iPhone 2.0 beta gets geotagging?

Here's a nice little tidbit: word on the street is that the most recent version of the iPhone 2.0 beta has added a "Location Services" feature that encompasses what appears to be GPS-based Google Mapping, along with geotagging for the phone's camera app. Sure, even if these shots are legit, Apple is late to the party here -- other featurephone users have been geo-tagging their shots for years -- but that doesn't mean we can't condescendingly congratulate Apple for these "achievements" while simultaneously pinning screenshots to the fridge alongside that 3G preferences pane and the hand-traced picture of a turkey in crayon.

[Thanks, SuperSaf]

[hrt @ May 22nd 2008 10:47AM]

True. I love how Apple gets praised for having breakthrough technology, (or praises themselves) and they get away with it because the general public just doesn't know any better.

[Hellios @ May 22nd 2008 10:55AM]

I'm the general public becuase I haven't seen any phones that would use geotagging, let alone FOR YEARS.

I could take a wild guess and say N95 does it though...

[I.E @ May 22nd 2008 11:10AM]

This is nothing. Pretty much any WinMo phone with GPS does geo-tagging. At least my TyTn II does. It's only a big deal if you're an apple fanboy.

[Zak @ May 22nd 2008 11:19AM]

hrt - Is Apple claiming this is breakthrough technology? Is Apple claiming they're the first to bring it to market? Is ANYBODY saying they're the first to bring it to market?

Your comment makes absolutely no sense.

[Justin @ May 22nd 2008 11:20AM]

Every Helio since the Drift - including Ocean, Heat, Fin and Mysto - has had geotagging of both pictures and video with auto upload to Flickr and YouTube.

GPS-enabled Google Maps, too...

[bondsbw @ May 22nd 2008 11:24AM]

I'm getting here after 17 comments, and only one of them is positive. Even the original post says that Apple is late to the game. So, why are you saying that everyone is praising Apple for this feature?

I like them because they're including alot more features than I paid for, and I will get them for free. But this feature, in particular, doesn't make me say that Steve Jobs is a god or that Bill is going to be asking Steve for a loan once Microsoft flops. Get real.

Oh yeah, isn't there a feature to turn off Apple-related posts? Do it instead of complaining, please.

[rootofsilence @ May 22nd 2008 11:27AM]

Apple is really late to the game, Nokia are only just (literally) about to launch their first phone with geotagging built in (the N78)

You can do it on the N95 but you need to find and download the right app

[ill trooper @ May 22nd 2008 11:34AM]

I can't assume this is real, but it would be nice!

Yeah, I suppose it's only a big deal if you're a normal person and doesn't want to carry around any WinMo phone capable of this (HTC, etc.) that was easily TWICE the size of an iPhone, or maybe you didn't want to pay $800 for an 8gig N95. So yeah, to the majority of people, 2008 is going to start being their first introduction to 'geotagging' and GPS on their phones.

Haters, we see you out there and we have geotagged your corny neighborhood. It's OK to not buy an iPhone if you don't find it to your liking.

[Rich @ May 22nd 2008 11:43AM]

"you didn't want to pay $800 for an 8gig N95."

Not everyone lives in the US. Europeans have been enjoying free Nokia N95 8GBs for a while now.

[T H @ May 22nd 2008 11:51AM]

I lol'd @ "corny neighborhood"

oh, the images that conjures...

[heshmati4 @ May 22nd 2008 10:47AM]

Can anyone say GPS?

[Phil Ringsmuth @ May 22nd 2008 11:06AM]

"GPS"

What do I win?

[Cagrino @ May 22nd 2008 11:29AM]

you win a nice steaming pile of...

mashed potatoes.

[Jagster @ May 22nd 2008 2:55PM]

I sure hope this uses GPS and not Google's cell triangulation process.. because if they use Google, those geotags are going to be miles off the mark most of the time.

[Dan @ May 22nd 2008 10:47AM]

very nice

[ralph @ May 22nd 2008 10:51AM]

Is it just me or does it look like the battery icon has lines in it? like a graph sorta thingy.

