Apple Device's Positioning

We all know that GPS is a positioning system based on satellites and that it's American. But not everyone knows about GLONASS. It's a Russian satellite based positioning system. From iPhone 4S onwards, all Apple's mobile devices with GPS, also have GLONASS. The devices use both in parallel; they're on the same micro-chip. Having two systems gives better positioning than having one. Being Russian GLONASS works best in Russia, but since 2011 it's truly global, like GPS.

Another positioning method is iBeacon, which works over short distances. It can help smartphones determine their precise position or context. It uses low-power Bluetooth 4.0 and reaches anywhere between a few centimeters and 450 m / 1500 ft. All Apple Stores in the US have iBeacon devices.

Then there's WiFi, which we all think of simply as wireless Internet, and that's what it is. However WiFi routers have the potential to be used for positioning, if someone like Google cares to build a database of WiFi routers. Google has done that using its mapping cars who have passed many many routers on their endless journeys and taken notes.

Finally there's the compass, which all iOS products now contain. It's actually a very small magnetometer and it's coupled with an accelerometer. That coupling enables the device to know what direction it's pointing. Proctele's app TCompanion makes use of that to help map-challenged people like myself to find our way.

The inspiration for this blog entry is the wonderful device in the picture - iPad Air 2 - and the WiFi + 3G version has all the above positioning technologies:

References: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBeacon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetometer

New and Classic

A new product category nearly always starts off with something that looks rather clunky. At least that's how we see it when we look back. Examples are radios, mobile music players and TVs.

 

I remember seeing radio receivers similar to these when I was younger. The one on the right is very similar to a radio my parents had. The one on the left resembles a radio my grandparents had. It had a mighty sound and took some time to warm up before there was any sound coming out of it.

A radio nowadays looks either similar or very different from those above. There seems to be a keen interest in old-style radios as well as new shapes like this one:

 

Then there are products that aren't radios, but speakers that you connect your iPhone to via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Here's a comfy one with built-in sub-woofer:

But what's a radio compared to a Smartphone. It's just one of a Smartphone's functions. Smartphone is what you use now to listen to music. They do have a problem though that doesn't seem to be going away. Gadget makers know that and are happy to oblige. A power pack or two, or three, is what we need:

Those are available in many shapes and colors. The red one is an Ironman suitcase power pack. Things aren't like they used to and when it comes to gadgets, I think 2014 easily beats, say 1964. Anyway there is a lot more to choose from nowadays.