“Based on a recent informal conversation my Dad had with his friend’s wife who works at Apple, he told me the next iPhone is likely to have GPS. Usually, my Dad’s friend’s wife doesn’t let Apple product info slip out until right before a new product announcement is made. This being the case, I’m betting GPS will be included with the 3G iPhone,” So sayeth Silicon Alley Insider’s Henry Blodget’s unnamed source.
“A second source agrees that the 3G iPhone will have GPS and thinks Broadcom (BRCM) is involved. This is also (very) unconfirmed,” Blodget mongers.
Full article here.
We’re not believing a word of this until we hear from The Wawa Sandwich Man.
Next iPhone will also track your movements, cash, and Blood Alcohol Content in real time. It will also shock you if you cuss or blaspheme.
Welcome to the 7th Reich.
Yipee
“likely to have GPS” … “(very) unconfirmed” … perfect! We can now expect a deluge of blog articles and responses acting as if this is a conclusively known fact. Ahhh, how I love the internet.
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And I just heard from a VERY trustworthy source (Steve’s hairdresser) that it will be able to broill chicken too. Now ain’t that COOL or what?
Yeah right, maybe they can start selling this thing alover the planet…
Ya, and my best friends brother-in-law’s uncle, twice removed, said his neighbor’s girlfriend knew someone who worked at apple too. Don’t hold your breath.
I guess Tony Soprano won’t be buying one…
Just my $0.02
This is a setup for disappointment and AAPL tanking. Only the inside few know anything about the iPhone. All the work on triangulation and the fact that many are developing their GPS add-on says Apple isn’t going to squeeze that into their unit at risk of battery life being sucked directly out of it.
GPS is low priority to faster bandwidth, etc.
yeah, I also heard it’s supposed to include a personal backscratcher, remote parking meter reload capabilities, vicious dog silencer and a host of other enhancements that “my source” wasn’t ready to disclose as they are covered under NDA.
You heard it here first folks!
Phones with GPS are bad news. I bought a sprint phone a little while ago, and I went into the menus and turned off gps tracking for everything but 911–there wasn’t an option to turn it off altogether. That seemed silly, so I called up sprint and told them I wanted them to turn off my gps for everybody. They said they coudn’t do it. With that phone there was no way to keep the government, “911”, from tracking me. I returned the phone and cancelled my service within the allowed 30 days and switched to an att phone with no gps whatsoever. gsm is better than cdma anyway.
I guess they can still track me based off of cell towers, but that is nowhere near as precise as doing it through gps.
Now you may wonder why I don’t want to be tracked by gps… fair question. Here in the US we can’t trust the Bush government to give citizens any privacy, and until recently it looked like congress was going to give telecom companies total immunity from being sued for giving George all of the information on whatever citizen he wanted with absolutely no warrant. I don’t want to live in a world where uncle sam knows exactly where I am all of the time, and since I can’t trust the government to mind their own business, I have to make sure that my phone has no gps.
I plan on buying an iphone as soon as the new version comes out, but if it is gps enabled, forget about it.
Let me get this straight: Jimbo von Winskinheimer notes that MDN reports that Henry Blodget says that an unnamed source says that his Dad reports that his wife says that her friend that works at Apple hints that the next iPhone is likely to have GPS. Is that right? Cause I sure don’t wanna be quoting an unreliable source!!!
Just heard from John Kerry. He is both for and against GPS on the iPhone
dads friends wife?!?
“Dark Helmet: Before you die there is something you should know about us, Lone Star.
Lone Starr: What?
Dark Helmet: I am your father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate.
Lone Starr: What’s that make us?
Dark Helmet: Absolutely nothing! Which is what you are about to become. “
It will also cleanse your colon and massage your prostate.
I wonder what kind of “informal conversation” that guy’s Dad had with his friend’s wife … hehe …
face, your phone having GPS is the least of your worries man.
First, if you’re so concerned about privacy, you shouldn’t be using a cell phone. In fact, you shouldn’t be using a cell, cordless phone, wifi, or any other form of easily intercepted transmission.
I’m also assuming you have no credit cards, ATM card, or any other form of plastic that’s traceable.
To be sure, you should also avoid filing income tax returns, using your social security number (which means only taking jobs under the table for cash) and renting space with someone (also for cash) without an occupancy permit listing your name.
Of course, you won’t have a driver’s license (not a real one, anyway) or license plates.
That should about cover it.
GPS, 3G, Video, yada yada yada.
Great, but can I make a ringtone without having to go through Garageband?
Will I be able to do something as mundane as copy and paste?
Will I be able to remove all my text messages or e-mail message as once instead of one at a time?
Can I connect my iPod up and see it as just plain storge?
Can I synch notes?
Can someone send me an e-mail with an attached photo and I save the photo and delete the mail?
Can someone just MMS me a photo for crying out loud?
And before all you zombie fanboi apple-can-do-no-wrong freaks jump all over me, I’m not saying the iPhone isn’t a great device, just that it needs work, and many little things need to be addressed before worrying about all the Starfleet qualifications.
The new GPS enabled iPhone also will include handcuffs in the box and when the screen flashes red you are to put on the handcuffs and prostrate yourself on the ground with the flashing screen in plain sight until the van arrives to take you to the reeducation camp.
Second offense is Soylent Green time… The good side of which is that your molecules will live on in the educated and enlightened.
All hail the enlightened Left. It must be true i heard it on Coast-to coast, and saw it on CBS at eleven.
My wife has a friend whose dog is familiar with the matter, last time he barked at me it was very clear these rumors are not true.
@face
Enjoy your paranoia. If you use a cell phone, a “truly interested” party can find you. Most likely it won’t be the government. There are far better reasons for not have GPS on a cell phone.
apart from the touch screen gui and forthcoming applications, what do iphone version 1 and 2 have that isnt in a number of other phones on the market?
The other half of these rumors is that analysts will morph them into official press releases and then pontificate that Apple “disappointed” or “failed to deliver”, etc. when the rumors fail to come true.
My Dad’s friend’s mother’s aunt’s hairdresser’s cousin’s brother’s parole officer’s grade school teacher’s mailman said he heard that the next iPhone will let you make phone calls.
Wow! It must be true.
Being tied to one carrier severely limits how many iPhone can be sold no matter what it does and at any price. It slices, dices and does you laundry for $200!!! Great, but still, only a certain amount of ATT subscribers will buy it, and only so many people will be willing to switch.
The point being, Apple does not leave money on the table. This next generation will get 3G and a ton of new applications making the iPhone an amazingly flexible and popular product from business to consumer. Adding GPS will not increase sales to any large extent.
Rather, Apple will wait until next year to include GPS. This gives the iPhone yet another reason to be purchased all over again, and after two-years, perhaps that exclusive ATT deal in the states and in the EU with other carries will have expired.
Apple may have a 5-year contract with ATT to continue providing iPhones to them, but the odds are the exclusive portion of that contract is 2 years, no more.
In Summary: “No GPS For You! Next!”
I am here. And I simply say:
Nay to GPS. But something better. Something new.
GPBG. Geo Positioning By Google (or more affectionately know as Get Pucked By Google)