On the iPhone and Location-Based Content

by Eric March on May 19, 2008 at 8:36 pm

That’s the new thing for the next generation of mobile devices: Location-based content. Applications that combine GPS location with other useful functions that deliver location-aware results. If you take a look at the latest announcement of the top 50 entries in the Android Developer Challenge, you’ll notice that the top picks contain quite a number of location-aware applications. From location-based social networking, golf assistance, and GPS-enhanced pictorial directions to particular destinations, to geotagging, locational multiplayer online games, and augmented reality navigation, location-based content is already getting to be big news — and it hasn’t even gone mainstream yet.

There’s no doubt that many of these apps are innovative and will be blazing new trails and giving people new ways in which to use their mobile devices. The only thing at issue here is that it requires GPS hardware to take advantage of — ideally, GPS hardware that’s built-in to the handset in order to appeal to enough developers that the software will become pervasive. That’s why there’s a big question mark hanging over the iPhone in this field right now. Some rumours have suggested that the iPhone will have GPS built-in. This would be nice, certainly, and it wouldn’t be a problem for Apple to stuff a SiRFstar III receiver into the next generation iPhone, as long as they’re making some elbow room for a 3G radio. However, we also know that The Steve has been very concerned about battery life, which is the main reason the iPhone didn’t ship with 3G in the first place. How many more milliamps will a GPS radio suck, then, and more importantly, does The Steve think a GPS essential enough to sacrifice additional talk time for?

Perhaps a better question is, does The Steve realize how big location-based content will be, and does he want to spend an iPhone generation finding — and missing — out? With the first Android handsets rumoured to be on the way as early as Christmas, and with such a plethora of applications already being developed, many of which will take full and creative advantage of the hardware Android will run on, the iPhone could face a statistically significant amount of competition if it doesn’t keep pace with the latest trends. The lack of 3G was the biggest complaint about the iPhone when it was released last June. Could the lack of GPS, and thus the lack of location-aware applications be this year’s sticking point? We can certainly hope not, and with the increasing popularity of GPS receivers in the latest handsets growing, I would be hard-pressed to think of a reason that The Steve would simply ignore that. Just the same, the hints and indications that GPS will make its way to the iPhone 2.0 haven’t turned up. No rumours of Apple making deals with GPS chipmakers, no buying up of huge numbers of GPS chips. Just a solitary rumour that 2.0 may have it, which just isn’t enough hook to hang your hat on.

Since we’re only 3 weeks away from kicking off this year’s WWDC, it looks like we’ll probably be finding out soon enough, assuming the keynote includes the iPhone 2.0 bombshell as has been repeatedly rumoured. I’m hoping for GPS-enabled iPhone, but I’m thinking this might not be likely.

Posted in Op/Ed, iPhone 2.0