A recent report at InformationWeek details the story of Level 3 Communications, which recently equipped its entire sales workforce with iPads loaded with apps that provide access to pricing information; presentation creation; and display, corporate email, customer records and inventory checks. The iPad proved more than up to the task of supplementing and mostly replacing laptops.

InformationWeek goes into much more detail about what the iPads meant for Level 3, but the advantages for salespeople on the ground can be boiled down to three main categories:

1. Instant on. The iPad’s ability to instantly wake from sleep and pick up right where a user left off exceed that of even the fastest SSD-equipped notebooks, and it only sips power in tiny amounts in order to provide that functionality. That, combined with its superior portability, makes it the perfect tool for doing “quick checks between meetings, at an airport, or in a taxi,” InformationWeek says. With a laptop, five minutes in a taxi might not seem like enough time to make powering up worth your while; with the iPad, that’s a nonissue.

2. Connectivity. The iPad (at least the 3G models) provides always-on cellular network access, as long as you are within coverage range. Some laptops can offer that, but the process is still often more complicated than just tapping the wake button and being ready to surf, email or chat. But it’s not just cellular radios that make the iPad great for sales; built-in GPS positioning means salespeople can get locally relevant information, like clients or potential clients in the immediate area, in only a few short steps via task-specific software.

3. On-device demo. A laptop is an ineffective replacement for a catalog, and presenting a slide show on one is awkward. Using an iPad as a presentation tool, on the other hand, is natural. The tablet is easily passed around, can be read like a magazine, and can also output to external displays with less hassle and fewer steps than a laptop. And apps like OnLive Desktop and Iongrid make it even easier for iPads to sub in for notebooks capable of running desktop presentation tools.

Level 3 isn’t the only company to realize the value of iPads in the hands of a sales force. Sears, of all companies, announced in October it would begin rolling out iPads in 450 stores that same month, and TUAW noted at the time that Lowes and Pacific Sun were also expanding iOS deployments.

InformationWeek thinks 2012 will be a breakout year in terms of actual iPad deployments, just as 2011 saw a huge uptick in pilot programs. If that indeed comes to pass, we should see Apple easily beat the 40.7 million iPads it sold in 2011.

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1. The mouse. Everyone who has used a computer today has used a mouse. But that wasn’t always the case in the early days of the PC. The mouse was invented as part of a research project aimed at “augmenting human intelligence” at the Stanford Research Institute in the early 1960s. It made its way to personal computers before the original Macintosh, but Jobs’ Macintosh that debuted in 1984  was the first successful commercialization of the technology that became the standard way to interface with any desktop computer with a windows general user interface.

2. Touchscreens. The only interaction method that can give the mouse a run for its money in terms of efficiency is touch. Way before Apple, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft were pushing it for years. It can be argued that the iPhone brought touchscreen technology to the masses. Gates introduced the world to his tablet computing concept in 2000, seven years before the introduction of the Apple smartphone, but the technology that Apple ended up using for the iPhone is very different.  As Stacey Higginbotham wrote in 2008:

“Behind the iPhone, Samsung Instinct, LG Secret and several other mobile phones with touch screens lie capacitive sensors. These are semiconductors that require the human body to make them work. For users, it means that fingernails aren’t enough to dial a number and that the resulting screens are clearer instead of filmy. But the capacitive screens used in phones would be prohibitively expensive if they were put in larger devices. They could also could cause usability problem, especially when used for tabletops, where an errant palm could easily flick photos out of sight or drag windows to the wrong locale.”

Jobs chose capacitive touch for the iPhone, which was expensive. But it had a better user interface than the common resistive touch, which required a stylus, or pressure to make it work. It clearly resonated with customers and competitors: Those same touchscreens are ubiquitous on smartphones today.

3. Micro SIM. That tiny card that holds your account information inside GSM phones was already small enough. But digital security company Gemalto developed the even smaller SIM cards, called Micro SIMs. They didn’t become widely adopted, however, until they showed up in the original iPad, which was an instant commercial hit. Micro SIMs make for more space inside small devices, but it’s also used for better security. It’s not entirely clear why Apple embraced Micro SIM, but it has long been assumed Apple went with the smaller format cards because so few carriers were using them, thus allowing the company to limit which prepaid mobile carriers could be used with the device.

