Dear Aunt TUAW: Why GPS?

where does it actually say that the 3G iPad has GPS? The location section of the tech specs doesn't mention it.

I use the GPS for getting around in areas that I don't already know, and for games like Traveler's Quest and FourSquare because it's fun to become mayor of a location, and even more fun to pilfer other people's treasures around the world :)

I'm looking forward to the iPad and the challenges it will bring, as well as the new apps that are being created for it. Honestly though, I think the iPad will be used mostly for the Baby Boomers and those entering college. I would LOVE to see it make an entry into elementary schools and middle schools... 20 years into personal computers and we are still sending our kids to school with pencil, paper and bound text-books.

@matoda: GPS is based on satellite signal first and foremost. The location services also utilize wifi and triangulation at the cell towers to find your location quickly, and when you are inside buildings, etc. The only cost you would have is your normal cell phone bill, if you even choose to turn that part on - the iPad will be unlocked so AT&T is not required.

I travel back and forth between Boston and NYC a lot. Sometimes i'm really busy and can't remember where a place is in relation to me that i may have gone to on my last visit and loved.

Using GPS and built in maps to mark these places is awesome for me. I'm sure i'm not alone. I travel to other cities less often and have the same issue. I use an app called Now Where and yelp for the iPhone and it means i always get a good meal or remember my favorite places.

I have traveled around Europe a lot and GPS is a life-saver in unknown cities. Finding your hotel at 10pm on Sunday in some remote french village is not very easy and you don't have to carry dozen maps for all regions and countries. But I don't use it in my home country, it is so small that you can't get lost and the maps are not so accurate.

PS. You are wasting paper by printing all these maps.

@John Hamilton Farr

You asked a question, and TUAW answered it. I think that was awfully nice of them, and the author tried to provide a fairly informative answer. However, you feel the need to comment in a negative manner about the answer, insult the author and insult the other commenters. If you're old, you've apparently never learned civility during your long years.

GPS has been helpful to me while I am currently in a different city helping my in-laws. As soon as my ill father-in-law says he needs things picked up from the cleaners or to call his favorite restaurant to call in an order, we can just use the search to find the places quickly and go to them for him, leaving him at home to rest. Rand McNally isn't going to let me find the family's preferred dry cleaner in 30 seconds without troubling an ill, older man to tell us directions. :)

Oh, Lord, people! Who the frak cares whether, or not you use GPS?

If you want to use a map use a map? Let everyone else who wants to use it use it.

And it's not always about getting directions. Give me a cross street and I'm good to go, but if you're in an unfamiliar town and just want to know where a good spot to see some live music, open up your Google maps and go there.

Get over it.

I'm sort of amazed this particular "letter" was even published - it's a rather obvious troll. John - if you don't need a GPS, fine, don't buy one. Millions and millions of us find them really useful. And obviously, it's not like you keep your head down in the GPS display all the time, so your objections are sort of silly. For those of us not born with a compass embedded in our heads, GPS is amazingly useful, both on the trail and on the road.

Being a socially awkward ex-pat in a relatively new city, GPS on my iPhone is valuable for those rare occasions I do venture outside and need to find that mysterious new bar my friends are waiting at. For these reasons, I love it.

I am oddly hesitant about the location tracking in Google Buzz, Foursquare, et al though. I don't like broadcasting my location to others at all.

Agent Ed, I can achieve much more accuracy with an ordinary old screwdrive than an electric one. But I have certain used electric screwdrivers in situations where repetitive tasks are involved.

Reading these comments, in general I'm just astounded -- truly blown away -- by how crippled so many of you seem to be about finding your way around. When I go somewhere, I know where I'm going. It's so simple. Tomorrow I'll drive to Albuquerque to visit the Apple store. I know it's off Louisiana Avenue from I-40. I know that I-40 goes east and west. The sun comes up in the east. And don't you ever just "find" places by intuition? Don't you want to be the masters of the universe?? You can do all this with your mind and consciousness. It has nothing to do with generational gadget proclivity, it has to do with being connected to your environment, and the GPS stuff gets *between* you and reality.

"GPS is already about mapping my walks and sharing them with my friends and family as I achieve new distances and other new goals like upping my average pace, top speed, and the number of feet I've climbed. GPS is about yelping to see what restaurants and points of interest other people have found nearby, and adding my own personal spin into the mix. GPS is about virtual location tagging and games like geocaching, adding a social layer to our outdoor activities."

Heh. :-)

Well, enjoy yourself! There's nothing the least bit "social" about hiking where I live unless you meet up with a bear. There aren't any restaurants where I walk, and you damn sure don't need any games. In fact, most places I go, your iPhone won't even work, and the distraction of using a device like that could cause you to misstep and break an ankle -- which could be the last step you take when the temperature drops to 4° F like it will tonight.

Personally, I think you're out of your mind. Seriously! All that distraction & rationalization... Do you ever walk and watch your breathing? You know, focus on the air entering and leaving your nostrils, letting your thoughts flow on by without getting lost in them? Have you ever communicated wordlessly with things you encounter in a meditative state while walking? Can you recognize a mountain bluebird by the way it flies?

And who really cares (besides you) whether you walked a certain distance in 30 seconds less? Don't you think this is really quite absurd? And do you ever *question* all this app nonsense? I noticed a while back that TUAW was touting an app that let you find where to buy a Guiness: lemme tell ya, the day I need a freaking cell phone to help me get a beer is the day you should put me in the old folks' home. And regardless of my incipient geezerhood, I ain't there yet.