* Height: 4.5 inches
* Width: 2.4 inches
* Depth: 0.48 inch
* Weight: 4.7 ounces
Display
* 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen Multi-Touch display
* 480-by-320-pixel resolution at 163 ppi
Cellular and wireless
* UMTS/HSDPA (850, 1900, 2100 MHz)
* GSM/EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz)
* Wi-Fi (802.11b/g)
* Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
GPS
* Assisted GPS
iPhone 3G GPS Review
The iPhone 3G release was last Friday, and if you look at my previous posts, it was a pain to get one. I was eventually successful however. I’ve been playing around with it for a few days now, and these are my thoughts on the GPS side of things.
The iPhone uses the same Google Maps application that you can find on the original iPhone, as well as the iPod Touch. The added GPS function is greatly appreciated. I was really surprised at it’s accuracy, and at the speed it locked on. Once it locates you it indicates your location on the map with a pulsing dot, you can see a picture of this below.
Getting driving directions is pretty easy, click on the directions button and you are prompted to input your destination. It calculates your route pretty quick, displaying it as a bird’s eye view. At this point, the iPhone’s GPS direction ability falls short. You need to manually tap the next button in order to advance the directions, there is no automatic turn by turn navigation option available (yet). As you can see in the screen shots below, the map centers on each change in directions. As your dot enters the screen, you can hit next and it brings you to the next section.
The traffic overlay is awesome. I avoid traffic like the plague, choosing to take the commute rail into Boston every day. Looking at the graphic below, mid morning, traffic is slow (designated by red). I only wish the mapping application utilized this data allowing you to avoid traffic areas if you want.
One more feature of the application is the ability to give you a straight list of the directions. Very similar to a printout, it is quick and easy to see any upcoming direction changes.
I have heard rumors that both TeleNav and TomTom will be coming out with Turn by Turn applications in the near future. While at first there was some discrepancy if Turn by Turn would be allowed, Apple’s iPod and iPhone marketing head Greg Joswiak recently stated that there is no technical problem against Turn by Turn directions, just some legal agreements to work out, so hopefully we can expect it soon!