4. Thunderbolt. Intel called its new 10 Gbps optical cable interface that’s both a data connector and a high-performance port “Light Peak,” but Apple renamed it Thunderbolt in February when it appeared in the MacBook Pro for the first time. Apple worked with Intel on the idea and eventually added the technology to displays too. Since then, several accessory makers have gotten on board with the new standard that has the potential to be a one-cable solution for connecting computers to external devices and transferring data.

There’s an incredibly technical process taking place with the inclusion of Thunderbolt technology into new computers and accessories. But in true Jobs fashion, his company picked a name that’s nontechnical and very clear in what it does: lightning-fast transfers. It’s very much in keeping the Apple mission of taking a complex technology and carefully hiding it from users.

5. GPS. We had Garmins  and TomToms for personal navigation long before the iPhone arrived. But it wasn’t until very neatly packaged GPS capability was added to the iPhone 3G that having a navigation device in your pocket became a reality for mainstream consumers. It wasn’t just the Google Maps app that came standard on the phone, but Apple’s decision to open up the APIs for it to third-party developers so they could offer navigation and location services without contracting with expensive location data providers. That broadened the applications that used location beyond navigation and even made navigation a free service. Through those third-party contributions to the App Store, we got the flowering of location-based services that have long since spread to platforms beyond the iPhone and that we take for granted. It helped give us Foursquare, Where, enhanced Yelp, and Uber, and moved GPS from simply a way to navigate to a way to share and communicate in a far more interactive way.

Mouse image courtesy of Wikipedia, iPhone image courtesy of Apple.

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White iPhone 4

Regarding the white iPhone 4′s production delays, Apple Senior Vice President Phil Schiller told Mobilized that far from being “as simple as making something white.” Schiller said that Apple’s main concern was with “how it holds up over time… but also in how it all works with the sensors.” Apple encountered problems with how the color of the device interacted with the iPhone’s internal components, and also that the white color ended up requiring more protection from UV rays than the black version. Apple waited to release the white iPhone, Schiller said, until it could ensure the device will live up to customer expectations.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs also said that what the company has learned regarding the white iPhone’s production process has provided valuable info that it can leverage in other products, like the iPad 2.

Location Issues

Jobs mostly stuck to the major points of Apple’s press release when discussing location information, but he also told Mobilized that the company is looking forward to testifying before Congress and regulatory bodies in order to provide more transparency about how location data is used. “I think Apple will be testifying,” he said. “They have asked us to come and we will honer their request, of course.” Jobs also expressed interest in seeing how other companies that deal with location data address these concerns. He didn’t discuss any companies by name, but Google is the obvious other major player when it comes to mobile location-aware devices.

Jobs also discussed the perceived “delay” between the problem’s discovery and Apple’s response. He noted that Apple’s response took “slightly less than a week” from the discovery of the problem, and that the approach the company took was “engineering-driven” in that it tracked down all of the info and assessed the problem fully, which “took a few days.” Apple also spent another “few days” to write up the results and make them intelligible to a broad audience.

Apple is being remarkably candid about these issues for a company that’s normally very tight-lipped. It’s understandable, though, when you consider that both the white iPhone 4 delays and the company’s recent problems with location issues have represented two of the biggest ongoing sources of negative press for the company in recent memory. But maybe this is also the first sign of a less secretive phase for Cupertino?

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Both location data gathering and traffic information collection seem to be in service of improving Apple’s built-in Maps app and on-device location services. Apple took over the management of Maps location databases in June 2010. Devices running iPhone OS 1.1.3 to 3.1 had (and still do) rely on Skyhook Wireless’ databases of Wi-Fi and cellular tower locations. Apple also acquired mapping companies Placebase and Poly9 last year, and posted job ads looking for individuals to “take Maps to the next level” in 2009, and to “radically improve how people interact with maps and location-based services” just last month.

