Google Maps AGPS

[kyle4269]

I wouldnt call it a replacement. Its just another GPS program like live search.

[Bagbklyn]

I would like to know if anyone ever found answer for this. I though I wouldn't need this but with the new Google maps latitude it now becomes annoying because if you are indoors there's no way for you or your family to know where your at. Palm centro does this I wonder why the TP can't do it.

[dvdmon]

I'm not sure if this can be done on a device that has GPS built in - ie I think Google knows your device has GPS and then doesn't offer the other type of location setting.

That being said, if you don't have a Touch Pro, this cell-tower triangulation will work unless you are on Sprint, who, as I understand it, blocks third-party apps from accessing cell-tower info. At least that was how it was the last time I checked. I guess they are concerned about eating into their profit for Sprint Family Locator, lol!

By the way, not sure if you guys have seen, but Google Maps was updated today with a new AWESOME feature - it syncs with your gps to publish your location to people who you specify as friends - similar to something like Brightkite but automatically. It works really well on my Sprint TP. You can turn the GPS on and off whenever you want, thus have it update as your moving from place to place, or just once you ge there. I've been waiting for such a feature from someone and Google has finally made it. They still are missing a lot of other nice things that Brightkite has, but just being able to updtate automatically is huge!

[Bagbklyn]

This is the feature im talking about, my girlfriend has the palm centro on sprint and it works. The thing about the GPS feature is that it doesn't work indoors, so if you are at a club, work or inside a structure it says unknown location.

[dvdmon]

Originally Posted by Bagbklyn

This is the feature im talking about, my girlfriend has the palm centro on sprint and it works. The thing about the GPS feature is that it doesn't work indoors, so if you are at a club, work or inside a structure it says unknown location.

That's great that it works now. I remember on my 700WX it would not I think.

Anyway, you can manually set your location by clicking on your Privacy settings.

[PDAPhoneJunkie]

Originally Posted by rpmccormick

Sorry I put this in upgrades, I meant to post in the TP root.

Before I got the TP I tried out the G1 on TMo. It's google maps allowed you to get an idea of location (within a large circle) without enabling the GPS. Once you enabled the GPS, it was much more accurate.

Our Google Maps app has a location button, but if you click it without enabling GPS it says it is currently unavailable. In the older version of Google Maps, clicking the location button without first enabling the GPS said something like "Location is not supported on your device". Basically, the location button is designed to somehow figure out aproximate location without using the real GPS reciever, but it doesn't work with the TP. I was just wondering if it was possible to make it work.

No one has answered your question here. So I will explain. WIth CDMA phones you have to have GPS on in order for location to work. GSM phones work without it because they can get your location from cell towers. The G1 is GSM, so it worked fine. But, beware that GPS is the only one that is accurate, cell towers location is way off. We have discussed this on other devices for a long time. Please use the search feature. Hope that clears up your queston

[dvdmon]

Originally Posted by PDAPhoneJunkie

No one has answered your question here. So I will explain. WIth CDMA phones you have to have GPS on in order for location to work. GSM phones work without it because they can get your location from cell towers. The G1 is GSM, so it worked fine. But, beware that GPS is the only one that is accurate, cell towers location is way off. We have discussed this on other devices for a long time. Please use the search feature. Hope that clears up your queston

I disagree. This doesn't have to do with GSM vs. CDMA. Both allow for getting your location without the use of real GPS. Sprint has Sprint Family Locator that lets you track your members of your family on a Sprint plan no matter if they have GPS on their phone or not. I've used this service to track family members who had phones that definitely did not have GPS. The centro doesn't have GPS yet Bagbklyn above specifically says that it can do this.

[akijikan]

Google Maps uses cell-id for non-gps location. Cell-id is GSM technology.

[Darkjedi]

Seems to me like the OP has misinterpreted what the difference between AGPS and GPS is.

BigDiesel07 posted this link in the Extended Features forum, but i'll direct link it here
http://www.wmexperts.com/articles/gp..._tutorial.html

AGPS still relies on an internal GPS chip to triangulate. A normal working AGPS chip would be able to triangulate within a couple seconds and be even more accurate than standalone GPS. As the article states, AGPS is just GPS that takes additional information from the cell towers to aid in calculating your position.

The "AGPS" the OP originally referred to is something that the original iPhone had that only used cell towers to attempt to triangulate. This technically wasn't even GPS as it didn't use satellites at all.

As far as I know, and as PDAPhoneJunkie and ajikajan stated, this feature only works on GSM networks that broadcasts the timestamps necessary for triangulation. Your phone also has to be set up to be able to interpret these broadcasts and the software to interpret that from your phone.

Originally Posted by dvdmon

I disagree. This doesn't have to do with GSM vs. CDMA. Both allow for getting your location without the use of real GPS. Sprint has Sprint Family Locator that lets you track your members of your family on a Sprint plan no matter if they have GPS on their phone or not. I've used this service to track family members who had phones that definitely did not have GPS. The centro doesn't have GPS yet Bagbklyn above specifically says that it can do this.

All CDMA phones are required to have a GPS chip in them now. While the phones may not have user accessible GPS, it can still broadcast your location to your carrier. You're phone is required to be able to transmit your GPS data within seconds to emergency channels if you ever call 911 as well.

[Yankees368]

Will this new google ap work at all without having GPS manually turned on constantly?