

Google To Launch Large Scale Geo-Services - jasonlbaptiste
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/05/31/google-to-launch-large-scale-geo-services/

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technoguyrob
Could this mean an open-source alternative to Loopt?

I suppose not, since Loopt is much more exact. Can Google only give a rough
circle of several hundred feet, or a quite precise location?

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tlrobinson
Google can use any number of methods to determine the location. If the device
has a GPS receiver they'll obviously use that, otherwise they'll fall back to
cell tower and WiFi data, like the iPhone does.

GPS can be accurate to a few meters, WiFi to a few hundred meters, and cell
tower quite a bit less accurate. In practice the iPhone's location feature
very well in populated areas.

Desktop computers can even use IP addresses as a very rough estimate (maybe
down to the city or county).

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tlrobinson
If Google was smart they would have collected cell tower and WiFi data along
with the Google Maps Street View images. They've already canvased most of the
major cities in the U.S. once.

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jasonlbaptiste
google should buy the company being used by apple for wifi + cell tower
reception.

