First a little word about the hardware. We are still waiting some crucial components to finalize the product but it should be (and MUST be) finished next week. We will then open the orders.

We have worked a lot on the software side. It is not still finished but it is at least somehow usable. You can scroll a map, download a map, get driving directions to a place / address and get your GPS position showed on the map. There is even voice support. It means that driving directions are spoken into your earphones. Just try to push the Go To button and enter the desired driving directions. Then click on Go To and listen to. You should hear the first driving direction.

As you will see there is still some work to do. There is no way to go to a place by entering its name. Driving directions should change according to the GPS position but it’s not currently the case and finally scrolling the map is really hard. It will be improved. And last things: to zoom in / zoom out, double tap the map with one / two fingers. It should be also improved .

You will also notice the ability to download maps to be used offline, without any Internet connection. To use this feature, just tap on the Maps button. Then use your two fingers to select an area of the map you want to download. Click on download and the map is downloaded and can then be used offline. You have to know that the maps are downloaded at the deepest zoom level only (the zoom level which is set at the launch of the software).

How to test this first version:

1. Just use the Installer and add the following repository: http://irepo.xwaves.net
2. Refresh your sources and then go to the Xwaves category and install the xGPS software.
3. Exit the installer and launch the new xGPS software that appears on your home screen. It will work even if you have no GPS and should work both on iPod touch and iPhone.

Please notice that there is no support for this version of the software. It is only proposed for testing purpose.

Stay in touch for hot news, next week.

Here is the main screen. Thank you to the iSpazio team for the screenshots of this article.

A little clarification about our goals need to be stated. We want to sell these xGPS modules to enable you to use your iPhone v1 or iPod touch like a great GPS device. We are not here to make profit or to sell these modules in large quantity as a “normal” company would do. Hence we will accept only a limited amount of orders. We are planning to produce about 100 to 150 modules, depending on the demand. After that we will be done ! In the extreme case, where many people could not have ordered their modules, we could plan another production slot but that’s too far away from now! That was about our goals and our thoughts.

Now the juicy news. We are developing an application allowing the xGPS modules owners to use their iPod touch or iPhone as a GPS in their car or while they are walking etc… It means that the application doesn’t require an Internet connection at all. It works as follow: Maps are downloaded from the Internet before starting to drive or to walk by selecting the desired town’s maps. Then the users can enable the GPS mode and their position will be displayed on the map and updated each second without requiring an Internet connection.

Now many people will ask the question: Would it be possible to get directions or to search for a place ?. The current answer is no. But don’t be sad ! It is planned. It is the next major improvement that has to be done on the application. The big problem is that the application need to know somehow the street names etc… So it will be only possible to get directions when there is an available Internet connection. Fortunately the directions data will be very small (and so won’t cost a lot if you are using EDGE). Moreover when the directions are downloaded, they can then be used without any Internet connection.

To summarize our application will be likely the same as the iPhone Map application but without the need to have an Internet connection while driving! This application will be available on the same time as the xGPS module will be shipped. Screenshots and demo of this application will be shortly available.

We have also some great news to say about the xGPS module. As there were a lot of request about cables type or length, we have decided to produce different xGPS modules. There will be 3 models:

1. Standard xGPS module as presented on the final prototype picture.
   • Small cable between the module and the iPhone / iPod touch (30 cm)
   • Black case of dimension 54x37x21 mm (See picture below).
2. Same as 1. but:
   • Longer cable between the module and the iPhone / iPod touch (60cm)
3. Same as 1. but:
   • Long cable (60cm) between the iPhone / iPod touch with a USB plug to recharge the iPhone / iPod touch with the standard Apple© charge

The price of these different modules will vary. We cannot say a precise price for the models 2 and 3 but the model 1 will be a little less expensive as announced last week. The price of the first model of the xGPS module will be 70$ for the module AND the box. This price does not include the shipping fees.

The shipping fees will depends to which country you are ordering and which sending option you take (Economic or Priority). We will ship to all the Europe and the America (United-States and Canada). The shipping fees are as follow:

If your country is not listed, please contact us.

The orders will be opened in about 1-2 weeks. The 10 first orders will have 10% off on the original price of the module. We will not start the production until at least 30 orders have been received correctly. If there is not enough orders, the placed orders will be totally refunded (obviously).

We will start shipping the orders on the 28th of July 2008. Maybe a little bit before if the orders are placed rapidly.

If you still have any question after this (very) long article, feel free to contact us.

Thank you.