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The iPhone 4S adds support for GLONASS, the Russian version of GPSApple isn’t a company that adds features which aren’t universally supported. Thus the original iPhone lacked 3G back before 3G was widely deployed, and the iPhone 4S still lacks a 4G radio for the same reasons.
But one surprise feature, noticed by Russian bloggers, is support for GLONASS in the iPhone 4GS. What’s that, you ask? GLONASS is Russia’s answer to GPS which, according to the Wikipedia, consists of 24 satellites. The full constellation has only recently been restored since it fell into disrepair in the 1990s, and will soon be armed and fully operational.
What does this mean? In practical terms, you will get to use either GPS or GLONASS, which offers some level of redundancy. Why has Apple added this now? Is it part of some plot to rule the world? No. It’s just that the latest generation of GPS chips from the likes of Qualcomm and Broadcom have added GLONASS support. This means it will likely be coming to pretty much every GPS device in the future.
Now, if only the Europeans could finish their ridiculously overdue Galileo system. I hear some Android phones already support it (rimshot).
iPhone 4S поддерживает ГЛОНАСС [iPhones.ru via Engadget]
See Also:
- EU Galileo GPS Net. Faster, Higher, Stronger. Later
- European GPS Rival Stuck On Ground
- Russian GPS System is Go
- In Russia, You Track GPS!
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