Don't get me wrong, I love my iPod touch. As a matter of fact, I'm writing this post with it on the beach as my girlfriend goes surfing. But with Apple's new product announcement on Tuesday, it makes me wonder what changes could be in store for our favorite supercharged music player.

I think the single greatest thing Apple could do for the iPod touch is take a page from the Amazon Kindle and offer free "Whispernet" service for every iPod touch sold. (Or, say, roll it in with a Mobile Me subscription.) Amazon bought access to a chunk of Sprint's EVDO network, which means every Kindle has network access wherever it goes.

Apple could make such a deal with AT&T -- and its various partners worldwide -- to provide the necessary bandwidth. Who knows -- perhaps they have already. Allow tethering with software like NetShare, and you've got Internet access for your Mac, too. Instant-on, and always there. Brilliant.

Another simple addition would be GPS functionality, bringing the iPod touch in line with its newer sibling. Suddenly, the need for both a GPS and an iPod in your car is obviated, and it opens up interesting opportunities with the car manufacturers who already offer iPod integration in their vehicles.

Third, and this could apply to new iPhones too, would be to allow access to the dock connector for Apps. This opens up all kinds of options for iPhone and iPod touch owners to use voice recorders and cameras, as well as potentially control a wide range of equipment from industrial automation tools to backyard telescopes.

Who knows what Apple has up their sleeve? Certainly not me. But with this wish list fulfilled, you can be sure a new iPod touch is in my immediate future.

Dear Aunt TUAW,

I've been a faithful reader for awhile and purchased a 3G iPhone a couple weeks ago. Everything is great - except for one thing which is extremely unusual (genius words), I wanted to share with you guys. When I am in my home (and only when I am in my home) my phone believes I am in Springfield PA. I live in Minneapolis MN. It doesn't matter if I am on the 3G network or my personal WiFi network (I've isolated each), Google Maps always centers on Springfield PA. If I walk down my street, watching Google Maps- the phone re-orientates itself back to Minneapolis MN. The Genius tried to re-set the time-zone and a couple other things, but it didn't work.

Anyway, I've got a bunch of screen caps if you guys want to see them. I just can't figure out why BOTH 3G and WiFi would both point to the same (incorrect) place...one uses cell towers and one uses IP addresses right? Anyway, I'm not necessarily looking for you guys to fix it or anything - just thought you might want to know. I Googled "iphone Springfield PA" or "google maps iphone Springfield PA" and several iterations, but it seems I am alone in my situation.

Love,

Jeff

Read on for Auntie's reply.

While most people are waiting in line for their soon-to-be new friend, pal and everyday communications device, the world's top tech reviewers have already been playing with the long awaited device. Below is a summary of their findings along with links to their full reviews of the iPhone 3G.

Walt Mossberg (Wall Street Journal)

• Pros: Faster cell network data speeds, GPS
• Cons: Weaker battery life due to 3G/GPS
• Bottom Line: If you don't already have an iPhone and can live with the weaker battery life, then you should go ahead and buy; otherwise wait out for the 2.0 firmware update (hmm... I think I've heard this advice somewhere else)
  

David Pogue (New York Times)

• Pros: You can talk and access 3G data network simultaneously, cheaper, improved audio quality
  
• Cons: 3G isn't wide-spread, AT&T pricing,
  
• Bottom Line: "iPhone 3G is a nice upgrade," 2.0 firmware update will make your original iPhone in most ways similar to the iPhone 3G
  

Edward Baig (USA Today)

• Pros: Faster data network, cheaper, GPS, Visual Voicemail
  
• Cons: Slow EDGE speeds when not in 3G area, no video, no memory expansion
  
• Bottom Line: "The Sequel, is worth the wait," he also shows a side-by-side comparison between EDGE and 3G speeds
  

As an interesting note: David Pogue says that the iPhone's GPS antenna is too small to provide you with turn-by-turn directions in Google Maps -- this is something that Apple has failed to note until now.

On this long weekend (for some of us), how about some outdoor activity? TrailRunner updated its route planning software for runners, bikers, and hikers that works with your iPod nano and Nike+ sport kit.

