GPS for iPhone in 2008?

By Stephen Withers
Friday, 25 May 2007 04:54

Your IT - Mobility

With the iPhone launch just a month away, rumours are circulating that a second version featuring GPS capabilities will appear next year.

The rumour seems to have originated at Apple Tech News, which stated "The next iPhone probably due out at Macworld or early spring of '08 will incorporate a GPS receiver chip closely matching the SiRFstarIII from SiRF Technology."

No indication was given about the source of the assertion.

Apple Tech News says Apple is "certain" to use Assisted GPS, a technology that uses equipment at cell phone towers to help provide fast and accurate fixes in difficult locations that shade the receiver from satellite signals.

One possibility - and this is pure speculation on our part - is that the GPS-equipped iPhone will be the 3G model much anticipated by the European and Asian markets. Previous reports claimed a Swedish carrier was promised a 3G version by January 2008, matching Apple Tech News' suggestion of a Macworld debut for the new model.