Apple revealed last year in its letter to Congressmen Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Barton (R-Tex.) that it “used [location] data to analyze traffic patterns and density,” so presumably that’s the same thing it’s doing in order to improve its traffic service. The Maps app currently has a traffic layer that can be enabled and disabled, but the info appears to currently be supplied by Google, since it matches traffic pattens displayed on the web-based version of Google Maps. Apple seems to be intent on either supplementing that information, or replacing the Google-sourced data with its own.

Some are speculating this means Apple is keen to introduce turn-by-turn navigation to the onboard iOS Maps app, and that’s a definite possibility. But since Apple only claims “an improved traffic service” as part of its plans, it’s not the only logical conclusion one can draw. Apple has been steadily decreasing its reliance on outside service providers (and even components, thanks to its in-house designed A4 and A5 mobile chips), and a new traffic service might just be that, and not representative of any attempt to leapfrog into navigation.

Apple’s assertion that any improved service will come “in the next couple of years” hints at the long development tail it has for new products and software offerings. The Mac-maker would never release a product to market that pales in comparison to what it’s replacing, and that’s no less true of the iOS Maps app. Until it can ensure a better user experience itself than is provided by Google, it’ll stick with the Mountain View, Calif.-sourced option, because unlike its competitors, Apple seldom, if ever, rushes anything to market.

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A new job posting went up at Apple, suggesting the company is continuing to move towards its own mobile map plans, separate from Google. According to the posting, an iOS Maps Application Developer in Cupertino would help “radically improve how people interact with maps and location-based services.” User interface design is a must, as well as a “passion” for location-based technologies.

Certainly, there’s room for improvement in the current Maps app, which has seen relatively few outward updates since introduced with the original iPhone back in 2007. Despite being powered by Google Maps, iOS Maps does not compare well with the latest on Android. Missing features including turn-by-turn directions, 3-D maps, topography, offline maps, and information about places. While Apple is clearly behind Google in map app development, it wouldn’t be totally accurate to say the company has been ignoring map services.

In 2009, Apple acquired PlaceBase, a mapping data service provider, and in 2010, it also purchased another mapping company, Poly9. In both instances, employees as well as software went to Apple. Also, last year, Apple made  a major internal change to the Maps program. Starting with iOS 3.2 on the iPad, and with iOS 4 on all devices, Apple began using its own databases instead of those belonging to Skyhook Wireless and Google for location information.

With an iOS 5 preview expected next month, we may not have to wait long to find out if Apple plans on taking over full control of the iOS map app this year. Rumors of MobileMe development suggests new location-based services like Find My Friends are in store. It’s not hard to imagine maps of friends and recommended places overlaid as layers on the built-in Apple Maps app and dynamically updated. Social networking features, combined with more map services, would be a welcome update in iOS 5, and one that would gain Apple some ground over the competition.

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I argued in a previous post that the iPhone 4′s Personal Hotspot sharing feature (and similar sharing on other smartphone devices) were making a 3G-capable iPad less of a necessity for users. Geoffrey Goetz recently pointed out that along with 3G capabilities came true GPS, a feature not natively available on the Wi-Fi-only iPad. But according to TabletMonsters.com and multiple commenters at Cult of Mac, GPS does make the leap from iPhone to iPad when sharing your iPhone 4′s connection either with Personal Hotpspot or the jailbreak-only app MyWi, which for most users might be enough incentive to opt for the Wi-Fi model over the 3G variety.

I tried this out on my 3G-capable iPads by turning off cellular network services and connecting to my iPhone via Personal Hotspot. It definitely seems to make a difference, and looks like it’s just as accurate as the GPS on the iPhone 4 that’s sharing the connection. As a result, it might even be a viable option for use with turn-by-turn navigation apps. At the very least, it provides much better data for finding your exact location in spots where mapping via Wi-Fi towers alone won’t provide accurate results, which could considerably improve the experience of a number of iPad apps. Reports suggest it works on first-gen iPad devices, too.

Does this affect your iPad buying choice? How often do you find yourself using GPS on your iPad?

