Debunking TomTom's iPhone GPS module

If you've been drooling over the little TomTom add-on for the iPhone we nabbed a "photo" of the other day, you can probably wipe the spittle off your chin. It looks like the image makes a fatal flaw in borrowing its barcode from a fairly well-known iPod fake (pictured above). Additionally, in researching our tipster, we've discovered he's a graphic designer with a penchant for Apple fakes -- not exactly a confidence builder. So it appears we've got more rumor shot down -- though we hope TomTom and Jobs are paying attention, because it's painfully obvious that the people want GPS on this thing, and they want it now.

[Thanks, thecreativ1]

[Peter @ Dec 13th 2007 12:48PM]

Wow, this graphic designer must have one boring life if he/she does this for fun...

[soul7963 @ Dec 13th 2007 1:02PM]

Such an obvious fake! The fact that you can see an extra shadow at the top and the fact that the bottom of the device is raised (as if the tomtom unit was slid underneath). Not to mention the fact that the map shows the device on major road whilst being photographed on a wooden table!?

[Khris @ Dec 13th 2007 1:51PM]

Hey Mr. Genius. Did you know that you can preview the route a GPS can take you? All from the comfort of your wooden table?

[Baxter @ Dec 13th 2007 5:06PM]

Note to fakers: don't try to fool us with a GPS add-on in portrait mode. Duh.

[Khris @ Dec 13th 2007 5:25PM]

Note to Baxter:

Windows Mobile GPS solutions run in portrait mode, so why couldn't the iPhone? Duh!

[Miranda Kali @ Dec 13th 2007 12:51PM]

Well, there's still hoping for Google's "My Location" feature soon.

[m @ Dec 13th 2007 2:37PM]

does anybody else hate the idea of your phone knowing precisely where you are at all times? i'd rather have to ask somebody for directions now and again than give up my privacy. they can already track us, but it takes some work. plus, having google serve me location-based ads, or being greeted by name when i walk in a store, would be just plain creepy.

[Miranda Kali @ Dec 13th 2007 2:52PM]

Uhm....You could always just turn your phone off. Barring that, just get one of these http://mobile.brando.com.hk/prod_detail.php?prod_id=03035
Believe me. If the black army helicopters REALLY think you're important enough to track, they'll do it whether you've got a cell phone or not.

[Jeff @ Dec 13th 2007 3:40PM]

m: they already can track where you are without GPS. Haven't you ever watched "24"? Yes, triangulation is one of the few technical things in that show that actually does work in real life. They can pinpoint your location down to within 1,000 feet or so - close enough so that if they flooded the area with cop cars, they'd find you.

They also store those records, so they can go back and see where you've been. This has been used numerous times in New York City courtooms, I know at least that much. People have been convicted in part based on their cell phones putting them in a certain place at a certain time, all based on going back and triangulating the signals going back and forth to their phones.

GPS is really no more of an invasion of privacy than what already exists.

[Brad @ Dec 13th 2007 6:25PM]

In the US, all cellphones activated after Jan 1, 2002 were required to have some level of "Carrier-assisted" GPS. Most simply use the multi-tower triangulation method, some include simple 4-channel GPS chips and others have full-on GPS.

So if you're worried about your phone "Always knowing where you are" that ship has long-since passed. Go back to the analog cellphone days, and then the only thing you have to worry about is phone static and the fact that anyone with a $80 police scanner can listen in.

Or, yakno, don't use a cellphone. You pay for convenience with privacy, always.

[FuzzyCat @ Dec 16th 2007 2:16PM]

@jeff

"..their cell phones putting them in a certain place at a certain time..."

IANAL but you seem to be mistaking a cell phone for a person. The presence of a cell phone alone can't prove that a particular /person/ is in a location, only that the device is. In any court case that involved this would need supporting evidence to place that person in the same location, such as talking to someone on that same cell phone.

.. I'm just sayin'...

[Khris @ Dec 13th 2007 12:55PM]

Another useless twat with more time on his hands than brains.

