iOS (and other mobile operating systems for that matter) work very well with GPS. Photographs can be geotagged, nearby points of interest can be found, directions can be given, and so on. Part of the reason these devices work so well with location-based services is that they have GPS built right inall the iPhones after the original have it and so does the 3G iPad/iPad 2. So whats the point of an accessory GPS receiver for iOS devices?

For fans of GPS (anything from casual mappers to vacationers to hikers) there a few reasons why an external receiver makes sense. The most logical is that not all the iOS devices have GPS built inaside from the original (2G) iPhone, there are the WiFi iPads, and then all the iPod touch models. These work perfectly well with GPS, they just lack the on-board hardware.

Another reason to add GPS to your iDevice is that the internal receiverlike most internal receiversjust isnt that great. An external one might suck down more power, but they are typically more accurate and a great deal more consistent.

A final reason, and admittedly a niche case, is when your are travelling internationally with your iPhone. If you keep your smartphone in airplane mode it will not allow the internal GPS to work, despite the fact that GPS transmissions arent part of your data plan. (GPS cant be made to be a airplane mode exception, like WiFi.)

The Bad Elf receiver is a tiny device (about 1-inch by 1-inch) with a 30-pin connection on one side and Micro USB on the other. It plugs into your iDevice, just like your charger, and when iOS sees it built-in logic will recognize the Bad Elf GPS signal as being more accurate then that of the on-board chip. The USB port is used for charging the phone/tablet/media player while GPS is active (the Elf is small but relatively power-hungry). Finally there is an LED indicator that tells if you if you are acquiring a signal or have locked on.

Its crucial that the receiver be compatible with all the apps you want to use your GPS with. And the good news is that the Bad Elf isthey have a long list of them on their site. The top picks like Motion X GPS, TomTom, Navigon, Magellan, RunKeeper, GeoCaching, and Nike+ are all there.

So how does it work? Rather well actually. The Bad Elf and its MTK chipset is more consistent then the iPhone 4s GPS chipset which is nice to see, but the more important point is that is can add GPS to my WiFi iPad 2. Sure, at $99 maybe I should have gotten the 3G model (a $129 upgrade) but this way I can remove the receiver and use it with other products, plus I can use GPS in airplane mode. And, if I really want to geek out, I can also add a 30-pin extension cable and place the Bad Elf a few feet away from my device.

There are some issues with the Bad Elf, but they are relatively minor. Obviously there is the priceat $99 this isnt exactly an impulse purchase unless if you have something special planned. And then there is battery life because if you dont have this plugged in via USB youll drain your battery life quicker then you otherwise would. An iPhone 4 will not get through a full day of GPS usage, I managed to us about 50% of my battery life in 4-5 hours. GPS lock time is a bit slow on the Bad Elf, but its usually under a minute from a cold start so its barely worth mentioning.

And then you have the logistics which arent a problem with they Bad Elf, but they are an unavoidable complication. Here is a scenario: say you want to add GPS to your iPad. The Bad Elf will do that, but without a data connection you wont be able to grab maps in real-time. That means youll need to preload maps, which means an application that works with cached maps. Popular ones like OffMaps and MotionX GPS do this, but youll have to make sure you get maps that are up top the quality you need and then make sure you cache them beforehandthey can be dozens to hundreds of megabytes. Of course you can record a GPS track without a map, but this wont be helpful if you want to use the location data for navigation purposes.

To summarize, the Bad Elf with an iPad or iPod touch is great combination. There are some issues that have to be worked around but if you are using the Bad Elf for what is is designed forsimply getting a GPS signalit does a great job. Youll have to think through some issues, like battery life (more if you are on an iPhone or iPod touch than the iPad) and caching maps, but those both can be worked around relatively easily. And keep in mind that the Bad Elf is Apple approved (it even works with its own app) where some similar devices require jailbreaking to work.

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