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Snowflake

#19106 5-Feb-2008 16:03
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just loaded google maps mobile onto my treo and noticed that it put a flashing dot on the map in approximately the position I was in at the time - cool!  I dont even have GPS on my phone :-)

http://www.google.com/gmm/index.html


Google Maps with My Location (beta)

See your location on the map, with or without GPS. Save time and tedious keystrokes finding where you are, what's around you, and how to get there. Watch the video on the right to see how it works.

Press "0" and look for the blue dot:      or   

If you have a GPS-enabled device, this blue dot corresponds to your GPS location. At times, or if you do not have a GPS-enabled phone, you might see the blue dot surrounded by a light blue circle (as shown on the right) to indicate uncertainty about your location.

Why the uncertainty? The My Location feature takes information broadcast from mobile towers near you to approximate your current location on the map - it's not GPS, but it comes pretty close (approximately 1000m close, on average). We're still in beta, but we're excited to launch this feature and are constantly working to improve our coverage and accuracy.

The My Location feature is available for most web-enabled mobile phones, including Java, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Nokia/Symbian devices.




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freitasm
BDFL - Memuneh
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#108734 5-Feb-2008 17:04
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Yes, this feature was released in early December 2007. It can be quite accurate in some places, depending on the density of signals avaialble. And can be very wrong at some times too.

But better than nothing - it gives you an idea of where you are.




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Klathman
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  #108855 6-Feb-2008 10:45
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I guess when you're on a single cell site it works out where you must be based on your signal strength. It picks me up in the right area when I'm at home but not far enough away from the cell site. But then I've got areas in the house that receive freekishly good reception that you can't get closer to the cell site so I guess that is a fair guess on their part.

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