Should Apple's new MacBook/Pro/Air have GPS?

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October 13, 2008
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Comments (22)

Darren (not verified) | October 13, 2008 - 12:19pm

Yes, why not? GPS chips are nowadays very cheap!

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 13, 2008 - 12:23pm

I don't know why they wouldn't put GPS in the Laptops. I love the functionality of the apps on the Iphone. They would only be better on a macbook. Think about flying with your computer and getting a virtual tour of the cities you are flying over and real time tracking. The opportunities would be great. Also an app store for new OSX apps would be great (I know off subject sorry).

khurt | October 13, 2008 - 3:11pm

 Sounds like something a terrorist could use.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 13, 2008 - 4:00pm

Slow Down Take A Breath. I Don't Think Al-Queda is going to use the power of the Macbook to take over the U.S.A. Easy there bud.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 13, 2008 - 5:22pm

this isn't a very good idea, since not all airlines allow GPS to be used on planes. read it and weep:

http://gpsinformation.net/airgps/airgps.htm

including it in every computer, especially without a clear on/off switch, might (might!) invite these airlines to restrict computer usage entirely, which would just totally blow.

i don't think i want this information collected, anyway. i don't even give facebook my real birthday. why the hell should i tell them where i am at every waking moment? not to mention every ex, classmate, and weird kid from high school.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 13, 2008 - 12:41pm

GPS on a MB? Seriously? You want walk with an MB through the cities or even forests and who knows what else? Jesus, there far smaller devices for such things. Noone would use it, so why putting in more useless stuff, that makes everything more expensive and more technology that can be damaged affecting the whole Notebook.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 13, 2008 - 1:06pm

I've seen buses use laptops for GPS. It could be done in a car. I think most people use GPS in cars only. Not while walking around and such.

Jaryd (not verified) | October 13, 2008 - 1:07pm

I think adding GPS would definitely be a great addition to the notebooks. Since a lot of the 'applications' we use are online (Facebook, Myspace, Google Maps, etc...) it might be hard to have these utilize any location data, but perhaps Apple could either make an OS X native maps app - not Google earth - (similar to the iPhone/iPod touch app), or pair this with the save as web app feature in Safari 4. Then use something like the data detectors in mail to detect when a location is being requested, and fill in the location info. All of this is mere speculation, but something very interesting indeed.

To the people who think that this is useless because we have smaller GPS devices, this isn't just for directions. There are many areas that this can branch out into.

khurt | October 13, 2008 - 3:09pm

 The use cases you mentioned are totally useless to the majority of mac users.  On a day to day basis what use does a GPS on a laptop serve to the majority of users?

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 13, 2008 - 5:24pm

you're totally right. for example, i think the CIA and FBI would be very interested in developing new applications for it.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 13, 2008 - 1:11pm

Simply useless on a laptop...
Please keep it simple, ligth, and beautifull!

Urkel (not verified) | October 13, 2008 - 1:13pm

I've seen several PC notebooks with it built in so I'd say that Apple would be silly not to offer it as an option.

khurt | October 13, 2008 - 3:10pm

 I've seen many laptops with VGA and serial ports.  Should Apple include those on the MacBook?

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 13, 2008 - 1:34pm

I like to see GPS in the laptop. Next time a laptop is stolen, you not only get the picture of the thief, you also got the location :)

beez1717 (not verified) | October 13, 2008 - 2:54pm

make a comment that says "no I don't want GPS"

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 13, 2008 - 2:57pm

It adds about 4$ to the costs, so why not adding it in ?
Useful in combination with a Kensington car charger for your Laptop.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 13, 2008 - 5:26pm

because $4 in costs for apple means $75.32 in markup for us? duh? (i admit i made up the number, but the point stands)

khurt | October 13, 2008 - 3:06pm

So some of you think that that the majority of mac users are sitting around going .. "If only my MacBook had a GPS ".  Really?  Useless!!! Beside the obvious geek uses ( and those uses are so niche as to be ignored completely ) what would my non-geek friends use it for?

 

THe argument about it being a theft deterent is also without merit.  If you can track your MacBook with GPS after it is stolen can't someone else track you before the laptop is stolen?

 

Apple should only put things into their products that the majority of customers will want.  Or pander to the geek niche and go out of business.

 

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 13, 2008 - 3:45pm

The same way that not every one can use VNC to controle you computer.
You can set it up to only the admin can acces the GPS remot.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 13, 2008 - 5:27pm

dude, that is such a geek comment. you're only proving him right.

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | October 13, 2008 - 9:47pm

First an UMTS modem, after that we can talk about a GPS...

9to5Mac Noob (not verified) | January 04, 2009 - 8:40pm

You can't use GPS inside of most buildings because the signal is way to weak. GPS relies on have a clear view of most of the sky in order to acquire at least 3 sats in order to work correctly. Including GPS would be a waste of money on a computer. Now including built in 3G would be nice.