This may be the most basic part of the update but it’s the one that I’m most excited about. While previously the iPhone would let you send a text message to just one person at a time, today’s update will allow you to send a message to several people simultaneously. No, it’s not new and no, it’s not sexy, but it is without a doubt useful. I think the iPhone should have had such capability from the very beginning, but that’s another story.
The Google Maps functionality gained a new degree of functionality with a location service. It’s doesn’t work by standard GPS (you can’t add a GPS chip to a device via a software update) but it will let you pinpoint your approximate location on the Goggle Maps feature. As Jobs demonstrated in his keynote, when you tap the new icon in the lower left corner of the touchscreen, a circle will show where you should be on the map.
But rather than connecting to a satellite, it finds you by connecting to nearby Wi-Fi hotspots and cellular towers and pinpointing their location (sort of a back door GPS). You then can find directions from your pinpointed location. When I gave it a go the location service was off by a couple blocks but that’s not unusual as even standard GPS systems aren’t perfect. Yet it’s worth noting that the circle’s coverage area is pretty broad.
Also, when you try to zoom in on the map the circle disappears. And of course, the functionality won’t work when you’re away from wireless civilization, which typically is a time when GPS services come in really handy. I’m glad to see this feature added, though. The next mapping feature is pretty cool. By pressing the new icon on the lower right corner of he touchscreen you can drop a pin wherever you like on the map.
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