[randy @ Dec 13th 2007 6:30PM]

Useless? Not quite. This guy duped ENGADGET, and so therefore succeeded in recursively duping dozens of other wannabe sites that subscribe to or rip off engadget headlines, a snowball effect that gets his pic seen and noticed by thousands of people! And so wouldn't you say he has made his point VERY CLEAR, for a day's work?

His point being:


WHERE THE HELL IS IPHONE GPS/LOCATION, APPLE? GOOGLE? TOM-TOM? ANYBODY?


my gosh, how freaking hard is it to build a sturdy iphone cradle, choose a decent module from one of the zillions of boutique bluetooth and attached GPS antenna manufacturers, wire it up to iphone google maps, and settle this damn problem once and for all?

This is a major problem -- IMO, the iPhone's fundamental flaw:

WHY do all the Apps on the iPhone seem like novelties?

[Argot @ Dec 13th 2007 1:02PM]

iPhone owners are funny.
"Oooh, this is the greatest phone EVER MADE! It's five years ahead of the competition at least!!!"
And then they all crazy with joy as soon as someone hints that the same iPhone MAY get some basic functionality... Strange and funny... :)

[Jason @ Dec 13th 2007 2:02PM]

yeah, like uncrippled Bluetooth.

[Reid Conti @ Dec 13th 2007 3:01PM]

To be honest, GPS would only be a minor plus on the iPhone. I'm not sure missing GPS could be considered "lacking basic functionality," though the crippled bluetooth is pretty lame.

I went thru a couple of Verizon phones with the GPS, and had the navigator software on one, but frankly, it screwed me over more times than it helped. It's simply too slow to work when driving, and often lost signal or otherwise flaked out/gave bad directions. I got rid of the service and went without for a few months, then got a real GPS unit for my car (Garmin Nuvi 350). I don't miss having GPS on my phone at all now.

If the next iPhone has it, great, it would be a fun toy, but if you can't rely on it for driving directions, it's of somewhat limited functionality. It would integrate well with Google maps, though.

Just get a real GPS unit for your car and be done with it :)

[Brad @ Dec 13th 2007 6:29PM]

I use iNav's iGuidance on my Windows Mobile 6 (Sprint Mogul) phone with a bluetooth GPS antenna. It is plenty fast, and is very accurate. The screen is large enough to be useful, and as of version 4.x it includes street-name pronunciation. My phone works wonderfully as a GPS system, and I just wish Sprint offered a Windows Mobile phone with built-in GPS.

[Herman @ Dec 13th 2007 1:03PM]

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice... can't get fooled again.

[Evan @ Dec 13th 2007 2:02PM]

My Name is George W. Bush, and I approve this message.

[soul7963 @ Dec 13th 2007 1:04PM]

Apologies for the fact that i used the phrase 'the fact that' too many times in the above post.

Work Christmas party yesterday. *ugh*

[ecobore @ Dec 13th 2007 1:21PM]

Said it before, say it again.... The only things stopping me buying an iPhone are 3G support. GPS module included, and user expandable memory (I can buy it unlocked now...) + or course a drop in price!!!!

[Gordy @ Dec 13th 2007 1:22PM]

So, the pixellated GUI didn't throw you guys off? Most [well, I] knew it was fake when the original story ran.

[duffiecochran @ Dec 13th 2007 1:27PM]

I don't understand what the deal is here? Does anyone need doubt that TomTom or any other GPS provider isn't dying to get out an iPhone GPS add-on? I don't understand why there would be any speculation about this.

[matt @ Dec 13th 2007 1:27PM]

Wow - when I saw the original story, I had just assumed the picture was just a quick-n-dirty mockup done by the folks at Engadget HQ... because it seemed like such an obvious fake (like the Sony George Forman Grill...). Having not read through the original story (just skimmed), I didn't realize people thought it was real...

[shoman24v @ Dec 13th 2007 1:31PM]

Let's be realistic, you're not going to get a tomtom GPS out of an iPhone. The basemap w/ POIs that the Tomtom One (which costs $150 on Newegg w/ after $100 mail in) is stored internally which takes up about 1GB of memory. While they could add a GPS type system, it will probably be comparable to the one you can get with Verizon. I'd rather shell out the extra money for an actual GPS (which isn't a lot) then have it built into my phone.

