iPhone 2.0 + Geotagging = GPS?

by Eric March on May 22, 2008 at 8:42 pm

You may recall my article a few days ago about the iPhone and location-based content. My main point of contention was whether or not the iPhone 2.0 would include a GPS, and although I was doubtful, I still held out hope that maybe they could stuff a GPS radio in the next iPhone while they’re busy shoving a 3G radio in there.

Well, the latest word might just bring some addition hope to that possibility. Evidently, the latest beta of the iPhone beta firmware includes “location services” that are used by Google Maps and the camera app to retrieve your current location, ostensibly for the purposes of accurrate mapping (obviously) and photo geotagging. Apple Insider claims to have screenshots of the new features, and if they turn out to be legit, then that may mean that the iPhone 2.0 could indeed be rocking a SiRFStar under the hood. It’s conceivable that they could just be relying on Google Maps’ “Locate Me” feature, but if geotagging is truly planned, then it wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense if the tags effectively said, “taken in the general vicinity of southern Rhode Island.” Furthermore, Google Maps would hardly need permission to ask to use your current location to locate you if it’s already been doing that since the iPhone 1.0.

Apple does need to keep up with the likes of Nokia, Motorola, and HTC when it comes to premium features like this. Those three alone have all had phones with built-in GPS available for the past couple of years — they’ve even had geotagging for some time now, and given that the iPhone is itself is rapidly becoming the premium phone to own, you almost have to think that The Steve would want to eliminate every reason the holdouts could have not to become switchers themselves.

Is it too much to hope for? Could there be a GPS-flavoured “boom” on June 9th? I sincerely hope so, because it would bode very well indeed for the future of the iPhone.

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(via Engadget)

One Response to “iPhone 2.0 + Geotagging = GPS?”

Rumour Review: Grading the Papers | Touch Podium said:

June 10th, 2008 at 9:21 am

[...] iPhone 2.0 + Geotagging = GPS? We already covered the GPS rumour, so this gets the nod for geotagging. [...]