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21-06-2008, 09:29 AM
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Regular
Group: Regulars
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A-GPS in the iPhone...question
Hi all,
Just wondering if anyone knew anything about this...I know that A-GPS grabs info from the cell-network to find the closest satellite so you don't have the "warm up time" of regular GPS, but in the iPhone blurb Apple seems to say that A-GPS won't just use the mobile net to get this, they will be able to use a wi-fi network too?
Does that mean if someone was clever enough my wi-fi base station (with dd-wrt loaded) would be able to grab that data from the net and pump it to my iPhone? Or would we only be talking about hotspots that have a bit more complex back-end than that?
It would be cool if a wifi router could do this.
Any thoughts?
__________________
PowerPC 6100/60AV, PowerPC G3, 12" G4 iBook, 17" G5 iMac, 24" white iMac, 30Gb white iPod, white PSP slim'n'lite, white 16Gb iPhone
"Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb"
- Batman
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21-06-2008, 09:41 AM
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Regular
Group: Regulars
Location: S37°56.2' E145°07.6'
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Quote:
Originally Posted by laprius
Does that mean if someone was clever enough my wi-fi base station (with dd-wrt loaded) would be able to grab that data from the net and pump it to my iPhone? Or would we only be talking about hotspots that have a bit more complex back-end than that?
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The iPhone doesn't get any information through the wireless networks it can see. All it cares about is the presence of nearby networks. With that it can contact some database somewhere and ask "If I can see the wi-fi networks X, Y and Z, then where must I be?"
This of course means that someone has to have mapped the location of the networks near your location. |
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21-06-2008, 09:44 AM
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Member
Group: Users Awaiting Email Confirmation
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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I think currently only the american wifi is mapped. In Australia it will just use cell towers and the GPS to get the location.
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21-06-2008, 09:45 AM
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Regular
Group: Regulars
Location: Sydney
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mactalkuser8282
I think currently only the american wifi is mapped. In Australia it will just use cell towers and the GPS to get the location.
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My personal wi-fi has been mapped by someone because my iPhone locates me to within the meter at home |
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21-06-2008, 09:46 AM
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Regular
Group: Regulars
Location: S37°56.2' E145°07.6'
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mactalkuser8282
I think currently only the american wifi is mapped. In Australia it will just use cell towers and the GPS to get the location.
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Some Australian wi-fi networks are mapped. I can accurately get my location when I'm in Melbourne's CBD. Out in the 'burbs though I never get an accurate location even if I'm in range of dozens of networks. |
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21-06-2008, 09:55 AM
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Regular
Group: Regulars
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That is cool! I love the concept of it...I wonder who maps it....be cool if there was a site you could submit the co-ords for your own network thereby helping the cause 
__________________
PowerPC 6100/60AV, PowerPC G3, 12" G4 iBook, 17" G5 iMac, 24" white iMac, 30Gb white iPod, white PSP slim'n'lite, white 16Gb iPhone
"Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb"
- Batman
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21-06-2008, 10:10 AM
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Ex-InGenius :p
Group: Regulars
Location: Proud owner of a funky 3x2 in Ellenbrook.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by laprius
That is cool! I love the concept of it...I wonder who maps it....be cool if there was a site you could submit the co-ords for your own network thereby helping the cause |
There is just such a site. If you search this forum for Skyhook it will lead you to the company that is mapping the worlds WiFi systems.
__________________
iPhone v1.1.3, Macbook C2D 2ghz. iMac alu. 20" C2D 2ghz. iMac 20" CD 2ghz & Cube 450mhz.
Bisho's blog Thoughts and musings of a bored person
Flickr - updated regularly
Older photo's - here |
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21-06-2008, 10:34 AM
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Regular
Group: Regulars
Location: Melbourne
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I don't get why it needs the cell-towers? Surely GPS is accurate enough, why does it need to be 'assisted'? The only reason I can think of is if you are indoors, and it can't get a GPS signal?
__________________
Jaali.com
There's a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line - Oscar Levant
15" MacBook Pro, 2.5Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, 4GB 667 Mhz DDR2 SDRAM, 512MB VRAM, 250GB HDD
24" Dell 2408WFP Monitor | Wacom Intuous3 6x8 | Nikon D70 & D300 | 160GB iPod Classic |
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21-06-2008, 10:57 AM
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Regular
Group: Regulars
Location: Sydney
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaali
I don't get why it needs the cell-towers? Surely GPS is accurate enough, why does it need to be 'assisted'? The only reason I can think of is if you are indoors, and it can't get a GPS signal?
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Partly that, but it also reduces the time needed to get a location because it doesn't need to connect to all the satellites before giving your location. It just helps things along.
__________________
White MacBook 2.0ghz 1GB RAM 120GB HDD
Aluminum iMac 2.4ghz 3GB RAM 320GB HDD
Black iPhone 3G 16GB
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21-06-2008, 01:50 PM
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Regular
Group: Regulars
Location: Brisbane, Australia
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You don't get turn-by-turn directions, do you? It just works off Google maps?
I must look and see if TomTom have a version planned for the iPhone. Can anyone see a problem with that? The GPS chip and antennae are the same as,say, a HTC Diamond?
Kevin
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21-06-2008, 02:08 PM
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Regular
Group: Regulars
Location: where it's damn hot in summer and freezing in winter.
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There was talk about TomTom having a version ready for the iPhone, but am not sure if this was just yet another rumour or if there were any truth to it. I guess we'll just have to wait until the App Store is up and running, then we'll find out.
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Macbook 13" 2.1GHz, 4GB RAM – iMac 20" 2GHz 4GB RAM – iMac 20" 2Ghz 2GB RAM – TV – 2 16GB Black iPhones – 160GB iPod Classic.
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21-06-2008, 02:22 PM
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Regular
Group: Regulars
Location: Brisbane, Australia
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21-06-2008, 02:26 PM
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Regular
Group: Regulars
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaali
I don't get why it needs the cell-towers? Surely GPS is accurate enough, why does it need to be 'assisted'? The only reason I can think of is if you are indoors, and it can't get a GPS signal?
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When you fire up some GPS' (like my current unit) it can take 5 minutes sometimes to get signals from the sats...it needs a few (i think a min of three) to triagulate your position.
A-GPS tells the iPhone "you can see these satellites at the moment...here's where to find them" drastically improving startup time.
Assisted GPS - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Good article if you are interested.
__________________
PowerPC 6100/60AV, PowerPC G3, 12" G4 iBook, 17" G5 iMac, 24" white iMac, 30Gb white iPod, white PSP slim'n'lite, white 16Gb iPhone
"Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb"
- Batman
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21-06-2008, 06:20 PM
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Regular
Group: Regulars
Location: Sydney
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__________________
White MacBook 2.0ghz 1GB RAM 120GB HDD
Aluminum iMac 2.4ghz 3GB RAM 320GB HDD
Black iPhone 3G 16GB
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21-06-2008, 06:42 PM
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Regular
Group: Regulars
Location: Brisbane, Australia
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bah humbug. Steve will do a deal...  |
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