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The iPad makes a very tempting platform for geoweb applications. This a short post on my initial findings after a week of using 3G iPad. I intend to follow it with further articles and commentaries over the coming months. Executive summary: Should make a great platform, but current geoweb support is limited.
A lot has been written about Apple's new iPad. As well as the usual hype, there have been the usual naysayers. Everyone has had something to say, ranging from the Apple fan boys through to those who insist it is overpriced, nothing new and it is either an iPhone without the phone, or a laptop without a keyboard (of course they never agree which it is). Really it is a device for consuming content. This is something an iPhone is poor at - it is a phone, after all. On the other hand, a laptop is much better at creating content, but it is relatively cumbersome and has poor battery life. I'm not going to take a laptop to bed to read a book, and I'm never going to watch a movie on an iPhone. I have been using my iPad for about a week now. One of the first things that struck me is that this is a connected device. It is really designed to be connected to the Internet most of the time. I have the 3G model which should enable this when on the move. However 3G bandwidth is notably lower than Wifi bandwidth - Youtube videos, particularly, show significant quality degradation. The iPad should also have various geospatial applications. Maps are visual things, and the iPad's large touch screen is really designed for visual applications such as this. The touch user interface generally works well, so it should be an excellent platform for map viewing, and possibly map field field work (cached maps and 3G connectivity allowing).iPad sensors include a tilt sensor and a magnetometer ('compass'). Both the Wifi and 3G versions have location capabilities, although the Wifi version is limited to Google's Wifi/domain address database - ie. you have to be connected to a known Wifi network. The 3G model also adds the ability to use 3G cell information, and contains a GPS receiver. Initial tests show the GPS receiver to have similar accuracy to typical consumer devices although I have known it to take a minute or two to get a lock (this might not be typical). On the positive side, the Wifi and 3G cell information allows the device to quickly get an initial rough location. So what map software currently exists for the iPad? Out-of-the-box, the iPad ships with a simple Google Maps application. This supports street maps, StreetView, traffic information, satellite images, current location, and route finding. It also supports multi-touch navigation. This is essential for the iPad's touch interface, but it is also a very compelling user interface that is more natural than using a mouse. I am glad to say that it works very well although it does not support map rotation (eg. like Bing Maps on the Microsoft Surface). This is probably deliberate: I could imagine that non-right angle rotation could confuse many users! It would also be computationally intensive and use valuable battery power. The AppStore does not, currently, contain many mapping applications. Most get decidedly mediocre reviews. Of those that I have tried, MapTap and WunderMap are worthy of note. MapTap is a very simple application that delivers OpenStreetMap data in a wide range of stylings. Functionally it is extremely limited, though. It will show your current location, and it can cache map data for offline use: that is it! There is no simple way to control which areas are downloaded for offline use, and there are no routing or logging capabilities. I would really like an application like this to include routing, logging, and the ability to explicitly download certain areas for offline use. Such an application would be ideal for on-road navigation for my Costa Rica work. WunderMap is produced by Wunderground, and displays weather data on Google Maps. Temperature data is available for stations around the world. Animated satellite overlays are available for most of the world (excluding the poles, which are not properly visible from geostationary orbit), and Doppler radar is available for the US. This is a great application. I will often use it to check on the weather or imminent rain, and end up navigating the underlying Google Maps. What about other web services? So far I have tried OpenLayers and Bing Maps, and the results are not good due to the lack of multi-touch interfaces. Navigation is virtually impossible and map controls are difficult or impossible to select correctly. In theory, a web map developer could add their own pan and zoom buttons outside of the map container. This would work, but it would also be an 'archaic' way of doing things (if something from the late 1990s can be archaic?). As OpenLayers is an active open source project, it is likely that the community will add multi-touch support in the near future. Indeed, Nathan Vander Wilt has already started work on some of the required modifications.
Bing Maps is less certain. Bing Maps can support multi-touch support using Silverlight and on the Microsoft Surface. However, the JavaScript 'AJAX' control does not support it. The iPad does not support Silverlight and must use the JavaScript control. There are rumors that Apple might be putting Bing on the iPad. Would this include Silverlight? Possibly, although it would add a new dimension to the whole Adobe Flash furore.
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