No GPS on Wi-Fi-only iPad mini
updated 08:12 pm EDT, Tue October 23, 2012
Wi-Fi+Cellular model to feature GPS
Customers buying one of the Wi-Fi only versions of Apple's newly-announced iPad mini will find that their devices will not have the GPS capabilities seen in comparable 7-inch tablets. A look at Apple's product page for the device reveals that the Wi-Fi+Cellular versions of the iPad mini -- priced $130 above their Wi-Fi only counterparts -- will have GPS technology, but the non-cellular units will not. Meanwhile, Apple marketing executive Phil Schiller has been defending the company's premium price point for the device, saying he expects customers to be "very excited" about the device despite its $329 entry point.
The absence of a GPS module on the Wi-Fi only model will likely mean that owners of that device will not be able to use location services when not connected to a wireless network. By comparison, a number of Apple's competitors' entries feature GPS modules, allowing for off-line turn-by-turn navigation and mapping.
Asked by Reuters about the iPad mini's pricing, Schiller pointed to the full-size iPad's continuing success in the face of competition from smaller devices. The Kindle Fire has been on sale in some form for nearly a year, while Google's Nexus 7 debuted this summer. Still, Schiller says that the iPad has gone on to phenomenal sales, even as those less costly devices are said to be experiencing solid sales.
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I'm not sure how many users would consider the lack of GPS in the WiFi only versions of iPad mini to be a deal breaker. I personally use my iPhone for GPS (and yes, I'm using and liking Apple's Maps app). A tablet, even if it's a mini one, is too large for using as a GPS, IMO, unless you want to permanently custom-build it into the dash of your car, in which case, you have the bucks for the 4G version anyway. This is a tablet computer, after all, not an accessory for your car per say. The right tool for the job, and all that.
BTW, location services such as "check ins" and "find near me" should still work via WiFi triangulation, just like the original iPhones, but you just won't be able to use it for real time directions in a maps app.
You guys should know that Apple has rarely been one to offer products based solely upon a checklist of features, and they have rarely tried to sell products based upon what the competition is charging. Remember that while the competition may or may not be "experiencing solid sales," that was before there was a smaller iPad. It also doesn't seem to have affected Apple's dominance in the general, non-niche tablet computer market - I'm sure you saw in Apple's presentation that iPads account for 91% of all tablet computer web traffic. I'm guessing that Apple will sell a staggering number of iPad minis, and if so, the market will have weighed in upon whether it was priced too high or if there was no GPS in the WiFi-only model. Check back in a year and we'll see who's right.