TrailRunner 1.7 is the latest release of the software, which can now import workout data from the Garmin ForeRunner 50, and from nikeplus.com. It also improves the diary history chart.

This new version is 4.3MB, Leopard-only, and donationware. (Version 1.6 still runs in Tiger.) It's also available in French and German.

There are just two weeks left until the 3G iPhone bows with its new onboard GPS. The new iPhone will use several location methods using data from providers including Skyhook Wireless, Google Maps and the US Department of Defense NAVSTAR Global Positioning System. From most to least accurate, these are discussed after the jump.

Reuters is reporting that TomTom, manufacturers of portable, consumer GPS devices, have got their service up and running for the iPhone. "Our navigation system runs on the iPhone already," said a TomTom spokesman this week.

At first glance, this seems like another vendor announcing that their product will be available for the iPhone, but it's much more. When it debuted last year, I said that it's really a computer that happens to make phone calls. That's only become more evident since. During Monday's keynote, Steve Jobs noted that 98% of iPhone owners are using it for mobile browsing and 80% are using 10 or more features.

I use mine for email, the web (especially Twitter) and as an iPod far more often than I do to make phone calls. In fact, it has replaced my 8GB nano which sits neglected on my desk. It serves as a handy stand-in for my MacBook Pro when I want to read and reply to mail, check RSS feeds, post to Twitter and so on.

Now it can run TomTom software, so there's three devices it has replaced. Who knows what other incredible applications await us on July 11th. It may sound like the ramblings of a star-struck fanboy to say that the iPhone will significantly change people's perception of what a portable device can do, but it's also entirely accurate.

[Via Ars Technica]

Since January of 2007, Montebello Software has shipped Ascent, an application that analyzes data from exercise computers. If that exercise computer has built-in GPS, the analysis includes a plot (static or animated) of exercise paths over satellite, topographic, or street maps.

Version 1.9.4 of Ascent now includes automatic syncing with Garmin Edge 605/705 cycling computers, drag and drop importing of .gpx, .tcx, or Polar .hrm files, and the ability to split or combine activities. I've been considering a Garmin Colorado for geocaching, and found that it syncs directly with Ascent. That may actually get me off my rear end and onto my bike again, since I can now do something with all of that ride data! Runners and hikers will also find Ascent to be useful.

A function-limited trial download is available, or you can purchase a full license for $40.

According to Installer, Twinkle from Gogo Apps is "Twitter plus Location." It's a Twitter client that adds photos and geolocation as well as clickable URLs and Follow / Stop Following control within the app. With it, you can find people twittering near you -- in fact it seems to be using my findme utility to power its location-awareness. And no, I have no financial interest in this thing -- I gave permission for them to use the utility so long as the app remains non-commercial.

I logged in, entered my Twitter account info (yes, the account information is stored in clear text in ~mobile/Library/Preferences) and within seconds, it found tweets within 50 miles of my location.

You can tweet directly from Twinkle. Tap the pencil button at the top-right corner (it's the one that for quite a while I mistook for a mis-shaped lower-case "i"). From there, you can enter your tweet, specify whether to tag with a location and optionally snap a photo.

Twinkle offers a professionally designed interface and good ease of use. The only negative occurred after I mistyped my password. I ended up in an infinite loop of authentication errors and had to force-quit the application.

Getting your dash-mount GPS unit and your Mac to talk to each other can be an exercise in frustration. TomTom's Mac client, while better than some of the other vendors' nonexistent Mac versions, has lagged behind the Windows version for a while -- I've been managing my TomTom GO through VMware Fusion rather than struggle with the Mac client. Now, a version of the TomTom client promising feature parity has been released, downloadable from the TomTom HOME site (direct link here).

The new 2.2.0 version does look a bit more like the Windows version, and seems to work fine for me; however, some have noted that you are now limited to a single backup of your device, rather than the multiple instances that you had before. Since a single TomTom backup can weigh in at 900 MB or more, I'm just fine with only one. The download is 31 MB and is freely available to TomTom users.