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For developers, the Core Location Framework in iOS can use the onboard GPS, cell, or Wi-Fi radios to find the user’s current longitude and latitude. Each one has a different degree of accuracy and uses a different amount of battery life.  This abstraction allows developers to write code without exactly knowing what capabilities the iOS device has available to it.  So, for the most part, developers don’t always have strict requirements where GPS capabilities are concerned.  But as a consumer, you want to know exactly what you’re getting for your money.

Wi-Fi iPad 2 and iPod Touch’s Wi-Fi Database

According to the tech specs for the iPod touch, this iOS device has what is referred to as “Maps location-based service”.  This means that the user’s longitude and latitude are determined based on their proximity to known Wi-Fi networks.  Since iOS 3.2, Apple has claimed to be using its own databases to provide such location-based services.  So we know that the iPod touch and the Wi-Fi only iPad 2 aren’t using GPS, but what about the iPhone 4 and 3G-capable iPad 2?

Wi-Fi + 3G iPad 2 and iPhone 4′s Assisted GPS

With GPS devices, the assisted terminology refers to the fact that the resulting GPS data is enhanced.  Under certain conditions, this enhancement can speed the start-up time to get an initial location fix faster.  So the same technology that’s used in the iPod touch to determine a user’s location based on Wi-Fi proximity is being used on the iPhone and the Wi-Fi + 3G iPad 2 to assist these devices in getting that initial fix.  The tech specs for the iPad 2 claim that only the Wi-Fi + 3G model has this “Assisted GPS” feature, and this is the same feature found on the iPhone.  The Wi-Fi only model of the iPad 2 does not have this feature.

What Good is GPS on an iPad Beyond Online Maps?

While it is certainly true that the built-in Maps App is pretty much useless without data connectivity, there are an increasing number of apps that will either cache, install or download maps for offline access.  MotionX GPS HD for US $2.99 in the App Store has what is likely to be one of the better implementations of downloading maps at a very reasonable price.  GPS also means you’ll have more accurate results when using location-based recommendation or social networking apps. It’s not something that everyone needs, but as it becomes more and more popular, it could represent a significant upside to owning an iPad, so consider the benefits of assisted GPS when making your choice.

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*Items highlighted in green represent the best options for each category.

Columbus V900 – While not from a very well know manufacture, the V900 has been one of my favorite GPS devices. It is available on Amazon for around $105.  While it is the most expensive of the three, it also has the most features. Besides being able to remove the microSD memory card, this device will also let you record and tag a voice memo at an exact location.  The included software used to read and access the data on the device, called Time Album, is Java-based and will run just fine on the Mac.  While it will charge with a miniUSB able, you will need to carry around a microSD card reader in order to import the log data on your Mac.

QStarz BT-Q1000XT – QStarz manufactures several different GPS receivers worth looking into for your particular needs.  I have been using one of their Travel series and it has served me well.  The Q1000XT is every bit as versatile as the V900 when used solely as a GPS receiver.  It currently lists for $99 on Amazon.  The major downside with QStarz is that the included software used to access the stored data requires a unique USB driver that is Windows only. There is however a third party utility, BT747 that will work with the QStarz.  But you will have to install the CP210x USB to UART Bridge VCP Drivers from Silicon Labs in order to get it to work properly.

USGlobalSat BT-335 – As reputable as QStarz, USGlobalSat is a well known and reputable brand among GPS receivers.  The BT-335 is their latest Bluetooth receiver that is also a Data Logger.  At just $69 on Amazon, it is the cheapest of the three.  The one thing I did not like about the BT-335 is that it does not charge via mini USB and therefore requires you to travel with a dedicated charger specific to the device.  There is, however, a native Mac version of the Global Sync utility which makes accessing the data straight forward.  The only other downside is that it is the bulkiest of the three to carry around.

Once paired with your Mac, most GPS aware applications will automatically detect the GPS receiver.  For instance, in Google Earth, from the Tools menu select the GPS menu item.  On the Realtime tab check the “Automatically follow the path” and click the Start button.  Google Earth will create a “Temporary Place” in your places that will update the map with your coordinates.

