Autoblog takes iPhone 3G's navigational abilities for a spin

by Darren Murph posted Jul 16th 2008 at 4:11PM

Yeah, so there's still lots of confusion on whether bona fide turn-by-turn GPS software will ever arrive on the iPhone 3G (though signs are pointing to "yes"), but considering that it's not there now, Autoblog took Apple's new darling for a spin in the Bay and churned out some impressions. If you're looking for the long and short of it, the iPhone 3G's navigational abilities aren't that impressive. The reviewer even went so far as to say that having a passenger manning the arrow buttons that showed your next move was "almost a necessity." Additionally, the GPS flaked out and lagged behind the current location quite frequently, which can definitely be a problem when attempting to navigate one-way streets in an unkind downtown. So, should you sell off your standalone navigator on the way to pick up your new iPhone 3G? Probably not -- at least not just yet.

Filed under: Software, ATT, GSM, EDGE, Apple, iPhone OS

Tags: 3g iphone, 3gIphone, apple, garmin, google maps, GoogleMaps, gps, iphone, iphone 3g, Iphone3g, mapping, nav, navi, navigation

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

M @ Jul 16th 2008 6:33PM

here's calling the Nuviphone!

Neutral

seung @ Jul 16th 2008 6:39PM

you know, i love how the iphone is really kicking the cell phone industry in the butt and making them innovate for once.

what i hate however, is how its bringing ever ignorant POS out from under a rock and harping on features that were never meant to do things like this in the first place.

who in their right mind would use an a-gps google maps over 3g for directions in real-time over a turn-by-turn unit? its things like that which makes the iphone release a double edged sword. Hopefully the collective retard's minds will catch up with the technology soon enough.

Low Ranked

JunkJugget @ Jul 16th 2008 6:55PM

Weeeeeeeee! Who cares! I've had full Turn by Turn Navigation on my phone which costs half that of the iPhone 3G. Oh, and my phone has expandable memory, stereo bluetooth, over the air music download and is a much smaller device. But I digress . . . with GPS on my phone, I even get traffic updates which will allow me to reroute my travels! So again, I ask . . . Who cares?

This whole iPhone jibber jabber is really annoying by Autoblog and the Engadget crew. You should all just combine web pages and call yourself, "AlliPhoneBecauseThatIsAllWeNowReportOnAndREallyCareAboutBlog" Honestly, I'm starting to go to other sources for my tech info. You guys went from awesome to iSuck.

Neutral

seung @ Jul 16th 2008 7:07PM

my last post sounded retarded, should read:
who would use 3g agps w/ no turn by turn on google maps over a standalone unit and/or tbt software for real-time navigation.

Neutral

carlo2 @ Jul 16th 2008 8:37PM

How about: the millions of people who bought it so far? Most people don't understand the difference between a-GPS or GPS, or what a smartphone is or should be able to do, which is why this phone is selling so well.

The general public hears GPS and automatically thinks they will be able to navigate turn by turn just because of those three letters. Anyone who KNOWS mobile phones realizes that those three letters are no guarantee by themselves, but the majority of iPhoners out there don't know phones and are upgrading from a hardly capable device to what's been touted as the newest, latest and greatest all in one device--and they EXPECT it to do everything and to do it perfectly.

Neutral

carlo2 @ Jul 16th 2008 8:39PM

Also, this "Hopefully the collective retard's minds will catch up with the technology soon enough," should be:

"Hopefully the collective retard(S)' minds will catch up..." [plural possessive], unless the collective retard (singular) is some being that I'm unaware of... which is possible.

Highly Ranked

Dave @ Jul 16th 2008 8:13PM

I think we all need to wait to see how TomTom works on the iPhone (which apparently has been confirmed). I think the 3G iPhone is as overrated as the next non-apple fanboy, but before I'm going to rip on the GPS I need to see how it works on TomTom, but from what this sounds like I wouldn't hold my breath.

Neutral

donald.suinderland @ Jul 16th 2008 8:35PM

Has anyone calculated the power drain on the battery when using the GPS chip?

Does it stay on all the time or is it possible to only have it one when using the mapping applications?

Neutral

snowenloe @ Jul 16th 2008 10:26PM

Are there really people who are so clueless as to totally depend on a man-made gadget to get them from point A to point B? I drive constantly, sometimes down the street and other times over 5,000 miles in a week. I know exactly where I'm going, usually because I use a paper map and other times because I bust out the Google Maps For Mobile to find the route myself. I would never let some device blindly lead me to where I need to go.

