The crew from TabletMonsters inadvertently discovered that tethering a WiFi-only iPad 2 to an iPhone 4's data connection provides a GPS signal to the iPad. Nifty. But we wanted to know if it works with the original iPad.
If you haven't already seen the TabletMonsters' video, you can check it out below. But the basic gist is this: If you opt for the iPad+3G model you get built-in GPS connectivity right out of the box. However, you've got to pony up an extra $130 for the 3G version, plus the required $10 data plan, so you're out $250 for the year.
By tethering it to your phone (jailbroken or legitimately) like the Monsters did, you can get all the benefits of the 3G model – data on the go and GPS – without sacrificing extra ducats to King Jobs. And it seems to work with the iPad 2. But what about the OG iPad?
We grabbed our Verizon iPhone 4 and original WiFi-only iPad and hit the road. Driving around town, the iPad's blue location dot in Google Maps tracked our movements about every 10-20 seconds. But that could've been through WiFi triangulation, so we headed out to the freeway where speed and a lack of homes would provide us a clear place to test. The verdict: Denied. The original iPad wasn't able to display our location, with the glowing blue dot still pegging us miles away from where we were driving. Bummer. But a flimsy reason to upgrade to the new model... for now.
[Source: Tablet Monsters via Wired]
If you haven't already seen the TabletMonsters' video, you can check it out below. But the basic gist is this: If you opt for the iPad+3G model you get built-in GPS connectivity right out of the box. However, you've got to pony up an extra $130 for the 3G version, plus the required $10 data plan, so you're out $250 for the year.
By tethering it to your phone (jailbroken or legitimately) like the Monsters did, you can get all the benefits of the 3G model – data on the go and GPS – without sacrificing extra ducats to King Jobs. And it seems to work with the iPad 2. But what about the OG iPad?
We grabbed our Verizon iPhone 4 and original WiFi-only iPad and hit the road. Driving around town, the iPad's blue location dot in Google Maps tracked our movements about every 10-20 seconds. But that could've been through WiFi triangulation, so we headed out to the freeway where speed and a lack of homes would provide us a clear place to test. The verdict: Denied. The original iPad wasn't able to display our location, with the glowing blue dot still pegging us miles away from where we were driving. Bummer. But a flimsy reason to upgrade to the new model... for now.
[Source: Tablet Monsters via Wired]
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