Does Microsoft Surface have GPS?

Anonymous
2012-10-16T16:40:26+00:00

Simple question, cannot find the answer.  A couple of websites states that GPS is there, however I find nothing on www.surface.com.  The website that state that GPS is there have said that since june and I don't know how they would know?

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Anonymous
2012-12-12T16:23:17+00:00

There is no GPS on the Surface. It uses location services based on the internet connection.

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btbt 11,841 Reputation points
2012-10-16T18:47:26+00:00

As it's a WiFi only device, there is no GPS, but it does have location services as part of the operating system.

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Anonymous
2012-12-26T22:54:36+00:00

Hi,

Surface for Windows RT does not support an external GPS device such as the one you refer to.

Surface for Windows RT can look up your location based on WiFi signals in your vicinity, as long as the Surface is also Internet-connected.  Apps such as Maps or Weather, or web sites through Internet Explorer, can use this information.

Hope this helps

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Anonymous
2013-04-02T19:11:00+00:00

Hello Myron,

Surface RT does not have GPS, however it does have Location Services which allows certain programs to know your location based on IP address.

Was there a specific app you needed to use with GPS?

Best regards.

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  1. Anonymous
    2013-01-30T20:37:16+00:00

    That all sounds reasonable, but it's not. People with money and travelers including business travelers, of which there are millions, want seamless ease of use. These are people who drove early iPad adoption and made it mainstream. Tethering to your phone

    • with its own limited battery life with wifi on - is a fiddly joke. As is GPS on a phone once you've used in on an iPad.

    Surface Pro has three big flaws for the tens of millions of high end, cashed up iPad users looking for something more and willing to spend right now:

    • Highly inferior app market (as of now)
    • No 3G/GPS
    • Poor battery life

    1&3 can't be helped, and aren't dealbreakers, but #2 can be helped. These three flaws together mean that millions of people who would otherwise have bought a Surface and convinced others to get them, will buy an iPad. Microsoft has made a stupendous mistake, and will miss out on the tens of millions of guaranteed sales from people who need and want this functionality plus the excellence of Surface. It's like making a car which overcomes all the shortcomings of other cars, amazing brakes, steering, acceleration, comfort, and then giving it fuel tank with 50 mile range. Great for the city, but anyone who travels will not buy one. And then telling people to carry gasoline if they're not happy. It's exceeding, incredibly, absurdly stupid.

    Anyway I don't want to keep bashing the Surface, which is an amazing device. Consider this a plea for MS people to get their head examined and please please please put 3G & GPS in the Pro as soon as you can, so that most of the people I know can stop relying on Apple's hobbled products. We WANT something better. Surface Pro without 3G/GPS is an absurdly brilliant beautiful car with a 50 mile fuel tank.

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