For the map makers, Apple giveth and taketh away with the new iPhone features

June 9, 2009 | Dean Takahashi | Comments | |

App developers have to be on their toes as they adapt to the arrival of iPhone 3.0 software as well as the newest model, the iPhone 3G S. Mapping applications are a case in point. One of the apps for existing iPhones, Compass, has now been rendered obsolete by the iPhone 3G S, which has a built-in component called a magnetometer that gives the phone its own built-in compass.

On the other hand, one of the major beneficiaries of iPhone 3.0 software, which will be available for download into existing iPhones started June 17, is AccuTerra from Intermap Technologies of Englewood, Colo. AccuTerra provides geologically accurate maps with relief data and other details that Google Maps (built into the iPhone) doesn’t provide. It’s precise enough for hikers to use. Last night, AccuTerra won the iPhone 3.0 design award at the Worldwide Developer Conference.

The iPhone 3.0 software gives users the ability to purchase and download an app on the spot from the iPhone itself, rather than going through iTunes. You can also easily extend an app by getting new material for it, such as downloading a new piece of a map. That’s important because the maps contain a lot of data, sometimes 10 megabytes worth for just 50 square miles of territory.

In the past, the map makers would have had to create a separate app for every piece of a region that had to be downloaded. It would have been ridiculous of Intermap to create a new iPhone app for each piece of territory. But now with the iPhone 3.0 software, AccuTerra has just one app that users download. Then they can purchase additional pieces of territory which are downloaded as extensions to the app they already have.

Another new feature of iPhone 3.0 is the ability to search through content on the phone. You can search for a map location and the app will pull it up for you. You can also use the new “push notification” to send a friend a history of your hike once you’ve finished it.

AccuTerra competes with Google Earth, which streams new data into the phone as you move about. But the problem with that is that many hikers move out of cell phone range. Once they do that, they can no longer download new map data. By contrast, Accuterra downloads an entire region to the phone — a task a hiker can do before going on a trip. The hiker can then access the map even without a cell signal.

One of the cool things about AccuTerra is that you can take pictures with an iPhone, and it tags them with the GPS coordinates where the picture was taken. When you get home, you can show friends the exact trail you walked and then pull up the pictures you took along the way. AccuTerra costs $9.99, and each additional map extension costs 99 cents.

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About the Author, Dean Takahashi

Dean is lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He covers video games, security, chips and a variety of other subjects. Dean previously worked at the San Jose Mercury News, the Wall Street Journal, the Red Herring, the Los Angeles Times, the Orange County Register and the Dallas Times Herald. He is the author of two books, Opening the Xbox and the Xbox 360 Uncloaked. Follow him on Twitter at @deantak, and follow VentureBeat on Twitter at @venturebeat.

  • Apple provides whatever facility available.
  • Peter Antypas
    I'm really happy to see this. I can't wait to have my next iPhone act as my handheld GPS chartplotter when sailing. Navigating in the Bay Area fog will be much easier with the built-in compass.
  • GR
    You said "The iPhone 3.0 software gives users the ability to purchase and download an app on the spot from the iPhone itself, rather than going through iTunes.".

    In fact you have always been able to do this since the app store opened.

    You said "One of the cool things about AccuTerra is that you can take pictures with an iPhone, and it tags them with the GPS coordinates where the picture was taken."

    This feature has also been present since the iPhone 3G was released with iPhone OS 2.x. All pictures taken with the iPhones built in camera app are geotagged with the current GPS location.

    You said "It would have been ridiculous of Intermap to create a new iPhone app for each piece of territory."

    In fact this is precisely what app developers have been doing up till now. Take a look at the books category, which has been loaded with single-book apps since the app store opened. The new in-app purchasing will improve this situation though.

    Maybe next time you will pay a bit more attention to your reporting? Or own and use an iPhone which it appears from the first statement you do not.
  • It's about time!