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Mobile Google Maps to Offer GPS-Like Positioning

Error rates, etc.

I played with Navizon a bit, and my experience was, it's accurate to within several buildings of where you're actually located, when it can find a wi-fi hotspot it recognizes. (EG. I was in a McDonalds that had free wi-fi, and Navizon pinpointed me on its map as being about 1 or 2 doors down from exactly where it was.)

When it doesn't have the aid of a known wi-fi hotspot to help locate you, it often reports it can't get a fix on your location at all, or shows something far less accurate.

I would suspect triangulating your location based on strictly cellphone towers relies on being within range of at least 2 or 3 of them. In some cases, I think your phone is only able to really communicate with 1, so Navizon gives up and says it can't locate you?

I have to agree that this is a "good thing", in the sense that I'd love to have this capability on my phone without paying to buy it as commercial software. On the flip-side, it sure does seem like an innovative thing that the Navizon people deserve the credit for building. Can't Google negotiate with them to just buy their product out or something? Seems like the "fair" thing to do.


WildCowboy said:
10 city blocks is a pretty big error bar when you're trying to get directions to something in a city...but it's better than nothing.
Click to expand...
 
This was in Navizon, and credit to them for doing it... but coming from Google/Apple would make it far more accessible and with a much larger database of locations.

arn
 
Does it require an EDGE connection?

Just curious. Someone just posted something about it working with WiFi but I'm not sure how. The video looks like it requires cell towers, therefore EDGE (or whatever service your mobile uses). Any ideas? Maybe those who opt to remove EDGE data plans from their ATT accounts should think twice.
 
Sounds cool, but I would like REAL GPS. Also, wasn't legislation passed in the USA after 9/11 where GPS had to be in all cell phones so people can find you? Not exactly sure if that's true, much less actually in the iPhone. If it is, it should be fairly simple to tap into the GPS thing and see where you are (and other people, which is kinda freaky).
 
arn said:
This was in Navizon, and credit to them for doing it... but coming from Google/Apple would make it far more accessible and with a much larger database of locations.

arn
Click to expand...
It seems like a good idea, but is it really only accurate within 10 blocks? That might not be very helpful if you're starving.
 
deep said:
Just curious. Someone just posted something about it working with WiFi but I'm not sure how. The video looks like it requires cell towers, therefore EDGE (or whatever service your mobile uses). Any ideas? Maybe those who opt to remove EDGE data plans from their ATT accounts should think twice.
Click to expand...

Navizon's solution also used Wifi hotspots. Google's does not appear to.

arn
 
so i just updated my sprint phone w/ the new version of google maps...and now..GOOGLE MAPS doesn't work :/
everytime i try loading it i get "application terminated"...well that just sucks
 
Just downloaded the new version with this feature included. (v2.0.0)

Not supported on my Sony Erricson. Only available for the "smart phone" type phones.

Was looking forward to testing it out.

John
 
amac4me said:
Wow :eek:, this is really cool stuff. This will see significant refinements and improvements over the next few years. I wonder how (if at all) it may be used with the new platform Google is building for mobile phones.
Click to expand...
Yeah I agree. They can keep adding infrastructure so that the phones can get more and more accurate. And to provide increased coverage. Maybe someday they could even launch satellites into orbit to give really good positioning capabilities over large areas!

The only thing that makes this even remotely cool is it would give GPS-like features to those of use with iPhones. But honestly I'm not sure how helpful it is to only be navigated to within a quarter mile of my destination and only in places with enough towers. But regardless, the reality is that this is lame and just a hack for devices that don't include a GPS receiver. The "refinements and improvements over the next few years" will be in GPS technology, not this lame waste of time and resources.
 
deep said:
Just curious. Someone just posted something about it working with WiFi but I'm not sure how. The video looks like it requires cell towers, therefore EDGE (or whatever service your mobile uses). Any ideas? Maybe those who opt to remove EDGE data plans from their ATT accounts should think twice.
Click to expand...

I think there are 2 parts to this: (1) having your cell phone actually be found. This will use cell phone frequencies (GSM or whatever), not edge. (2) Accessing that data. Not sure whether this would be a website or web-enabled app or what, which would require a edge/wi-fi.
 
That's cool, but I guess that means my iPhone is now officially behind the times.

Thanks a lot apple, for making me wait till February.
 
Navizon never worked properly for me. I live in the semi-large city of Milwaukee, and out of the many times I used it, it only produced a result twice (when I was on WiFi). I welcome this new feature coming directly through Google, as I'm sure their database is gigantic.