[Steve_S @ Dec 13th 2007 1:34PM]

Having a full GPS built in is the only way I can justify the purchase and change of networks. Seeing as most GPS units cost $300-$600 anyway adding one into an iPhone makes it a hell of a deal IMO.

So mp3 player, phone, internet and in car nav all in one device with more than a 1.5 inch screen, perfect. Oh, well and 3G of course.

[Brad @ Dec 13th 2007 6:31PM]

Get an HTC Windows Mobile phone for the carrier of your choice, and then throw on iNav's iGuidance. It'll come out cheaper, and it actually exists.

[jilie @ Dec 13th 2007 1:44PM]

only Engadgets were hoping to be not fake, but com'on... IT CLEARLY FAKE

[Ahmed @ Dec 13th 2007 1:45PM]

with My Location probably coming to the iPhone any day now, I don't really see a need to add on GPS hardware to the iPhone. My Location is a much more elegant and simple solution that does not require the extra circuits, antennas and battery drain.

[GregA @ Dec 13th 2007 2:00PM]

Well My Location (I thought we were dropping the "My" in things now and this should just be called "Location") is not GPS by any means. It will certainly not get you the very excellent turn by turn directions that something like vzNavigator will give you. I could see how it would be useful if you were... drinking martinis the night before and lost track of where you were, but please don't confuse what My Location does compared to an actual GPS enabled phone.

[Ahmed @ Dec 13th 2007 2:15PM]

I am not confusing things. I know that "location" would not be very useful for turn by turn directions But I also think that using the iPhone as your primary GPS unit is also not very practical. And there is a limit on the amount of functionality you can jam into a single device before you start to affect its main functions. So I think "location" would be a pretty good compromise.

[GregA @ Dec 13th 2007 2:30PM]

Just wow, I disagree whole heartedly. GPS is one of the killer features in modern phones.

[Hairy Jew @ Dec 13th 2007 2:09PM]

"Additionally, in researching our tipster, we've discovered he's a graphic designer with a penchant for Apple fakes"

Isn't this something you usually do BEFORE publishing "spy" photos on a "reputable" site?

[tamoghno @ Dec 13th 2007 2:18PM]

i should start photoshoping a SMS forwarding option to get famous !

[Flares @ Dec 13th 2007 2:36PM]

My Treo 650 had Tom Tom on it, and communicated with the GPS receiver I have in my car, and worked brilliantly. Whats stopping the iPhone which already has bluetooth doing the same. Why the need for an add on? The software is all you really need.

[Ike Skelton @ Dec 13th 2007 2:37PM]

Wow, for a graphics designer, that guy sure sucks at photoshop. Still think he used MSPaint to make that fake.

[Beau Blochlinger @ Dec 13th 2007 2:43PM]

I cant imagine it being to hard to have a firmware update to enable the iphone to recognize a bluetooth gps reciever and an updated version of google maps that does turn by turn, I mean most of the information is already there. The search function is better on google maps than other gps programs anyway. Until then I guess we will keep using my gf's treo w/ tomtom

[=O_O=XiaoXiaoMingZhenTan @ Dec 15th 2007 11:20PM]

左面那个不是传说中的iPod AV么？

google一下图片，不少谍照呢。 难道是自己另附上去的液晶屏吗？

话说有人买到过这个呢。广东那里 40G 3000左右貌似。

[Jim Smothers @ Dec 16th 2007 5:22PM]

The Wonderful iPhone runs Mac OSX (BSD Unix). However...

The iPhone doesn't allow its owners to (legally) install 3rd party apps (although initially Jobs stated the contrary)
It doesn't support Java or Flash.

Most Importantly:
People have spent countless hours hacking it - just so they can use it like ANY OTHER MOBILE DEVICE!

Why buy this crap? Why put up with this crap?

It's like buying a car without a steering wheel.

And when you finally *get* the steering wheel, you need permission from Apple to drive, to turn the wheel, to put in a different CD, to change gears...

A beautiful design - ruined by corporate greed.