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waterlesscloud

I don't believe it has GPS, so not so sure about the locational awareness bit.

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If I'm not wrong, I believe the 3g version has A-GPS.

You are correct: http://www.apple.com/ipad/specs/ (left-most column under "Location")

It looks like both the wifi and 3g versions have a digital compass, as well.

Wow. I never even considered that they would differ on something like that.

That's a substantial hit on the "it just works" front. Some apps will not be able to do anything useful without this. Some people won't understand why.

The reason why is that Qualcomm and most 3G chip manufacturers bundle GPS, as it is required by federal law for 911 service. Just adding a standalone GPS module to the Wifi version would probably cost about as much as adding a 3G chip.

Btw, does anyone else find it striking how much patent licensing adds to the cost of a device? I'm pretty sure Apple is passing the $130 3G upgrade along at almost cost. These 3G chips have been out for years now and probably only cost about $10-20 to manufacture, yet every 3G cellphone manufacturer gets raped by patent licensing costs to the tune of $100+.

Given that Ericsson F3507g mini-pcie card is $80 give or take, I doubt that the $130 3G upgrade is at cost.

Does the Ericsson card have a GPS radio and quad-band G3 as well, or just 3G?

This is already the case with the iPhone vs. iPod Touch.

  Digital compass
  Assisted GPS (Wi-Fi + 3G model)

Looks like both models have A-GPS

They refer to the 3G model as the "Wi-Fi + 3G Model", so I believe that line item indicates that only the 3G version has GPS.

Ah, that makes sense now. Thanks!

Perhaps not in this 1st gen version, but if it proves to be a success then just give it (and the inevitable competing tablets) some time before it does.

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