Comments on: Android's first killer app: Compass Mode

By: Jim, Stuttgart, Germany

Jim, Stuttgart, Germany — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:18:38 +0000

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

By: bjason6, Des Moines, Iowa

bjason6, Des Moines, Iowa — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:49:48 +0000

Google Navigator 360 street view has been available for Windows Mobile for a while now.

By: miami fl

miami fl — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:52:27 +0000

does it comes with a G P S like the iphone or not

ex ped: yes it does

By: Chris, Portland OR

Chris, Portland OR — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:20:59 +0000

So maybe I'm missing something. What's the point of a compass without GPS? I just think this app is named improperly.

By: nathan, kansas city, mo

nathan, kansas city, mo — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 21:04:14 +0000

I dont remember the last time I help my laptop vertical to use a keyboard…besides it has touch screen "buttons" if you want. Might not be as shiny as an apple, but won't crash like a windows platform. This came just in time, I was about to switch companies for an iphone, but this….woah! It's easy to hate

By: Tom Ross, Berlin

Tom Ross, Berlin — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:11:17 +0000

Regarding the keyboard – do people realize that you can only use the keyboard when the phone is in landscape mode (and slid open, obviously)? And vice versa, that there is no way to type when the phone is in portrait mode, because Google did not provide an on-screen keyboard? What a chore.

By: Tom Ross, Berlin

Tom Ross, Berlin — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:05:50 +0000

Compass mode is a gimmick. I could imagine using it maybe 1 out every 10 times I'm looking something up on a map (as long as the data is coming fast enough) – that is if I wasn't forced to stand up and spin in a circle to navigate this feature.

Come to think of it, this would be great for a Wii game, not for a mobile phone.

By: Roman Rubinstein, Cambridge, MA

Roman Rubinstein, Cambridge, MA — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:04:50 +0000

Agreed that compass is a hardware feature and won't be available on the iPhone too soon. However, though it's an interesting addition, it's not a "killer" app. Also, any such phone at this point will have to sacrifice some features to have a decent pricepoint, e.g. the camera lens aren't as great – or not enough memory, etc. Personally, a compass wouldn't be on my list of top 100 desirable features – though GPS was in the top 3! There are only so many blades one wants to carry in a swiss army knife, and 2 pairs of scissors are overkill.

By: Anshul, Bnagalore, India

Anshul, Bnagalore, India — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:56:38 +0000

Compass is a hardware on android phone and this piece of hardware is not available on Iphone, so I don't think Iphone will support this feature in near future. May be it need Iphone 3rd generation to add the compass feature.

By: Fernando, Elizabeth, NJ

Fernando, Elizabeth, NJ — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 06:21:26 +0000

Wow! Compass View or what have you is the gee-whiz feature of the G1? Hmm. . .Come here, I got a Shake-to-Shuffle iPod Nano that will knock your socks off!!