Monday, March 3, 2008

iPhone getting open-source GPS module

It was quite a shame last week when we uncovered a leaked photo of an alleged iPhone GPS module from TomTom, only to discover that the whole thing was a well-executed prank. Well, all hope is not lost, mapping enthusiasts: a company called Part Foundry claims to have an open-source GPS module for the iPhone in the works and they hope to sell it for a reasonable $89 in February. Before you whip out your wallet, however, there are a few catches. First off, this device is not officially supported by Apple and as such, you'll have to Jailbreak (i.e. hack) your iPhone to get it to work. Second, it only does one thing: figure out your current GPS coordinates and plug them into Google Maps. While the lack of a navigation app will probably be a deal-breaker for most GPS enthusiasts, the fact that the module is open-source means that it's quite possible that some kind soul out there will decide to write one once the product is released. Still, that's not a sure thing, which certainly makes that $89 price tag a little harder to swallow.

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