Hasta La Gadget!

Can the iPad 2 suck GPS info from the iPhone 4?

When Kyle Carmitchel fired up his Wi-Fi only iPad 2 to check his route on a road-trip, he was amazed to see that it was tracking his position on the map using proper, works-in-the-middle-of-nowhere GPS. Kyle was pulling in his iPhone 4’s data connection via wireless tether, and it appears that the iPhone was also sending GPS info to the iPad.

Only 3G iPads have a GPS chip inside, so Kyle says that his Wi-Fi only model was being fed the more accurate data from the iPhone. Wi-Fi iPad and iPod Touches can work out where they are thanks to hotspot triangulation, and they will even track you as you move, but Kyle is convinced that he was getting the real thing:

The location I’m getting on my Wi-Fi only iPad is most certainly not this. It is clear I am being fed GPS information from the phone, at what appears to be an interval of once a minute or so between refreshes (likely they didn’t do real time updating so as to go easy on the phone’s battery).

And because the Wi-Fi iPad 2 has a compass inside, this works, too.

If true, this is a great hidden feature, and makes the combination of iPhone and non-3G iPad more compelling. I have heard that a lot of people are planning on just this combo. I think that they may be disappointed. I used an iPod Touch with a MiFi hotspot for a while and found it to be a huge pain.

With the 3G iPad, you are always connected, and quickly checking your mail is easy. With hotspots, you need to activate them, wait for connection and then juggle the hardware in your hands. It is clunky, and far from ideal. If you almost never leave the house, though, maybe you’ll be happy. But then, if you never leave the house, why do you even have an iPhone?

Video: Wi-Fi Only iPad 2 GPS Navigation [Tablet Monsters via Cult of Mac]

See Also:

• Tiny Dock-Dongle Adds GPS to iPad, iPod Touch
• The Wi-Fi iPad's Dealbreaker: No GPS
• Hands-On With the Dual iPod Touch GPS-Kit
• Eight Great Tips for Traveling with the iPad