Neutral

chrisharperosu @ Jul 16th 2008 10:40PM

I would like to have some more reviews on this topic from other users.. My personal impressions on the navigation are actually impressive and better then i expected.. For me the only downside of the GPS using maps is not finding my correct location or lagging behind, but actually finding the quickest route. If I didnt know the area like the back of my hand the routes given to me would make the most sense for the person in seek of direction. As for people comparing their phones to the iphones and trying to compare their device trying to make it seem just as capable or more capable.. Please own the device and use all its capabilities before downing it or making it seem as if your device is comparable because it really isnt. Ive owned everything from treos to sprints edition to the pearl. yes pretty much im an idiot when it comes to cell phone tech and forking out cash to cancel etc. My mind is set on iphone.. Granted Att network is subpar to other networks the area I travel to and where I live my coverage is great and I get 3G speeds.. I only hope that Att improves their network for instances where I just may travel into the grey area.. Fortunately my gf has Verizon as well and if i do decide to road trip it somewhere she will be in for the haul. So I completely got off topic as usual bc im an iphone fanboy and it happens.. 2.0 software made the sky the limit for iphone.. the apps are almost as incredible as the phone its self and im sure the best has yet to come. The only limitations on the iphone are copy n paste which hasnt been a burden due to the new "work around" and mms. As for expandable memory who cares when u have 16gigs. Make playlists.. Youre not gonna listen to 5000 songs anyhow. and the price no one can complain about.. cheaper the a bb pearl.. Theres my 2 cents ciao

Neutral

JunkJugget @ Jul 17th 2008 2:38AM

Well you got one part right . . . you are an idiot. Do you actually have the ability to form a complete sentence and actually spell all of your words correctly? I felt like I had to pull out the "Idiots Guide to Being Stupid" just to understand what you were trying to say!

People compare their devices to the iPhone because people like you say that the iPhone is the best thing ever. Problem is, as a phone, it pretty much sucks ass. Really, think about it. Can you record a simple video? No, you cannot. Can you take a picture and then send it via MMS? No, you can't. How about change your battery? Nope, cannot do that either. Your "Jesus Phone" does not have the ability to do things even a basic handset can do.

With GPS, my phone has Turn-By-Turn Navigation, where it actually tells me when to turn, where to turn and in which direction. My handset even tells me where there is traffic, and offers a detour to avoid the congestion. I can even type in "Olive Garden" and it will tell me where the closest one is, and how to get there.

And then music wise, the iPhone is the god of music phones . . . right? So why is it that I can drive in my car, hear a song on the radio, and then have my phone identify the song and then ask if I want to download it over the air? Your iPhone can't do that. Pathetic really.

Plus for an advance phone, it's missing advance features like Stereo BlueTooth, Heptic Feedback and Expandable Memory. That may not sound like much, but by the end of the year when there are 16gb and 32gb MicroSD Cards on the market, you'll be stuck with your 16gb of shared storage with the fancy O/S while I'm using a full 32Gigs dedicated to Music AND Movies! Yes, I can even watch movies on my phone too. The iPhone is not the only one that can do that.

Just because Steve Jobs tells his "Sheeple" to buy this product, does not make it great. For a phone, it just cannot do what I need a phone to do, and I'm talking about basic things too.

So yeah, no matter how you look at it, your Jesus Phone is still crap wrapped up in a pretty box.

Neutral

Tor Slettnes @ Jul 17th 2008 10:51AM

GPS sensor != navigation.

Google Maps is not (yet) capable of providing turn by turn navigation, and because the iPhone SDK terms prohibits certain software categories from being released for the iPhone, there is no guarantee that it ever will be capable of this.

As a matter of fact, in terms of capabilities, the iPhone is still pretty mid-to-low range as far as phones go. For instance, it still has a severely crippled Bluetooth stack, and does not support such basic profiles as A2DP/AVRCP (stereo audio), OBEX/FTP (transfer files to/from), PAN/DUN (to tether the phone w/something like a laptop, and allow the laptop to connect to the Internet through your cellular data plan, despite the plan being more expensive than for other phones). Even the otherwise crappy MotoRAZRs (e.g. the v3xx) allow these things. Then there is the fact that there is no J2ME, so standard mobile applications (such as e.g. the excellent and free AmazeGPS turn-by-turn navigation software that's available for nearly every other cell phone) do not run on it.

The iPhone's appeal is its user interface: Screen size, multi-touch gestures, animations/transitions, and so on. So for the average non-techie, it probably IS the "best" phone there is. OTOH, if you are more into capabilities, you'll tire of the iPhone after less than a week.

Neutral

mariner7 @ Aug 11th 2008 5:29PM

JunkJugget What's your phone? I've never been convinced with the iphone and I'm looking for something that does exactly what you say yours can do.
THX, man.

Neutral

YourCompanysComputerGuy @ Jul 17th 2008 1:31AM

i've had turn by turn gps on the last 2 phones i've had....samsung m520 and now the instinct....and no lag.....yea... its nice

Neutral

chrisharperosu @ Jul 17th 2008 8:32AM

Butt Nugget since when has this become a spelling contest? I simply posted a comment on a site in a mere 5 minutes primarily to piss off losers like you who search the web for hours trying to find an iphone blog to bash. Either way your handbook worked out well, or you were able to comprehend my so called tech ebonics if you will. Sorry next time i will proof read my blog for anal retentive degenerates like yourself. Actually I take that back, thats a waste of time. Also before you go downing products you should probably do your h.w first. You sound like an idiot, at least to those who know a decent amount about the topic.

