Not all is lost: partfoundry developing GPS module for iPhone

True, the tantalizing rumor of a TomTom GPS for the iPhone suffered a rather untimely demise, but not to worry -- as a navigation aid, we figure the iPhone's sizable touchscreen and dock connector just make too much sense for a GPS solution to not get willed into existence. Engineering firm partfoundry is taking a real (as in, confirmed) stab at developing a custom, purpose-built GPS module that slots into the iPhone's port, delivering 16 channels of satellite reception to the software of your choice. Notice the "of your choice" there -- it looks like partfoundry will be requiring jailbreaked phones and relying on the developer community to serve up apps capable of processing the module's output and making use of it. The current plan is to get these bad boys out of the door in February, though they're taking orders now for $89. Oh, and don't worry, there are plans for a "stylish plastic enclosure" to bring the 1337 hax0r appearance down a notch or three.

[hp540 @ Dec 14th 2007 11:32PM]

damn n00bs, it's 1337 h4x0r!!!

[Chris @ Dec 14th 2007 11:36PM]

Great the day after i decide to switch to the tilt this comes out. oh well much better that trying to keep up with apples anti 3rd party apps

[ByronGman @ Dec 14th 2007 11:48PM]

Haha yeah, bravo for the plastic casing.

That picture is an unholy mixture of sexy and utilitarian... and yet it grows on me.

[Chrisp @ Dec 14th 2007 11:52PM]

It looks like Feb. is going to have more surprises than Christmas. Once there is AD2P on the iPhone, picture and sound messaging. The phone will stand out like better than Michael Jackson at Toy'R'Us.

[Cleverboy @ Dec 15th 2007 5:16AM]

Well, hell... its Valentine's Day month. Bound to be loads of sex going on. 'Cause you know El Jobso likes a lot of sex in his products. Let;s just hope Apple doesn't pull that February 29th garbage with the API... or that actual public deployment methodology is available at the same time. You hear that? We're on to you, Jobs!

[Marc @ Dec 14th 2007 11:56PM]

Iphone, the Borg edition.

[moofie @ Dec 15th 2007 12:04AM]

Why not just write a bluetooth driver for any of the dozens of bluetooth GPS devices?

[OBM @ Dec 15th 2007 12:24AM]

because the whole bluetooth stack has to be re-written to even allow that. BUT, that brings me on to my comment of why no one has even attempted this yet!? the possibilities are endless if the bluetooth stack is rewritten, gps, controllers for games, sharings files/audio/video/pictures... if I was a developer this would be the the 1st thing I'd be doing and then work on a line of hardware after that, make millions.

[Cleverboy @ Dec 15th 2007 5:18AM]

Because that's a bit of a dead-end. Now that Apple's announced 3rd party app support, hacking the phone will be of less interest to even those who've partaken in the behavior so far. Even if, after months of sweat and toil... you succeed. What's to say Apple hasn't already succeeded, and is just working on testing the new drivers? It would be Bootcamp all over again, except without the cash reward.

[moofie @ Dec 15th 2007 2:40PM]

Well, if that's the case, how many of these physical hardware dongles do you suppose are going to sell?

I understand the dead-end argument, but software is easier than hardware...

[bubbl07 @ Dec 15th 2007 12:09AM]

Would that be... errr... jailbroken?

[Chris Ziegler @ Dec 15th 2007 12:26AM]

Yeah, I know that "jailbreaked" isn't a word, but because we're referring to a specific process called a jailbreak, I like to preserve the root word when I'm describing it in the past tense... sorta like using "BlackBerrys" as the plural of BlackBerry instead of "BlackBerries".

Chris

[Circ @ Dec 15th 2007 12:16AM]

How about building the gps into a sleeve like the old ipaqs to protect the slot and keep the ergonomics? That or a windshield mount / dash stand...

[David Hildreth @ Dec 15th 2007 12:26AM]

I still do not understand why people care so much about GPS on phones.

