iPhone Battery and Location Services

So it appears that the iPhone 4S battery issues are growing larger by the day. On Saturday, numerous news outlets picked up on the story that had been swelling on Apple-focused forums for days now. Many customers are complaining that they are only getting a few hours of battery life, even if they aren't actively using the phone. Apple has been mum on the issue, leaving customer to try and troubleshoot the problem themselves.

You can read my quick write up of the situation at this Gather Technology post.

Even if the problem doesn't end up being the location-based services, the situation does raise some good questions about just how much data and power these services are using. Every time I hear about some must-have app these days, the app requires an almost constant connection to the web or to the tower for location-based services. The problem isn't a small one, and it's only going to grow larger. What the wireless manufacturers and carriers need to work on is a low-power way for devices to determine their location. Sure, it won't be easy, but if they don't figure out something soon that situation could be dire. I'll talk more tomorrow about the end of unlimited data, but its safe to say that with data getting capped and more and more apps requiring constant access, mobile technology could be in for a contraction.