GPS Phones

If you were paying attention to Apple’s iPhone prior to the launch of the iPhone 4S you’re most likely already familiar with the iPhone 5 rumors. If you’re not, countless rumors suggested that the iPhone 5 was to feature an aluminum unibody design, 4-inch display, dual-core processor and 8 megapixel camera. 2/4 of these points made their way into the iPhone 4S which leaves us with just the 4-inch display and the aluminum body.

While Apple has unsurprisingly kept quiet in regards to their future smartphone releases we do have some reports that will give those anticipating the iPhone 5 a ray of hope. Apparantly, Apple has already placed a large order for 4-inch LCD displays and, low and behold, they are shipping now. Again, we have no way to confirm or deny this but these reports supposedly stem from those officially invovled with the matter.

Could this 4-inch display be for an iPad mini? Could it be completely bogus? Maybe, but we won’t know for sure until Apple tells us further. The iPhone 5 is expected to get announced at some point towards the middle of next year if previous release schedules are anything to go by.

The iPhone 4 is the latest version of the Apple smartphone and supersedes the three earlier versions offering many more features and applications.
A major difference between this phone and previous models is video calling. The phone has two cameras, one front facing and one back facing. The back facing camera is typical of those found in most modern phones, and although it is far from being the best smartphone camera, it is adequate for the majority of situations where users just want to take a quick snapshot.
However the front facing camera is designed with video calling in mind. It is not that many years ago when the only hand held video calling device people knew about was found on Star Trek, but now it is available to anyone. Apple were far from being the first smartphone manufacturer to include video calling on their phone, but other features of the phone such as its extended battery life, improved connectivity and superb display screen means that it is one of the best implementations of this technology.
This phone is also twice as fast as the iPhone 3 and a remarkable four times as fast as the original iPhone. This is down to an improved processor and software. The operating system is Apple’s IOS which is also found on the iPad. The user interface is a gesture controlled multi-touch screen with virtual sliders, buttons and switches with instantaneous response times. The phone is also equipped with an accelerometer and gyrometer which allows it to be controlled by physical movement of the body.
In addition to all the functionality of the phone, a major appeal is its design and style. It shares many design features with its predecessors, but this fourth generation model has an attractive steel rim. The phone is also flat rather than bulged as were previous models and is a little smaller. This is because the antennae have been moved from the phone to the surrounding metal band. This can cause a problem if users cover a gap on the band that separates the Bluetooth and the 3G antennae, but that is easily fixed by adding a rubber bumper or holding the phone is a slightly different manner. Get the iphone 4 today at phones4u, the uks number one phone retailler.

Navigon has updated its iPhone application, MobileNavigator, with spanking new features. Once you press the “download,” here’s what you’ll get:

* Text-to-speech – the application will now announce street names in addition to turn-by-turn directions. Navigon proudly say they are the first company to do this on the iPhone!
* Access to iPod functions – right from the map, you can access your complete music library. Listening to an audiobook or podcasts is what I do on longer trips.
* Location sharing – you can either send address, point of interest, or a direct link to other MobileNavigator users.

And that’s about it. Kudos to Navigon for keeping its application fresh. North American version of the application could be downloaded from here (AppStore link), whereas if you live elsewhere, you should search for “navigon” in iTunes and take it from there. The price is $89.99, and the update is available free to the existing users.

Way back in June of last year TomTom let us know that they would at some point be selling a turn-by-turn GPS app via the App Store.

Well, today let it be known that the TomTom GPS for iPhone app has officially gone live and you can pick it up now for $99.99 for the U.S. & Canada version. As you can see above, there are also native versions for Australia, New Zealand and Western Europe at varying prices.

TomTom has also today announced that their iPhone windsheild mount will include a GPS chip effectively making the iPod touch also able to use their software.