[Jason @ May 22nd 2008 12:10PM]

that would be the poor aliasing of the images.

[Harkonian @ May 22nd 2008 12:36PM]

Also, the options icon in the lower right has changed from an eye symbol to a curling paper symbol.

[nik @ May 22nd 2008 10:55AM]

I don't get it

[blade417 @ May 22nd 2008 10:55AM]

"Camera" would like to Narfle the Garthok.

Don't Allow Ok?


I don't understand how the camera would want to do something... Just take the damn picture...

[gb @ May 22nd 2008 11:30AM]

Ha. Coneheads! A friend of mine always used that phrase to refer to smoking weed.

[Zak @ May 22nd 2008 12:09PM]

The camera does just take the damn picture. What it's asking for is permission to pull data from another app. It's called a security feature, it has nothing to do with the iPhone's ability to just take pictures.

[Clancy @ May 22nd 2008 10:56AM]

All I want is cut and paste.

[JK1150 @ May 22nd 2008 11:00AM]

wasn't there a whole apple commercial about vista's allow/deny? now they put it on the iphone...

[retro77 @ May 22nd 2008 11:01AM]

Oh good catch!

[Dyranios @ May 22nd 2008 11:39AM]

Uhhh no there would be an option to "ask everytime" or "always allow" that's pretty much how it always works with stuff like this.

[StreetStealth @ May 22nd 2008 11:58AM]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm really glad if Apple's going to be asking me first before sending my exact location who knows where.

[PeterF @ May 22nd 2008 4:44PM]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm really glad if Microsoft's going to be asking me first before giving admin privileges to who knows what.

[FrankTheCrank @ May 22nd 2008 10:57AM]

I can't wait for this thing.

[retro77 @ May 22nd 2008 11:01AM]

I can't wait for this thing to just go away.

[Frank @ May 22nd 2008 11:28AM]

From the photo, it looks like its getting bad phone and date reception. They should work on that before all these fancy doodads..

[yet another Matt @ May 22nd 2008 7:35PM]

Sorry to pour water on the fire, but Mobile Google Maps has had approximate locationing for quite a while now. It bases your location on your local GSM transmitter. Work's quite well on my N82.

So I suspect they are just updating the Google Maps App to work like it's JavaME brother. I do think they are doing Geotagging, but I suspect it isn't GPS.

[matt @ May 22nd 2008 11:35AM]

why in the bottom right of the first screen is the icon indicating that its about to open up to see the other options (list, satelite, maps etc) but also a pop up has come up. hmmmm

[Flashpoint @ May 22nd 2008 11:06AM]

The true problem is that the average consumer DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT TECHNOLOGY and APPLE capitalizes on their stupidity.

I remember three years ago when I was a store manager at BBY - i'd get the most ignorant, uninformed customers who'd come in shopping for a birthday gift asking me "whats the difference beween an ipod and an Mp3 player"?

I would ALWAYS steer them away from ipods and towards Toshiba's Gigabeats or Creative's Zen using radio tuner and replaceable batteries as a hook. I personally cost Apple at least several million dollars in sales over the few years I worked there.

I don't appreciate the way they sell their products to unknowing customers and get away with it just because of the fashion fad cult lore. Therefore I ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

(mac fans - the low rank button is above and to the right)

[Fragmit @ May 22nd 2008 11:30AM]

I am sure you personal crusade really made a difference to Apple. how about you let your customers try each device, and let market opinion take its course? I mean the fact that you steered people in the direction of ANY Creative MP3 product makes me feel kind of bad for those consumers. Yes, I had a Zen, and yes it was a piece of garbage.

[ill trooper @ May 22nd 2008 11:34AM]

What a small life.

[T H @ May 22nd 2008 11:54AM]

^lol

[Cal @ May 22nd 2008 12:00PM]

"I mean the fact that you steered people in the direction of ANY Creative MP3 product makes me feel kind of bad for those consumers. Yes, I had a Zen, and yes it was a piece of garbage."

