Apple rolled out iOS 4.3 recently and with that came the ability to use the iPhone 4 as a personal wireless hotspot for up to 3 users (generally a paid extra on your contract). What we didn’t know is that when connecting up to the wireless hotspot with a WiFi iPad 1 or 2, the GPS data is shared with the iPad and allows you to pinpoint where you are on a map.
Prior to being able to do this, the regular WiFi iPad could not get GPS information due to the A-GPS module only being included on the 3G model. Having this feature bundled in is quite handy, especially for those wanting to see quickly where they are on an iPad.
A few things to note here is that the WiFi is location aware through being able to track down by IP address/MAC address on a wireless hotspot. This isn’t 100% accurate and can show you within a few hundred meters, sometimes a few miles, of where you actually are. The GPS data passed on is accurate though and pinpoints where you are within meters.
The only downside is that it isn’t real time, or near real time like the 3G version of the iPad. Instead, it appears that the iPhone passes over the GPS signals about once a minute.
Source: Tablet Monsters
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