July 11, colloquially known as iPhone-apalooza, has officially arrived, but initial reviewers assessing the product's GPS capabilities say they could have had a V8.
It might be fast, sleek and sexy, but it is indeed missing traditional turn-by-turn functionality. Electronics sites and blogs are disappointed that you can't use the iPhone 3G to navigate your way to the closest Apple store.
The New York Times says, "all you can do at this point is track your position as you drive along, representing you as a blue dot sliding along the roads of the map. Even then, the metal of a car or the buildings of Manhattan are often enough to block the iPhone's view of the sky, leaving it just as confused as you are."
Jalopnik quips, "The GPS manufacturers have nothing to be scared about. … because the GPS as a navigation device is pretty bunk."
Outside its navigation skills, other issues include a limited battery life, limited storage, limited cell phone carriers (meaning only one) and somewhat misleading advertising. The $199 price is for new subscribers. "The pricing is fairly complicated, but the bottom line is that a new 16GB model could conceivably cost you as much as $699," PC Magazine speculates. And that's before you receive your smartphone bill.
All in all, the iPhone doesn't live up to the illusions of navigation grandeur it received, but it's still a pretty cool piece of software. Best summed up by USA Today, the iPhone isn't perfect, but "this expensive, glitzy wunderkind is indeed worth lusting after."
If we scared you into purchasing a different unit for GPS functions, check out our Nav System Buying Guide before hitting the stores.