[Syd @ Dec 15th 2007 12:40AM]

Because I can look at a map and see where I am, and the map will follow me as I move?

[johnzilla @ Dec 15th 2007 10:02AM]

Because then you don't have to spend an additional $100-$400 on a separate GPS device.

And since a mobile phone is, well, MOBILE, it sorta implies that a complimentary service such as GPS would be handy.

[Halfmad @ Dec 15th 2007 2:41PM]

They aren't capable of reading maps or memorising directions, or reading road signs or land marks.

In other words, they're not all there, mentally.

[paul34 @ Dec 15th 2007 9:18PM]

Yup, exactly - just like how I'm "not there mentally" since I like to talk to people on via Skype rather than writing a letter and sending it via a man and an animal by way of the Pony Express. I am so stupid!

[peternj @ Dec 15th 2007 12:38AM]

This is really funny. If this was for a Blackberry we'd all be saying how great the iPhone was for not having such a stupid thing.. iPhone is already damn big, having that is just going to look silly... but then iPhone users know no bounds when it comes to looking daft. Hell why not add a battery pack the size of a car battery?
I'd wait for the GPS, HDSPA, open to 3rd part applications second generation iPhone.
Still shows how behind the curve the iPhone is if this is considered radical.

[MRCUR @ Dec 15th 2007 9:15AM]

Big??? My iPhone is actually pretty small, IMO. It fits in my hand perfectly when I'm using it.

[Constable Odo @ Dec 15th 2007 2:47PM]

Heck. If you think the iPhone is big, then take a long look at this big'un.....Ta-daaa. That should give you an idea of what's big and what isn't. In comparison, the iPhone is much smaller, dude.

[Hadi Mirza @ Dec 15th 2007 12:41AM]

Might be a stupid question but...for those people who don't live in US (or don't have data plan) and have an iPhone, wouldn't it cost money for EDGE when downloading maps from google's server? i live in canada and plan to get an iphone in a couple of days while visiting US. But rogers' data plans are out of the question.

[OBM @ Dec 15th 2007 1:17AM]

do you understand the concept of the internet?

[MRCUR @ Dec 15th 2007 9:16AM]

Yes. You need EDGE or Wi-Fi for Google Maps.

[Al @ Dec 15th 2007 2:23PM]

OBM, internet in Canada costs many millions of Canadian dollars for 1MB of data transfer.

I may be an iPhone hater, but the iPhone will be the best thing to happen to Canada since it will make data affordable.

[randy @ Dec 15th 2007 12:56AM]

"requiring jailbreaked phones and relying on the developer community to serve"

I love how Steve Jobs said last year that he considers Apple a 'software company'. I guess it's true what they say about him being a trumped-up PR shyster, because here we are a year later and 2 million people have meanwhile purchased and now OWN this amazing hand-held hardware that performs FAR LESS than what it's mathematically capable of. All simply because that old man has ordered his buzzards to peck and swarm any poor soul who dares to (gasp!) **program** (GASP!!) their OWN DAMN COMPUTER. Why? Apparently that fat headed twit remains desperately afraid his company will lose its reputation for usability and a 'reliable experience', i.e. lose its ability to CONTROL US and CONTROL WHAT WE EXPERIENCE and BUY with our computers.

As I wake up every morning to the SAME DAMN CRICKET and QUACK QUACK DUCK QUACK QUACK alarm sounds, I can't help but wonder, have I reawakened in 1984?

[Harbinger @ Dec 15th 2007 1:48AM]

No, thanks to the Apple II, Macintosh, Original Mac OS, World Wide Web (look up how that relates to NeXT Computers), iTunes, iPod, Mac OS X, and multi-touch iPhone, you haven't.

I'm not sure whether you're too daft to jailbreak your iPhone, too impatient to wait for the official SDK, or too technically unsavvy to set up your own solution. So...what's your point?

[Jah @ Dec 15th 2007 4:10AM]

Well we do have Apple doublespeak, where 'revolutionary' means the iPhone is actually not innovative after all and '5 years ahead of other phones' means it actually '5 years behind in technology terms'!

