Remote Sensing Tools

Surfing the web this morning and the usual geospatial blogs — I’m coming across the expected criticism of the iPhone, and its apparent lack of GPS location technology integrated with Google Maps, or even a lack of WiFi triangulation. (Which actually, if anyone knows anything about the wireless game — WiFi isn’t the answer, WiMAX is.)

It’s stunning to me though. Am I aware of the technologies that could realistically be integrated into the iPhone? Sure. The question is — are you even asking yourself if they’re necessary, yet?

Here’s what Apple has historically concentrated on, and they’ve done it extremely well. In fact, I’d be willing to go so far as to say that they’re the ones responsible for changing hearts and minds about how to go about it, subsequently leading to competitive solutions. What Apple is great at — is focusing on the end-user experience. They’re the masters of that domain — the Graphical User Operating System.

Now, looking at the iPhone — what do you see happening? For one, I see the most slick user interface ever created for a mobile device. In fact, I would say that it’s borderline paradigm shifting. It’s the future — and now with the iPhone, it’s here to stay. In regards to mapping and information utility? How do the majority of people get their directions now? That’s right — through the Web. Not through GPS or triangulation methodologies, like some of us development geeks. Simple enough, right?

So what do you have at the end of the day? What you have is the slickest mobile phone and Internet based unit, capable of providing the most elegant user experience available on the market. It doesn’t insult the intelligence of the user by foregoing any manual operating to view a map, nor does it claim it can automagically do anything for you. It’s another tool in a sea of tools — only, it does it so much better than all the rest.

That’s just the way Apple “rolls”. Learn to live with that concept, because they’ll keep ahead of the pack in this regard, and from what I can see — they always will. (For that matter, as will Google due to the same principle.)

And I forgot to add something that everyone and their mom is missing. It’s relatively simple, actually.:

The fact that now, if you own an iPhone, you’ll have the slickest Web map interface at your disposal, WITHOUT having to pay an added service fee to have access to maps. Why? Because it’s the Internet — and it’s how the Internet was originally thought to be executed, until, well, everyone and their mom decided to take an approach of how to nickle and dime everyone to death.

That’s what will make the iPhone popular, folks. No added cost outside your primary service, just to be able to utilize a map. Think about that for just one minute and you’ll see the potential that I see.

It’s called the Internet — just that it’s on a phone, and doesn’t pretend to be anything other than the Internet — on a phone. (You know, the way it should have been. Mobile.)