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Getting GPS on a Wi-Fi iPad with New Sky
Last week I reported on a Bluetooth GPS solution that will give you full navigation features on both the Wi-Fi only iPad and on the iPod touch. Today I was able to test the device and see if was a useful solution to navigating on iDevices that don't have GPS built-in. The quick answer is that it does work, and it works very well. The GPS receiver, provided to us by New Sky Products, is about the size of a thin tape measure. You turn it on, pair it with an iPad or iPod touch, and you are good to go. There is a small slide switch on the unit to tell it you are connecting to either an Apple iOS product, or anything else, like a laptop or Android phone. Using the GPS requires that you download a free app that will tell you there is a successful connection and show you visually what satellites you are using for your GPS fix. You do not have to access the app while navigating, but it must be installed. Once you pair the GPS with your iPad, you can run any navigation program with built-in maps. With Google Maps, you get a nice little blue dot showing your location, but without 3G connectivity, there is no map display. (Note: The receiver itself is made by Dual Electronics and is a model XGPS150.)
