for the obvious reasons. The memory card issues are highly variable, as frankly my personal preference would be larger internal storage. A slot for a common memory card format wouldn't hurt though.

    Quote:



    In that case i woule start growing memory, buy a memory farm, grow memory , become a brand flash memory APPPLE IQ you still making money AND happy buyers.



    that being said? anyone knows something about GPS/Navigation feature for the iTouch ?



    Unfortunately for this variant of the Touch Apple has limited the device in the extreme for media play. This of course sucks. Frankly I'm not sure if Apple will get it together with this product line and the potential it has. I would love a unit with GPS and a few other features. Frankly the ideal Touch would have enough memory to store my music and maps of the entire world.



    I'm not a big fan of integrations with Google maps as that is only useful when you are near infrastructure. Since some of the most interesting places in this world are far from the network, uncached Google maps would be worthless. Instead I'd like to see Apple reach an agreement with Google that would set up a protocol that would keep a Touch type device constantly updated. I'm seldom lost in developed areas but knowing where you are in the bush can be very useful.



    In any event the Touch is an obvious platform for these sorts of new technologies. Much of what was impossible a year or two ago is now in the realm of a possibility with the right manufacture.



    Dave
  • Reply 15 of 15
    onlookeronlooker Posts: 5,252member
    How many phones actually have GPS? Are they popular or something? What's the big deal here? I've never even seen one let alone do I need one with google Maps in there anyway.
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