All three devices are excellent data loggers and Bluetooth receivers.  While pairing via Bluetooth works identically on the Mac for all three, the same cannot be said of the connectivity and access to the data captured by each device’s logging capabilities.  Any one will work just fine with your Mac, but having access to all three, I tend to opt for the Columbus V900 most often.

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The one I’ve been using most late is the Columbus v-900 Bluetooth Data Logger ($99 on Amazon). Once paired with your MacBook Air, you can track your movements, record waypoints, and even plan a route.  Voice-guided, turn-by-turn navigation with live, updated routes is also possible on a MacBook Air thanks to an application titled RouteBuddy.

Pairing Your Bluetooth GPS Receiver

As with all Bluetooth devices, paring with a Mac is straight forward and easy.  Once this setup task is complete, the GPS receiver will be accessible to GPS-enabled software like RouteBuddy.  To pair the Columbus V-900 GPS receiver (and most others, too), follow these simple steps:

1. From System Preferences, click on Bluetooth in the Internet & Wireless section.
2. Click on the “+” icon in the bottom left corner of the device list to add a new Bluetooth device.
3. Select the device from the list and click Continue.
4. Once paring is successful, click Quit.

Once pairing is established, you’ll have to access it through your software of choice, since OS X does not have the same CoreLocation service available to it as iOS does. And because connectivity to the receiver over Bluetooth happens via the serial interface, only one application at a time can access GPS information.

Making location available to RouteBuddy is easy. It just knows that a valid GPS receiver has been paired and turned on, and starts using it automatically upon launch.

RouteBuddy for Mac With Detailed Road Maps and a POI Database

RouteBuddy and its iOS companion app RouteBuddy Atlas are the perfect pair for planning and documenting a trip.  The Mac version can do turn-by-turn navigation, and the iOS version focuses primarily on topographical maps and creating waypoints and tracks.  The road maps that RouteBuddy uses are based on Tele Atlas mapping data, the same service that Google uses for its maps, and the one acquired by TomTom in 2007.  Once you’ve purchased and installed RouteBuddy for Mac (currently on sale for $59) and the detailed road map of the United States (sold separately for $39), you’ll need to install and register your map with the software.  Once complete, you’re ready to create your first navigable route:

1. Select two or more Waypoints that you want to create a route between.
2. From the Map menu, select the Create Route menu item.
3. Double-click on the resulting route to change the order of the destinations if more than two waypoints were selected.
4. Select the route you want to use from the drop down list of selections in the library on the left.
5. Click Start to begin your turn-by-turn navigation.

There are several other ways to create a route from within RouteBuddy, too.  You can even connect to RouteBuddy Atlas (available for free from the App Store) on your iOS device via WebDav to access the waypoints and tracks you have recorded, and import them into RouteBuddy for Mac. When navigating, RouteBuddy will even recalculate the route if you don’t follow the turn-by-turn directions exactly, just like a dedicated GPS navigation device.  The points of interest database is quite extensive, with over 4 million items.  The smaller size of the MacBook Air’s screen makes it a perfect choice for use with RouteBuddy, but always remember to keep your eyes on the road, no matter what device you’re depending on to get from point A to point B.

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Word regarding the alleged move first broke when a Mac User report claimed that a UK-based Google executive had revealed details about introducing the navigation tool to the iPhone, in addition to other mobile devices. The comments were apparently uttered during a London press conference in which Google launched its popular Maps Navigation tool for UK Android devices.

However, in order to kill the rumor before it became any more widespread, Google has now confirmed to PCWorld that this is not the case. PCWorld’s report includes comments from a Google spokesperson who said the following:

“We did not say we would bring it to iPhone, we said to date we’ve had it on Android and that in the future it may come to other platforms but did not confirm this will be coming to iPhone at all.”

For those that don’t know, Google’s Maps Navigation is a free GPS 3-D mapping service which offers turn-by-turn navigation, automatic rerouting and voice guidance for Android users. Sadly, no doubt at the joy of GPS makers such as Tom Tom and Garmin, Google’s service will not be on the iPhone anytime soon.