3G iPhone's firmware purportedly leaked, hints at assisted GPS

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  • Reply 21 of 101
    dluxdlux Posts: 666member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Seeing as how the Americas will use the 850 and 1900 Bands, and Europe, Oceania, Asia and Africa will use the 2100 Band, is it possible to turn to off the unneeded chip or chips? Are they designed to be always be ready to activate? Would it not be beneficial to turn it/them off if you weren't going to use them?



    Assuming the power savings were meaningful, this makes a lot of sense. If such selective component activation were indeed possible, it should then be entirely automated. Any phone with GPS should know where it is, and thus also know which bands were active/required in the vicinity.



    (The exception would be a cold boot, or any time the signal is lost, in which case the handset would activate enough radio hardware to get a fix, and then tune itself down to the appropriate local bands.)
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  • Reply 22 of 101
    dluxdlux Posts: 666member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by kerryb View Post


    GPS? Someone please tell me why GPS is so important for anyone to have? I always know where I am don't you?



    It doesn't sound like you explore much. Try traveling the back roads in western US (for example) away from metropolitan areas. Even with a Delorme map it's possible to get lost in the middle of nowhere, and these days its cheaper to get a GPS fix than spend the gas on back-tracking.
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  • Reply 23 of 101
    dluxdlux Posts: 666member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by joe_brown View Post


    i am wondering if a-gps includes real gps?!

    i am really keen on using the 3g iphone as a navigation device in my car. with no service charge/fee when i'm using the navigation...



    and i wanna make sure that after you once bought a navigation software with maps, your navigation system will cost you nothing more and will stay for free. thats the main issue i bear in mind when i'm asking about a-gps and the normal gps receiver...



    Last year during the run-up to the iPhone I wanted to get a GPS device for navigation. I also liked the principal of One Device To Rule Them All. When it was determined that the V1.0 iPhone didn't have GPS hardware, we bought a Garmin instead. In retrospect, this was a good decision (for us) for a number of reasons:



    1) While the interface is nowhere as elegant as anything the iPhone would support, the Garmin (or any other dedicated navigation device) currently provides turn-by-turn directions, and damn good ones at that. Google Maps won't announce the upcoming off-ramp or whatever with the same degree of local precision, if at all.



    2) A dedicated GPS can afford a better,larger antenna, which is important in 'canyon' areas. While this may be offset by a mobile phone's A-GPS capabilities, there can be areas where bigger (signal reception) is better.



    3) If you have your iPhone mounted in a place where it can be seen properly and the cable is attached, what happens when you get a call? If you're relying on it in a quick-decision navigation situation (rush-hour traffic in the middle of road construction), the distraction of an incoming call could be horrible.



    4) Comprehensive map data for turn-by-turn navigation is huge (multiple GBs). If you really want an autonomous device you're going to have to carry that around at all times. Google Maps downloads only what's needed for the situation at hand, but if you're off the net that resource is lost.



    There are other reasons why a dedicated GPS device is better, but everyone's needs are different so for casual use a smart phone may be all that's needed. But I think we are still a few years away from the all-in-one device that addresses all of these needs without too much of a compromise. IMO, the best of all worlds would be if cars included a dedicated display and GPS receiver, but synced all the navigation duties with the driver's smart device (iPhone) that handled the user-specific data management such as address book, POI files, etc.
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  • Reply 24 of 101
    successsuccess Posts: 1,040member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dlux View Post


    It doesn't sound like you explore much. Try traveling the back roads in western US (for example) away from metropolitan areas. Even with a Delorme map it's possible to get lost in the middle of nowhere, and these days its cheaper to get a GPS fix than spend the gas on back-tracking.



    yeah because REAL exploring is done in the car.
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  • Reply 25 of 101
    retroneoretroneo Posts: 240member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by joe_brown View Post


    i am wondering if a-gps includes real (satellite-based) gps?!



    i dont quite know how a-gps works and if there is a slight chance that 3g-iphone ONLY has a-gps and NO real gps.



    what i mean is: what happens with a-gps if there is really no telephony-signal (GSM or umts or whatever) and you want to navigate / locate?



    A-GPS is real GPS plus extra Internet based features that enable a quick fix. There are so many errors in this article that it is laughable, as others have pointed out!



    In my old Nokia N95, it takes 3-5 minutes to get a fix without the Internet (GPS alone). It takes 5-7 seconds with data active.



    A-GPS downloads [Ephemeris and Almanac] information form the internet that is also broadcast via the satellites. The GPS satellites transmit at 50 bits per second which is SLOW. You need at least some of this information before you can use the GPS signals to get a position. Downloading from the internet is instant and a fix can then be obtained from the satellites in as little as 2 seconds (in the case of the Freescale Global Locate that has been rumored to be in the firmware)



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    Seeing as how the Americas will use the 850 and 1900 Bands, and Europe, Oceania, Asia and Africa will use the 2100 Band, is it possible to turn to off the unneeded chip or chips? Are they designed to be always be ready to activate?[/INDENT]

    There is no power wastage in the way you are thinking of in a multiband phone. The old iPhone is a quadband phone.



    Even when switching bands mid call (This will already happen on today's iPhone) the phone is only transmitting the required data over the correct band and only listens to the correct band.



    GSM/UMTS is not haphazard in its use of radio hardware!



    (Yes, I know there is an on/off switch for 3G. I am not talking about that, I'm talking about turning off the one or two radios that you will not be using if you are to stay segregated to the continents as listed above)



    PS: This would have been so much easier had the Americas got on board with 2100 (band I). Was it being used by something else?



