Well, what do we have here? Why, it’s an iPhone 3G running full blown satnav software – CoPilot Live 7 to be precise, and we’ve got pictures of it in action before Apple even knows it exists!
We caught this iPhone 3G at CES, and we were more than a little surprised, given Apple’s notoriously hostile attitude towards anyone using the iPhone 3G’s GPS function for satnav.
But no, here it is, and it’s not a flashy demo, it’s the genuine software up and running, like it would on any other GPS-equipped mobile.
Sadly, Apple is nowhere near to giving CoPilot the go ahead to launch the software. We spoke to ALK’s European Marketing Director, David Quinn, who said it wasn’t even in negotiations with Apple, and the app certainly hasn’t been submitted for approval.
“Apple are very difficult to second guess,” he said. “But the device is capable, and we would love to be able to offer it.”
It’s a shame that Apple is continuing to block software like this, especially since ALK says it could easily be downloaded via the App Store (The software itself runs to about 15MB, while UK maps take up 200 megs, and the whole of Europe just over 1.5GB). But given ALK’s gone to all this trouble to get it running at all, you’ve got to expect them to be first out of the blocks when Apple gives the green light.
Out TBC | £TBC | ALK
