iPhone GPS

Is it an iPhone version that works in Europe?
If it does, and it uses data, the cost will probably shock you.

Lots of complications; different plans; depends if ATT or Verizon. You better Google or contact your carrier. Do a search on this site and you will find tons of information.

Leslie, Whether your iPhone will even work in Europe will depend on which network you're with, and which iPhone model you're using. As previous replies mentioned, the GPS function uses the data function of the phone, so the data roaming costs can be HUGE unless you've bought a travel plan from your cell network. I haven't tried the iPhone GPS in Europe, as I also travel with a Garmin Nüvi so haven't needed anything else. Happy travels!

Actually, the newer iphones work fine as a gps without an internet connection - - anywhere in the world. But there's a short-coming that you need to anticipate. What they have is a hierarchical method of determining location : wifi hotspot location, internet data source, and satnav reception - - with antennae for each. If it can't find a wifi hotspot or a data link (or they're tuned off) it uses just the gps antenna. The problem is that the phone doesn't store maps like a regular gps unit, it nabs them from the internet. You can get around this short-coming by downloading one of the numerous map database apps when you do have an internet connection. If you do much of it, you'll need one of the phones with a lot of storage.

One point to clarify...... The phone won't be able to "nab" anything from the internet except in Wi-Fi areas if it's an iPhone 4 or older model with Verizon or Sprint. As mentioned above, the capabilities of the phone when used in Europe will depend on which cell network and which model it is. Cheers!

What are you planning to use it for? If driving, get a GPS here and bring it with you. If walking, you can use the GPS in the phone, but no map info without using a data connection unless you have an app like Best Travel maps. I have an iPhone 4 with AT&T and bought a data roaming plan for $26 extra. It allowed 120M which is enough for occasional mapping. Had no problems all over France including rural Burgandy and on top of the alps finding a carrier.

Many posts here are wrong. If your iPhone has GPS capabilities (3GS or later), it will work in Europe. GPS is a free satellite-based positioning system and will work pretty much anywhere in the World except the poles. The GPS only says to your cellphone where you are, exactly. Then, it all comes to what you have installed there: (a) if you have some Internet-dependent map like Google Maps, it will work only with data roaming, which is expensive and unpractical (b) if you have an iPhone offline app such as TomTom (costs € 49 for whole Western Europe), you will have ALL database of maps, POIs and what else put into your iPhone, and thus it will work without any data roaming traffic. Actually, you can even shut off the "data roaming" or "cellular data" options from you settings and it will still work just fine.

I considered downloading the Tom Tom app on my iPad but was afraid it wouldn't work if the roaming was turned off and if I didn't have access to WiFi. This has been very helpful, thank you!

Leslie, Some further comments to add..... "Many posts here are wrong." I'm not sure I completely agree with that. There's some degree of accuracy in most of the posts here, but perhaps some further clarification is in order. The information posted by Ed provides a good overview of the way the iPhone GPS system is structured. The system used on the iPhone (and other Smartphones) is considered Assisted GPS and uses several different methods to provide GPS data. This includes not only signals from orbiting GPS satellites but also cell towers and data from Servers. The Servers provide orbital data on the nearest satellites and also make complex calculations relating the satellites to the location of the phone, which often helps the phone to obtain a "lock" faster than a dedicated GPS (which is only able to use satellite signals). Net access is useful, as the GPS function needs to download "Map Tiles" from Google Maps which reflect the current location of the phone. Without the tiles, it's possible that only a grey screen with a blue dot will be shown. I'm not sure if off-line Maps will interface as well with the GPS function of the phone, so may not provide the same benefit? One interesting point is that the iPhone 4S is capable of accessing both GPS & GLOMASS (the Russian GPS system). The bottom line - the GPS function should work without a data connection (or apparently even without a SIM card) but will probably be somewhat "limited" in terms of functionality. I'm assuming the GPS function will work the same in iOS 6 (which is being tested now and will be released in the fall), as Apple will be using their own 3D mapping software rather than Google Maps. Cheers!

And here's what dumb me forgot to say before: I'd just come in from the desert (out of range of anything except satellites with wifi and all data turned OFF). My phone has a pretty hefty aux battery pack. I'd gotten ahead of the slow pokes, gotten tired of stuffing my (non-phone) camera into lizard's faces, and was sitting on a rock dorking with the phone. It'd had a full charge at the start of the day and no use (except for one quick call before I got out of cellular range). The gps located me accurately, but I continued to mess with it for a bit less than a half hour. In that amount of time I'd run the whole power charge down to about thirty percent. (I have no way to determine if it would have still been functioning had I had only the phone battery power, but I'd guess not.) Unless my brain has gone south, satnav is 'receive only' with just a little bit of power required for signal processing. I can only attribute the drain to the continuous display. I've had automotive units with a pedestrain capability (which I never used) but when unplugging the gps to charge something else, it would tick along for well more than an hour before suffering from power degradation. My map app is terrain only - - it has no directions capability other than bearing/range between two points. I don't know what else exists, but don't care as far as my needs go.