Also Apple needs to update the iPhone firmware stat with this new functionality -- even if it's in beta.

... I mean, GMail was in beta for years...
 
amac4me said:
Wow :eek:, this is really cool stuff. This will see significant refinements and improvements over the next few years. I wonder how (if at all) it may be used with the new platform Google is building for mobile phones.
Click to expand...

I don't really see the point. 10 city blocks? That's 10 blocks wide by 10 blocks tall == 100 square blocks.

What if I'm looking for the nearest Starbucks? It would have me walking past 4 other starbucks just to get to the one that it thinks is closest. What's wrong with adding a real GPS chip?
 
I can't believe this thing has gotten 28 positive and 0 negative ratings so far. Did you even read the summery? It can locate you to within 10 CITY BLOCKS! For most places that can be over half a mile off. For navigating around a city, it's completely and utterly useless. What good is navigation if it thinks you're 10 streets away from the one you're actually on? You probably won't see this on the iPhone for another 6 months at least, if it even comes at all.
 
grappler said:
That's cool, but I guess that means my iPhone is now officially behind the times.

Thanks a lot apple, for making me wait till February.
Click to expand...

February would be the earliest time, if it even comes at all.

The verizon phone I got 5 years ago had GPS in it. Your iPhone was "officially behind the times" 5 years ago.
 
deep said:
Just curious. Someone just posted something about it working with WiFi but I'm not sure how. The video looks like it requires cell towers, therefore EDGE (or whatever service your mobile uses). Any ideas? Maybe those who opt to remove EDGE data plans from their ATT accounts should think twice.
Click to expand...
EDGE isn't needed to talk to the cell towers. Otherwise no phone would make calls without a data plan.
 
Hmmm... This obviously isn't a substitute for real GPS if it is only accurate to a 10 block radius, not good for driving directions, especially if you're in a city or area you're not familiar with, and don't know any of the street names or landmarks.

I'll give it a shot on my Sprint Mogul later today and report back. Might hold me over until HTC finally gets their act together and releases that improved firmware and lets me use the built in GPS chip on the thing along with EvDO Rev. A...

EDGE isn't needed to talk to the cell towers. Otherwise no phone would make calls without a data plan.
Click to expand...

No, but EDGE is used to download map data for Google Maps, as well as for when you use the search feature. Turn of EDGE and most of the functionality of the iPhone goes right down the toilet. Maps, YouTube, Email, Visual Voicemail, Safari, iTune store, ect...
 
FX120 said:
Hmmm... This obviously isn't a substitute for real GPS if it is only accurate to a 10 block radius, not good for driving directions, especially if you're in a city or area you're not familiar with, and don't know any of the street names or landmarks.

I'll give it a shot on my Sprint Mogul later today and report back. Might hold me over until HTC finally gets their act together and releases that improved firmware and lets me use the built in GPS chip on the thing along with EvDO Rev. A...
Click to expand...

It isn't a subsitute per se. It can be more accurate the more towers you are near, just like GPS and it's satellites.

Well until the iPhone gets GPS it is the best we have.
 
anubis said:
I can't believe this thing has gotten 28 positive and 0 negative ratings so far. Did you even read the summery? It can locate you to within 10 CITY BLOCKS! For most places that can be over half a mile off. For navigating around a city, it's completely and utterly useless. What good is navigation if it thinks you're 10 streets away from the one you're actually on? You probably won't see this on the iPhone for another 6 months at least, if it even comes at all.
Click to expand...

Useless? Not at all. The 10 city blocks thing is worst case scenario -- having experience with other cell phones that use this technology, it is typically dead on. Even if it is off a street or two, you can zoom in with the iPhone and find a corner (which will pinpoint your area completely)-- navigating an interactive map for a minimal amount of time is so much easier than finding and typing in an address.

Plus the accuracy increases as more and more data is mapped. With a ton of people using Gmaps across the country, the database gets larger and larger -- thus providing more accurate pinpoints as time goes by.

If the technology was completely useless, Google, Navizon and other companies would not have even bothered.
 
guzhogi said:
Sounds cool, but I would like REAL GPS. Also, wasn't legislation passed in the USA after 9/11 where GPS had to be in all cell phones so people can find you? Not exactly sure if that's true, much less actually in the iPhone. If it is, it should be fairly simple to tap into the GPS thing and see where you are (and other people, which is kinda freaky).
Click to expand...

My phone has GPS but it's turned off for all but emergency services ... whatever that means. I think the point is this is quicker than GPS and consumes less power ... it's like GPS Lite ...
 
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