Anyhow lets get back to the topic. GPS on iphone. Tomtom is releasing a product the will give you turn by turn voice guided directions. With the ability to search for gas stations with prices, grocery stores, atm's, etc.. The whole package. To take it a step further the navigation will work in rural areas where this is no signal due to the fact that its a program on your phones memory and doesnt use cell phone service to render maps. It will also do the other basics of a navigation program such as altitude, estimated time of arrival, reroute you if you make a wrong turn, tell you the speed at which youre traveling. Also the program is fully upgradable so that when new points of interest become available its just a simple download to your phone. This programs gps will be better then any cell phones on the market. Not to mention you just buy the program and there is no monthly service charge.

Haptic feedback= gimmick notice how there is no virtual keyboard as easy to type on as the iphone.. haptic feedback or not.. Also apple left the ability to devs to utilize the phones vibration feature to create products that use haptic feedback not just for typing.

iphone as ipod= once again youre an idiot lets do a little research. First in terms of aesthetics there is not another product that makes listening to music as fun. 2nd all I have to say is shazam, a new app that allows you to put your phone next to a stereo 5-10 seconds later u have the album artwork, the name of the artist and song, the ability to watch the video on youtube or quicktime and also the ability to download the song via the handset. Also limewire mobile. It doesnt just stop their either. If you would like to see a demonstration (which im sure you dont) click the cnet link http://reviews.cnet.com/4660-10619_7-6890478.html?tag=vid.1

Stereo Bluetooth= lets face it when u have iremote do u really need stereo bluetooth? I much rather control my entire itunes library directly from my phone via wifi. Besides they put a non recessed headphone jack on the 2nd generation much better quality then bluetooth imo.

MMS= ok you got me.. i can still send pix via email though. If you jailbreak your phone the capability is there.. Im sure something is in the making through the app store.

iphone and games= no other handset compares. Crash, cro-mag, sudoku, enigma, just to name a few.. enough said

expandable memory= who cares.. get a life.. 16gigs is plenty and im sure 32 will be out by the end of the year

time for work.. cant wait to see your re-buddle

Neutral

old_news @ Jul 17th 2008 10:54AM

@ chrisharperosu

GPS:
TomTom has been working with internal GPS on Nokia (or your external Bluetooth receiver if you already have one). With that in mind your point about "This programs GPS will be better then any cell phones on the market." does not make sense, it is the same software. Also, note that you can still use Google Maps with GPS on Nokia and Nokia have their own mapping services available. Your Choice.

Music:
iPhone as iPod, Great, no questions about it. But how are the iPhone's built-in speakers? I use my N95 all around the place, it has my music, my videos and with good sound externally. This is great when I am working around the house or cars etc.

Radio: Another point about Music, as much as I listen to all the things I have I also scan FM radio to hear new things, I am not sure if you can do that on iPhone. I have now also got into the habit of listening to the song, maybe remembering the lyrics search them on YouTube and if I like it, I will search/sample and finally buy from the Nokia Music Store on my phone. Works like a treat!

Streaming: I also use ORB to be able to play any media that I have on 300GB Drives at home when I am out somewhere. If you ever feel bored, just play one of your movies from home. Simple.

Stereo Bluetooth:
Personal choice, I like using my Bluetooth Stereo headset at the gym while I am doing Cardio (treadmill/bike etc). It is very important to not have any cables, in the past I have dropped/broken MP3 players by getting my hands accidentally caught in the headphone cords. The headset is also handy when I practice basketball and I can leave my phone in the jacket on the side of the court.

MMS: True iPhone can be "Jail-Broken" so mute point really. But it is a nice to have. Again, no one mentions that not only is there no MMS, I think N95 does have the best image manipulation on the phone before sending your MMS. Or uploading it to the web directly as well.

iPhone and Games: Sorry not much experience here, I have tried some games on the N95 n-gage platform and also tried them with the TV-Out, its neat but won't be replacing the XBox 360 or Wii.

Memory: 8/16/32 GB compared to streaming whatever you want from your home PC?

Music/Memory: Don't forget that N95 can browse/serve/get content using uPnP as well.

Lastly, the iPhone without a doubt is the best looking phone out there from a UI perspective. But seriously, how often do you sit there looking at your phone? Unless you are on the web all the time, as long as you are not surfing sites that you flash ;)

Neutral

old_news @ Jul 17th 2008 11:20AM

oops, that last line should say "...sites that use flash ;)..."

Besides the items there I use my N95 as wi-fi hotspot with my notebook.

I don't want to sign another contract for mobile data via USB dongles. I am not sure if you can do this on the iPhone.

Neutral

NuShrike @ Jul 17th 2008 7:54PM

Why is it that iPhone's Google Maps is always prettier than WinMob's?

Is it because iPhone has better graphics API (OpenGL?) with a consistent, unified, open, OEM support versus the jibberjumbo of Win95-based WinMob?