Today Apple unleashed a new firmware for the iPod Touch - including the ‘missing’ Apps found on the iPhone - things like Google Maps, Mail, and so on.

The thing that really shocked me was when I clicked on the ‘Locator’ button in Google Maps. It found where I was, at least within 100 meters. I’m not sure whether to be afraid or impressed - it’s sorta spooky, considering there isn’t a GPS (that I know of) in the Touch. The thought that my location can be that easily found via my IP address is a bit unsettling.

I haven’t tried anything like snooping the WiFi traffic to see what is going on, however. But it was able to find my location when I was at home - and that was on a ‘closed’ WPA2 network.

Having Mail is a nice upgrade, and I can’t say enough that’s good about Google Maps - traffic, routing, etc. If only it worked while I was driving... Weather is also nice to have. Stocks I don’t care for either way - I don’t have any investments to watch (something I should no doubt remedy...)

The ability to put web bookmarks on the springboard is also a nice thing to have; convenient and fast.

It’s worth the $20 upgrade to me, though I’m sure it would be better received if ‘free’.

Tags: Computing