The yearning for GPS support on the iPhone has been there since its launch last year. 3G iPhone in this case is a dream come true. The worry for now is the current Apple SDK agreement, which states:

Applications may not be designed or marketed for real time route guidance; automatic or autonomous control of vehicles, aircraft, or other mechanical devices; dispatch or fleet management; or emergency or life-saving purposes.

Will this agreement really bar third parties from providing accurate navigation software?

If the answer is yes, we are all in a mess as the GPS feature on the new phone will not be something very extraordinary. However, this doesn’t look like what Apple is really going to do to us. We have two possible conclusions; first Apple might be planning to provide real time GPS route guidance straight from their desk. The second possibility is Apple might have already chosen a specific partner. For now, the second possibility looks more realistic if this chit chat is true. Netherlands based manufacturer of automotive navigation systems TomTom claims that they have GPS application ready for the 3G iPhone. It seems they also have tested the software on the iPhone and is running good.

The cost and time for the launch is not known yet, but June 27th is what we can predict for now. With over 15 million members, TomTom is the largest satellite navigation community. We are sure that TomTom on the iPhone would be a very cool navigation tool, considering the number of satisfied users of both iPhone and TomTom. This move will be a blessing for both the parties; TomTom to recover its loss and for the iPhone to achieve the 10 million sales target (which anyway is not impossible). If things turn out good, it is going to be a dead end for the GPS standalone Hardware market, as all of us will prefer carrying one device than to carry two.