One of features missing from the iPhone's rich feature list is a Global Positioning System (GPS), which is now rumored will be available only in the 2nd generation iPhone sometime next year along with 3G support.
Navizon had released its Virtual GPS product "Navizon" as a native iPhone application as an alternative to the lack of the GPS feature. However, after the 15 day fully functional trial period; you need to buy it for $24.99.
They have now released a freeware version of one of the popular native iPhone applications called Navizon Lite, which they claim is accurate to about 1500 meters (1 mile).
For those of you who like me are not familiar with this Virtual GPS stuff, then here is some information you might find useful. Navizon is a software-only wireless positioning system which triangulates signals broadcasted from Wi-Fi access points and Cellular towers. It is based on a collaborative database where users who have a GPS device can contribute data on Cell towers and Wi-Fi access points so that other members of the community can simulate a Virtual GPS on their phone.
Interesting?? Want to know how to install it on your iPhone? Then here is some more good news, Navizon's Virtual GPS Lite can be installed using the very cool Installer.app so installing it on your iPhone should not be too complicated.
Once you have Navizon installed on your iPhone, you need to first create an account at Navizon website which needs to be used to login using the Navizon application on your iPhone. All you then needs to do is just click on the "Locate Me" button and see where Navizon puts you on the map.
Navizon claims that this version of Virtual GPS will let you get your position using the closest cell towers around you with an accuracy of approximately 1500 meters (1 mile), something similar to what Google Maps offers with its "My location" feature.
If you are looking at more accuracy then you can check out Navizon (full version) as it includes the power of Wi-Fi positioning combined with Cellular positioning, offering you an accuracy of approximately 10 to 30 meters in an urban setting. The full version will set you back by $24.99.
However, based on initial feedback on Virtual GPS since it is works on peer to peer positioning; it might not work well everywhere as some have complained of getting "Unable to Locate - Your location could not be identified. No Known Cells or Wi-Fi nodes in range" error messages. It is also recommended to try the "locate me" option twice (at least on the first attempt) since the Wi-Fi scanner takes some time to be fully operational.
Here is the link to Navizon's support forum for iPhone users getting the "Cannot Locate and the Lockup" error message.
Since it is available for free you can definitely try it out to see if it works well in your vicinity and as always don't forget to leave your feedback the native iPhone app in the comments.
1 comment:
Nice Post
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