iPhone GPS Work-Arounds?

30 Nov

I have just bought my lucky brother the latest 32GB iPod Touch for Christmas. He is about to go to Moscow, Fribourg in Switzerland and Chamonix in France and then, after spending the winter season there is on to Australia after that. So an iPhone is a bit moot at this point.

Magellan iPhone Car KitI was going to get him a GPS locator – but when the needed Russian, Swiss, French and Aussie map DVD’s are added in, it becomes cost prohibitive.

Now, unfortunately, even the latest iPod Touch that I have bought does not have a GPS. And whilst there have been several “work arounds” put on the market in the last few weeks ( the Tom Tom and the Magellan, for example) these have the disadvantage of requiring hardware to attach to the iPod – plus also push the price out of my budget.

Apple does promote the “find yourself” feature of the iPod”

iPod touch finds your location using known Wi-Fi hotspots. It also finds points of interest by keyword: Search for “coffee” and iPod touch shows you cafes nearby.

All well and good. But this feature does have mixed reception from users as it does rely on available WiFi hotspots. And I wonder: “what are WiFi hotspots like in Moscow, Fribourgh and Chaminex??

OK readers – your chance to have a say. If you live in any of these places, or have recently visited there – please share! Let us all know – what are the free WiFi hotspots like there?