Thanks Rob

Mac|Life has a pretty neat breakdown of just how the iPhone's faux GPS work (or doesn't work, depending on the situation). Long story short, the Locations feature is pretty darn close-- unless you really do need GPS. On average, it seems like triangulation put the guessed location (represented by the blue pin in the pictures) off from the actual location (represented by the red pin) by about .5 miles.

Which is great if you just want to know where you are (which is what it was designed for, obviously). But not so great if you're actually trying to do something you'd need GPS for (like geocaching). Two drawbacks here -- I've been trying the Locations feature around Chicago, and I've found that if I try it more than once, or am moving, the app picks up a little better on where I'm at. Also, I've been in Chicago, and Mac|Life is in San Francisco, so it would be interesting to know how this works out where we might really get lost-- out in the country, farther away from cell towers.

Still, while it's not as precise as real GPSers might like, the Locations feature is pretty amazing for what it is. Your iPhone doesn't know exactly where it's at, but it knows close enough to get you where you're going.

Mac users have long complained about leading GPS-maker Garmin's support for the fairer platform. Fortunately, Garmin has finally stepped up to the plate at Macworld this year with several announcements for the Mac. Perhaps most interesting is Bobcat, which "allows you to transfer waypoints, tracks, and routes between your Mac and Garmin device and manage your data using your Garmin maps."

In addition, Garmin announced that all new maps for 2008 will be released in a native Mac format. Older PC-formatted maps can be converted and installed with MapInstall, which was released last year. Finally, the central Mac support page also lists Mac compatibility for the Garmin Connect web service coming later this year (as early as March for some models).

Both Bobcat and MapInstall are available for download now. It's good to see Garmin finally getting its Mac house in order.

Thanks Jason!

We've posted a couple of times about "virtual" GPS solutions for the iPhone that depend on cell tower identification, but now The partfoundry has announced the real deal. They will be offering a GPS dongle for the iPhone based on the SiRF Star III chipset. Needless to say this will require a jailbroken phone and the software "will be open source/community based." They've already got a prototype working (video embedded after the jump) that can report its location and send it to the Google Maps application.

No word yet on how the dongle will affect battery life. They're also working on the iPod touch, but support for it remains to be determined.

The partfoundary GPS module is apparently available for purchase now at $89 and is due to ship in February. Check out the prototype video after the jump.

[via Digg]

A little while back, Apple TV Hacks posted on a great idea: one of their readers, Brandon Holland, is using an Apple TV as a carputer. He chiefly uses it as an in-car entertainment center, but it also does double duty as a GPS system using the Road Trip plugin which he has now released over at AwkwardTV. It can read GPS data from "any NMEA enabled GPS via a serial connection such as a USB to Serial adapter or a Builtin Serial Port. Map Quest maps are obtained via expedia.com and both USA and Europe maps are availiable and working!" Unfortunately, it doesn't yet store the maps locally so it presently depends a network connection, but Brandon says he's working on it, and soon expects to have it "so that map packs or trips can be cached for a trip."

Obviously you'll have to hack your Apple TV to make this work, but given its small size and power requirements, the Apple TV seems like a great foundation for a carputer.

[via Apple TV Hacks]

Today Navizon "virtual GPS" announced support for the iPhone via an application available through Installer.app. Navizon is an interesting concept for getting location information on mobile devices which lack GPS. It does this through a system that Navizon calls "peer-to-peer wireless positioning." Basically the way it works is that people with GPS devices record the location of wifi access points and cell towers. This information is then collated in a database so that when you use your iPhone to connect, it is able to triangulate your location to within a few hundred feet if you're in an area Navizon has data for ("most major metropolitan areas worldwide").

The Navizon for iPhone application is $24.99 and a demo is available (get it through Installer.app or go here)

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Though a bit pricey, RouteBuddy is most likely the best Mac GPS mapping solutions. The newest 1.4 update adds support for a new range of Garmin nüvi and zūmo models as well as Tom Tom units. In addition, the new version allows importing and exporting data from Google Earth and Garmin's CSV format, which means you can manage Point of Interest (POI) data sets with RouteBuddy.

The update is a free for registered users; for everyone else it's $99.50 (plus additional fees for maps) and a demo is available.

[via MacMinute]