GPS Capabilities: Another Reason To Use The iPhone 4 Personal Hotspot Feature And Save Money
March 20, 2011
Another advantage of the iPhone 4 Personal Hotspot feature is its ability to give GPS capabilities to a Wi-Fi only iPad 2. This ability, which Apple never actually confirmed, is causing quite a bit of discussion online, at sites like CNet, Tuaw, and Wired, among others. Because of this, we decided to do our own tests.
With iOS 4.3, the iPhone 4 lets other devices connect to it, thereby giving them access to a 3G network. To do so, you simply have to activate the feature through your carrier provider (AT&T or Verizon), and set it up on the handheld. We discussed how to do this earlier this year.
We knew even before the iPad 2 was released, this feature would help iPhone 4 owners save money. After all, Personal Hotspot makes buying a more expensive Wi-Fi + 3G model unnecessary.
However, the issue of whether the feature adds GPS or GPS-like capabilities to the tablet wasn’t known until the public actually got their hands on one of the new tablets.
The first blogger to try this, Zachery Bir, found it quite by accident when he tested the capability using his daughter’s new Wi-Fi iPad, and launched the Maps app while driving his car.
Under his Twitter account, urbanape, Bir commented:
Wired confirmed this too by saying the iPhone 4 Personal Hotspot “transfers the GPS to the iPad.”
Tuaw, for its part stated, “the only way the iPad could be getting the GPS coordinates was by using the iPhone 4 Personal Hotspot, since I had the device in a greenbelt away from any Wi-Fi signals.”
I can confirm this as well. In fact, I even got a GPS signal on my Wi-Fi iPad 2 using my iPhone 4’s Edge connection, which is the only signal I get at home.
It also worked using a 3G signal, available five minutes from my street.
Therefore, it is confirmed: the iPhone 4 Personal Hotspot feature does indeed gives the iPad 2 GPS capabilities. And yes, original iPad owners should get similar results!
