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Some L.A. located iPhones think they live in Boulder, Colorado

By Alan Friedman

Published: Mar 22, 2010, 5:12 AM

Some L.A. located iPhones think they live in Boulder, Colorado

Due to a GPS malfunction on certain iPhone models, units in the Los Angeles, California area are showing up as residing in Boulder, Colorado when using the GPS. More specifically, no matter where your true location is in the South Bay area of California, those with the defective positioning system are close to Norm's Plumbing and Heating near Spruce Street in Colorado. The GPS is used to pinpoint your location for apps like Google Maps, which is supposed to be able to find your location within seconds. Is there something special about Norm's plumbing shop? "We're just a small plumbing shop over here," said Ernie, who picked up the phone at Norm's when called by the Daily Breeze.

The GPS malfunction has been a topic of conversation at some Mac Forums. One user named OK3wire wrote, "For about the past week now, my standard 3GS map app has been erroneously showing me as being located in Boulder, CO" even though he has never left L.A. He asks, "Why is this happening?" And that is a great question. A spokesman for AT&T puts the blame on Apple. The Cupertino based manufacturer did not respond to an email and phone call. Ironically, Boulder is one of the cities being considered by Google for a 1GB per second fiber optic Internet pipeline. Thursday was the beginning of Boulder Fiber Week which is the city's effort to influence Google to build the network in Boulder instead of other places under consideration like Duluth, Minnesota and Topeka, Kansas.

While online Forums are suggesting ways to fix the GPS problem, none of the solutions are working. A member named SpaceKitty writes that, "This is because there is no difference between Boulder, Colo. and California." For those with confused Apple touchscreen devices, we would suggest making a call to your nearest Apple dealer, For those in California, that would not be the location closest to Norm's Plumbing.

Apple iPhone 3GS Specifications | Review

source: DailyBreeze via Engadget

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.

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