Digital Compass (Magnetometer) Confirmed in Next iPhone?
BoyGeniusReport posts a screenshot from debugging menus in the 3.0 beta firmware which seems to confirm that Apple has built-in magnetometer (digital compass) support into the operating system.
Evidence of a magnetometer was first reported in April and MacRumors has heard that the magnetometer will indeed be present in the next generation iPhone expected this summer. We previously explored what additional functionality would come with a digital compass. The possibilities were particularly intriguing:
Examples of how this could be used include pointing your iPhone's camera at a building and the phone telling you what building it is by combining GPS, accelerometer and compass information. The iPhone could even overlay graphics and text on top of the image to provide additional information. Another application described is the ability to show information about stars and constellations simply by pointing your iPhone towards the sky.
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36 months ago
A compass... This could be handy for GPS when not moving. It can tell you the direction you are pointing to
36 months ago
I wonder how useful this implementation would really be, however. I perceive that GPS applications will take advantage of this feature, enabling the ability to detect which direction subject is facing without having to relying primarily on movement.
ADDITION: This would be VERY useful in some sort of 3d application; being able to navigate through an interface by moving the device about.
ADDITION: This would be VERY useful in some sort of 3d application; being able to navigate through an interface by moving the device about.
36 months ago
Great! Augmented reality like Tonchidot and Enkin etc is seemingly getting closer...
36 months ago
What I really want to know is how was this screenshot generated? What Apple program has this in it? That'd be new content for the Field Test app.
36 months ago
dude, that's seems pretty cool. looks like i might have to invest in a 3rd gen iphone in a few months!
36 months ago
This is probably a stupid question but what is "Kitchen Sink?"
It seems like this is a joke. When one takes everything with them, they take "everything but the kitchen sink". Also what is a dump log? Seems like a joke to me.
36 months ago
At a guess, Kitchen Sink probably means "log everything". Dump Log is to output the logfile I would guess.
36 months ago
What I really want to know is how was this screenshot generated? What Apple program has this in it? That'd be new content for the Field Test app.
Just press power and home at the same time, briefly. You should hear a shutter sound and it will be saved on your phone.
36 months ago
I've been waiting/hoping for this feature more than anything else. Woo!!
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