Go To Latest Video Reviews3rd Gen iPhone Getting Digital Compass
| Author | Gordon Kelly |
| Published | 8th May 2009 |
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TrustedReviews NewslettersNow here's a simple, yet sensible idea...
Continuing the highly welcome approach I like to dub common sense that was introduced with iPhone OS 3.0 is news the next generation iPhone will be fitted with a magnetometer. In English this is a digital compass and its existence has been confirmed by screens from the debugging menu in the latest iPhone OS 3.0 beta.
Why is this a good thing? Other than the potential for wildly inventive apps (think of the treasure hunt possibilities!) it should be a great help to the GPS system. After all knowing where you are and knowing where your destination is are only so much help when you have to walk 100 metres in one direction before getting your bearings. It would also surely have an amazing knock-on effect when using Google Street View.
Like the accelerometer could digital compasses become the next defacto addition to smartphones? Fingers crossed.
In related news Apple has declared all newly submitted iPhone apps must now be compatible with firmware 3.0 to be granted approval. This may seem like yet more power mongering but in reality it should help guarantee the majority of apps are compatible when this major update launches. Besides, v3.0 brings parental controls so with its arrival the strict moderation of more adult content could well become a thing of the past. Again, fingers crossed...
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via BGR
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MadMacs said on 11th May 2009
kdot said on 11th May 2009
@Gordon - not true or the person i spoke to didnt know what they were doing, called o2 a few months back and they wouldnt let me upgrade to the iphone until my current contract end... more
Retset said on 11th May 2009
@hank: We tend to go on quite long walks and I'm sure you are right that an iphone would not 'go the distance' without a charge. I have an old walking GPS that is us... more
Scott Williamson said on 12th May 2009
@Shaun, the emulator does not have some features, such as accelerometer support, so for full testing, you need to configure a physical touch or iphone as a test platform.
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Maybe there's some devs on-hand that can clear this one up for me - when you've made an app using the SDK, does testing rely solely on the emulator? or can a developer up... more