[Ron Jones @ Dec 15th 2007 11:24AM]

Meh, just get an N95.

[sr @ Dec 15th 2007 11:47AM]

Exactly what I was going to say. I don't need something sticking out of my phone and I for sure don't need to join the cult of Jobs with that closed OS and hacking the phone to get it to do anything useful not to mention a BIG lack of 3G in 2007!

[Lyrrad @ Dec 15th 2007 2:51AM]

Why didn't I think of that?

[Jah @ Dec 15th 2007 3:59AM]

What no Bluetooth capability to connect to an external BT GPS! This is 2007, well nearly 2008, this functionality has been available in most non-Smartphones and Smartphones for a while. Do Apple really know anything about mobile phone technology?

[randy @ Dec 15th 2007 4:42AM]

What? Sssshhhh!! Click your mandatory pink 'iTunes Store' icon, buy something from that generic selection of urban ethnic youth rap and pop music that NEVER changes on the iTunes Store home screen, give Apple your credit card once more to shorten it into a ring tone, then get back in line at your itunes-powered starbucks and shut up!

My gosh, how dare you suggest people use the maps on their phones for navigation! Those were just a novelty conjured up for the marketing dep't, for the TV commercials, don't you understand? Like our YouTube widget, which doesn't let us log in, rejects half of all inbound YouTube links, and shows the SAME SELECTION OF 'popular' and 'featured' garbage DAY IN, DAY OUT, to ALL of us...

[MRCUR @ Dec 15th 2007 9:18AM]

Isn't the iTunes Store icon purple?

[Ricardo @ Dec 15th 2007 5:05AM]

Even my crappy Linux phone supports Bluetooth GPS...

[pop @ Dec 15th 2007 1:18PM]

wow.....I'd say "Who brought the 'cool' kid" but there are just so darned many of you :)

[pjg @ Dec 15th 2007 8:09PM]

I thought the idea of GPS was silly until I used my wife's on a vacation we took. Two of the most dangerous things to do while driving is trying to read a map, and looking for an address in an unfamiliar area. With GPS, I could find anything easily, even in a strange town. Not only that, I could immediately find the specific kind of restaurant I wanted, or where the nearest gas station, hardware store, or drugstore was.

I am sold! (on an official Apple version, that is) It would be ideal for the iphone and make it more indispensable. And yes, I'm an excellent map reader. But GPS offers more!

[Bb @ Dec 15th 2007 11:20PM]

Cool, though it will be interesting to see which map these guys will use to make their application meaningful: the one soon to be controlled by TomTom or the one soon to be controlled by Nokia?

Is there a third option I'm not aware of?

[Thebluemasters @ Dec 30th 2007 2:06AM]

What many of you don't know is that a small group of people run the tech world (Apple, Microsoft, IBM, phone companies both offering phones/and or services) there are selected regulations the government puts on hardware of certain classifications all of which must be completely identified according to its capabilities and possible outputs, these few key details, friends, suggest that while many CEOs of these huge hardware and software (yea not much in the software side since they mostly head under Hardware based companies or corps.) would like to create, customize, and distribute hardware in the publics tastes there are two things stopping them. One of which is obvious the profit to cost-of-manufacture ratio and the limit of classification they can distribute these items. Only certain hardware classification levels are allowed in civilian hands or another words on this market. Notice how some phones have some very unique hardware/software but others do not share the same. A particular hardware device has limits in the CO world in which it can or cannot have all at once at any given time in accordance to government regulations. Take it from somebody who has had to work around these same regulations for companies many users (you) buy from everyday and mod. If it were possible through the gov. and logically feesable then it would be created and dispersed to you. The truth of the matter is while you the user are only aware of technology on the market and its capabilities, many development companies have much more to offer but it isn't profitable to skip all middle technologies and sell it, instead they present technologies that have been created modified to company and gov. benifits and sold. Then later when the market for those products start to shade out they release a new technology one of which probably existed for years... sad but true...