Based on the above, I think the idea of using the phone as a gps without data sucks because: a -In pedestrian use, by the time you fire it up, find yourself, and march off a couple of times, you're going to be dead for power. You sure can't leave it on and wander around. If a real directions app exists, it would seem that it would use up even more power. A little map from the TI would work much better. b - Data or not, it's dangerous for automotive use except maybe for planning. With no audible turn directions (there are apps, but I don't know if they require data), and the tiny screen, it's dangerous to use for the driver and annoying for the navigator (if there is one). As far as this goes, I quit taking an automotive gps on vacation unless I know I'll be doing a lot of solo night driving in areas I'm unsure of. Maps work just like they used to and less to worry about.

@Ed, "In that amount of time I'd run the whole power charge down to about thirty percent." Although you were only using the GPS receiver of the phone, I suspect the fact that you had no cell coverage was the reason the battery drained so quickly. If the cellular (voice and GPRS) sections were still active, the phone would have tried to find the nearest tower by increasing transmit power to maximum level (0.6W on handheld models, as I recall). As it wasn't getting a signal from the tower, it would have been making regular transmissions trying to connect. A high transmit duty cycle will drain power quickly. AFAIK, switching the phone to "Airplane mode" would have eliminated that problem and still allowed the GPS receiver to function. However, there appears to be some inconsistency among phone manufacturers, so the various brands may behave differently in that regard. I'll try the GPS function on my iPhone next time I fly somewhere and see if it works with "Airplane mode" switched on. Cheers!

Bingo! Once again I've shown my butt. The rate of power loss was similar, but not as profound, to what all my phones have done when visiting a buddy who lives so far out in the sticks of north Alabama that you have to wiggle around on his land to find a place for a phone to work. Even being dense, I figured tower-searching was doing the deed. I'd turned the whole phone off for simplicty during the first part of the hike, but turned it back on at about the midpoint to make a quick gps check while standing on a prominent piece of terrain. I'd forgotten that I'd done that when making the previous post and, in fact, I never shut it back down again until I noticed the battery severly waning while I was goofing off. I'm aware what airplane mode is, but it would never have occured to me to toggle an airplane switch while stumbling around on the ground . Live and learn. I'll leave my previous post up for amusement, but the only valid point that remains in it is the problem/danger with trying to use the phone as an automotive gps. And, nope, the gps don't seem to work (in two tries) from an airplane - - probably because of the tin roof. (When I first tried to use a netbook gps in a small plane I had to use a suction-cup antenna on the windshield and the connecting cable get getting wrapped around the control column - - one more of my nutty ideas that stank.)

@Ed, Next time you visit your friend that lives "out in the sticks", you could take along the phone charger. That's what I'd do, and have done in the "old days" with the AMPS analog Cellphones. When I was using the old Motorola "Brick", I'd often pack along one and sometimes two spare batteries when I went to visit relatives that had a lakeside cabin "out in the sticks". And, nope, the gps don't seem to work (in two tries) from an airplane - - probably because of the tin roof." I have successfully used my Garmin Nüvi from an aircraft, placing it right against the window. One particular flight back from Europe seemed to be taking an unusually long time, so I was curious to find out where we were. As was typical with Air Canada flights at that time, the seat back position locators weren't working so I fired up the GPS unit (they also had to repeatedly re-boot the entertainment system to keep it working, which was a darn annoyance). It took a few minutes, but it did eventually get a lock. It was still in "automotive" mode, so it was a bit strange to watch the small car driving over the frigid waters of Hudsons Bay. Good idea to keep the post listed, as the info may be of use to others. Cheers!

I've used my iPhone extensively with the option CELULLAR DATA OFF (which disables all cell-phone terrestrial network capabilities, including data roaming, e.g., it is more comprehensive than merely disabling DATA ROAMING OFF) with an offline GPS app (TomTom). I found out, out of many trips, that this actually increases battery life instead of working the other way around. I can easily use my TomTom as a map on pedestrian use (no power) for more than 60min of active map browsing before its battery goes on the 1X %....

GPS is great for driving but the phones have many drawbacks compared to a dedicated GPS. For walking in large cities I found the GPS to be pretty useless. The buildings block signals making them inaccurate and you have to walk half a block for them to get your direction. A Garmin GPS for driving that you have practiced with at home is the answer. A compass in your pocket to orient a map when walking in large cities.

It don't take a compass to orient a map, just two known points. At which time the map has effectively become your compass.