Maps are great if you know exactly where you’re currently located, but what good are they when you’re completely lost? Navizon is a great solution to help locate your approximate position based on cell-tower signal triangulation (we’ve been using on our iPhones with great results for some time now), and now Google is treading all over their turf. With Google’s announcement of their new “My Location” service on compatible phones with Google Maps for Mobile marks the launch of a public test of the new faux-GPS position location feature.
Google says they’ve compiled a database of cell-tower locations through previous Google Maps users, and has employed some “algorithms” (we call them “triangulation equations”) to quickly give Google Maps for Mobile users a fairly accurate lock of their current position. By simply pressing ‘0’ on your keypad, the service can pinpoint locations to within several meters in optimal condition – presumably with at least three cell-towers in range. The “My Location” service is available for free to anyone with Google Maps for Mobile and a compatible cellphone – its in open beta testing, but is available to most BlackBerry, S60, and Windows Mobile users.
Users with integrated GPS receivers can use the new “My Location” service for Google Maps Mobile to complement their satellite position-fix when buildings or mountains obscure the line-of-sight required for a GPS signal-lock. Head on over to Google’s download page to find out if your phone is compatible with the upgrade.
[Via: Reuters]