    I need an off switch for 2G, as my provider charges extraordinary rates if you happen to use the EDGE network instead of the practically free HSDPA data!!



    At that stage the 1900/2100 pairing most commonly used globally for UMTS was already in use. Similarly GSM's 900/1800MHz was in use so the US uses 850/1900.
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  • Reply 26 of 101
    dluxdlux Posts: 666member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by success View Post


    yeah because REAL exploring is done in the car.



    No, REAL exploring is done in the basement with a keyboard.



    WTF - do you prejudge everyone like this?
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  • Reply 27 of 101
    kedakeda Posts: 722member
    I had no idea what A-GPS was, so I Googled.



    Here is Wikipedia's description:



    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AGPS



    According to this wiki, some A-GPS devices require a cell connection to function. Based on the leaked specs, will the 3G iPhone's GPS continue to function, albeit more slowly, without a cell tower connection?
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  • Reply 28 of 101
    successsuccess Posts: 1,040member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Dlux View Post


    No, REAL exploring is done in the basement with a keyboard.



    WTF - do you prejudge everyone like this?



    No but sounds like you do.
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  • Reply 29 of 101
    thanks, dlux and retroneo for pointing that out.



    now i've got a better understanding of how navigation would look like on the 3g-iphone. the question about "what if there's an incoming call right when you're driving?" is very crucial, indeed.
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  • Reply 30 of 101
    SpamSandwichspamsandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by walshbj View Post


    I think my father might have written that. The other day he asked me if he should switch from Yahoo! to Firefox.



    LMAO!!!
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  • Reply 31 of 101
    jeffdmjeffdm Posts: 12,953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by success View Post


    yeah because REAL exploring is done in the car.



    No need to get your panties in a bunch.
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  • Reply 32 of 101
    quinneyquinney Posts: 2,528member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addabox View Post


    Well, at least they're not this guy. (Thanks to Gruber)



    Writing for CNN Money, he opines:







    Yes, it's true, you're not hallucinating, someone claiming expertise in scoping out Apple's plans by pouring over patent filings doesn't know the difference between Flash the software and flash memory chips. And confuses the two in such a way as to reach a hilariously wrong conclusion. In print. So we can see it.



    Bet his nickname over at CNN is "flash" right about now, and will be for all time.



    So take heart, Apple Insider!











    It is an epidemic.

    see http://www.macdailynews.com/index.ph...ile_on_iphone/
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  • Reply 33 of 101
    desarcdesarc Posts: 642member
    no evidence of A2DP in the firmware?
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  • Reply 34 of 101
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    This encompasses every country that Apple has partnered with. This does not, however allow for a 3G iPhone to function on T-Mobile USA. So all you with unlocked EDGE iPhones on T-Mobile have to jump to AT&T if you want to use 3G.
    ? 2100 (down) / 1700 (up) for America (T-Mobile)
    It would have to be a quad-band chip to allow T-Mobile to function, but since they didn't get their spectrum that long ago and have no real 3G network it's a moot point.



    The GSM part is the standard quad-band for the 850/900/1800/1900 bands.



    I thought T-Mobile used AT&T's network?



    Their 3G rollout time frame matches AT&T's also.
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  • Reply 35 of 101
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by desarc View Post


    no evidence of A2DP in the firmware?



    So far, there is no evidence for or against the addition of A2DP. Which, in this case, leans away from an imminent inclusion.
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  • Reply 36 of 101
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OriginalMacRat View Post


    I thought T-Mobile used AT&T's network?



    Their 3G rollout time frame matches AT&T's also.



    Sadly, that isn't the case. They share the same GSM frequency bands as AT&T and others, but not UMTS.



    It's really confusing stuff. Anyone of these links should help clarify things:
    * The AWS listed in the first link for T-Mobile USA means Advanced Wireless Services. It has replaced the MMDS spectrum in the US for available data allocation, which is why T-Mobile had to purchase that function spectrum band. I'm guessing they were running out.
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  • Reply 37 of 101
    samabsamab Posts: 1,953member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by solipsism View Post


    So far, there is no evidence for or against the addition of A2DP. Which, in this case, leans away from an imminent inclusion.



    Apple gets paid a lot of money for "ipod/iphone certified" accessories like docks.



    http://www.popularmechanics.com/tech...y/4229530.html



    If you want digital output out of ipod dock, you need to pay Apple money licensing fees to get access to the ipod's authentication chip.



    http://www.stereophile.com/news/010408wadia/
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  • Reply 38 of 101
    irelandireland Posts: 17,800member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by walshbj View Post


    I think my father might have written that. The other day he asked me if he should switch from Yahoo! to Firefox.



    Hmm, aren't foxes sly and sneaky? Be careful before you make that switch.
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  • Reply 39 of 101
    has fcc approval come through? all these rumors about boxes being received by resellers (albeit non-us) - i'm assuming vendors in US wouldn't be receiving boxes if fcc approval has not been issued?
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  • Reply 40 of 101
    smokeonitsmokeonit Posts: 268member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by moveteam View Post


    No you can't. EDGE in Denmark (large cities like Copenhagen) the speeds range from 400-600 Kbps, while HSPDA is 7.2 mbit (rumored 3G iPhone), soon up to 20 MBit (which the new iPhone doesn't support)



    the iphone will support up to 42Mbit hsdpa speeds!
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