You should have got a Zen Vision: M then, couldn't be happier with mine

[Tom @ May 22nd 2008 12:03PM]

And Best Buy wonders why people hate their employees.

Your job is to direct a consumer to the best solution based on their needs, technical level, and budget. You job isn't to take some irrational hatred of a company and pass it on. iPods are successful because most people have an easy time using them, along with iTunes to get music onto the device. They weren't the first MP3 (digital music player would be a better term) device on the market, but they were the first to help bring the concept down to a level people could understand. Do I own an iPod personally? No. I enjoy the advanced features my Rio Karma still offers above the iPods, but I'm not going to sit here and direct someone clueless with tech away from one just because of my personal preference. And neither should a Best Buy employee, especially a manager. Sure, offer them alternatives, but present the devices honestly, and not deceptively.

[Jason @ May 22nd 2008 12:13PM]

people like flashpoint are the reason why I don't shop at BBY anymore... and I'm sure I'm not alone in that sentiment.

[r3loaded @ May 22nd 2008 12:28PM]

"The true problem is that the average consumer DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT TECHNOLOGY and APPLE capitalizes on their stupidity."

Then explain the alternatives and let their judgement of needs decide. I don't personally own an iPod (in fact, I'm a bit anti-Apple), but I have recommended them to friends simply because it'll work best for them.

[Jagster @ May 22nd 2008 2:51PM]

Flashpoint is doing his job and what consumers expect when they seek advice from the electronics salespeople that presumably know more than just the product marketing buzzwords.

When you go to a store you should get an honest opinion of what product is best, for your needs and for your dollar. To think that Flashpoint has this deep hatred of Apple is probably an overreaction. It sounds to me like he hates that marketing drives many people’s decisions vs. true product pro’s and cons and Apple does a very good job marketing. But like I said earlier, the advice provided by the salesperson should not just be regurgitated marketing speak on behalf of the manufacturer.

While the iPod may have the marketing edge, the Zen, Gigabeat, and Zune all have some very hard to beat technical and functional advantages over the iPod. So he pointed the customer in the direction that he felt would serve them best and give them the most for their money… that is unless they tie their ego to how trendy their MP3 player is.

[X-BLADE @ May 22nd 2008 11:07AM]

[off topic]

Just a question, is the 2.0 firmware already jail-broken (or will be soon)? or will we have few days/weeks until we can get our hands the new firmware and the 3G iPhone (if released). Does it depend on any sort of new boot loader or different kinda locks on the 3G iPhone?

Thanks.

[/off topic]

[Cagrino @ May 22nd 2008 11:36AM]

pwned

http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/29/video-of-the-iphone-pwned-project-in-action/

[Scott @ May 22nd 2008 11:11AM]

I'm gonna call BS on this one. I've been using Beta 5 for weeks now, and I haven't come across this even though I use the Google maps and camera a lot.

[dagamer34 @ May 22nd 2008 11:19AM]

Did you not notice the build number? It's newer than Beta 5. Oy, are you really a developer if that's not the first thing you looked at?

[Pedro... @ May 22nd 2008 11:20AM]

Is it because your iPhone doesn't have a GPS ??? :D
This feature is just for the new iPhones with 3G and GPS.

[Zak @ May 22nd 2008 11:17AM]

Honestly Paul, what exactly is your problem? Is Apple *claiming* to be the first one to bring this feature to the market? No? Then why the snide commentary? Is it a problem if Apple includes features that people might like? Because as far as I can tell, that's all they're doing. Should they be chastised for that? Here I was thinking adding new features was actually a good thing.

Flashpoint, you hate Apple and you're a moron, we get it. No need to keep reminding us.

[Nomi @ May 22nd 2008 11:59AM]

I think we should create a fund for Zak, so he could earn a penny every time he defends Apple. We could have a millionaire pretty quickly...j/k ;-)

[retro77 @ May 22nd 2008 12:07PM]

/agree