Where's Wally? No longer a challenge anymore.

There seems to be a new function or feature being added to the mobile phone everyday, what with ring tones (including ones us adults are not supposed to hear), photos, videos, calendars, messaging, PDA functions etc. The feature that I have found to be most valuable to me (apart from being able to make and receive phone calls of course) is the global positioning functionality. Being a traveler having a device that can tell me where I am, give me directions (as I drive) to my hotel and nearest restaurants and most importantly get me back to the airport during rush hour has been invaluable. Now this feature is being used to allow others to find you, track you, through business applications like those from Sprint/Nextel or for more personal applications like tracking your children from Verizon. I was wondering does this bother anyone?  Should we be of the mindset, if you are not doing anything wrong what does it matter? Do you care that there could be a history with your movements for the last 12 months? How long were you at that lunch appointment? Why did you stop in that part of town? What are some of the uses that this could be put to, we have already seen a few being available already. Is this the new private investigator tool for tracking people? I know a simple solution is to turn off the phone however when is the last time you turned off your mobile phone, for me it is only when I am on a plane. Let us know what you think.
Published Wednesday, June 28, 2006 12:13 PM by thindson
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# re: Where's Wally? No longer a challenge anymore. @ Wednesday, June 28, 2006 1:31 PM

Ah so some of you may be wondering where I got the "Where's Wally" title from. That would be because of my upbringing, in Australia (being a very British colony) the elusive character is called Wally, here in the US however he is called Waldo. Sorry about that, just treat it as something else new you have learned today. I hope this helps make the title have a little more meaning. The link below has more on Wally.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where's_Wally%3F

thindson

# re: Where's Wally? Don't answer yet! If you call right now, you also get... @ Thursday, June 29, 2006 4:34 PM

Oooo! That presses my buttons! Somebody's possibly tracking me without my permission? (I'm actually sorry for them!) Still, we've all seen in various TV depictions law enforcement catch the "bad guys" using their own phone's in-built GPS receivers. Just WHAT IS the law with regard to nabbing/using/selling a subscriber's coordinates? And on the subject of law, do subscribers themselves have a right to their own position data without paying the carrier for a service like VZnavigator?

On a more technical bent, what is "assisted GPS" that's referenced in context of E911 approaches? Does that imply that GPS chips in some phones gather, but do not actually process, GPS L1 data streams (instead leaving calculation to the carrier?) Do any readers know how to access GPS position data directly from their phones (without paying extra to their carrier for the privilege?)

I expect we'll see the next crop of WM5 phones emerge with integral full-fledged SiRF-III chips (or better). Microsoft’s collaboration with Qualcomm (announced April) specifically cited navigation solutions as one goal.

Even though it's tiny, I'm annoyed that I carry a separate GPS receiver (Holux GPSlim236) to navigate MS-PocketStreets maps with my supposed "Genius" phone! If Uncle Sam provides the GPS signal “free”, I paid Microsoft for the maps, and I bought a phone with GPS abilities – why must I pay my carrier to know where I am?

I’m sure I’m missing something here. Can any one shed some light? Or share their nav solution details? Thank you!

cricket

# re: Where's Wally? No longer a challenge anymore. @ Wednesday, July 05, 2006 11:14 AM

It appears that assisted GPS (A-GPS) uses cell tower GPS information and some network processing to assist the phone with the calculations which is needed for locations where the phone does not recieve great GPS signals. Check this description  http://elfurl.com/rdy6j

This explains why the GPS navigation features of the phone work well even inside buildings. The phone must still do its own calculations as you are able to get realtime information on speed, direction and location once you have established where you are in the first place.

I did a little searching on the Howard Forums www.howardforums.com for any hacks to get the GPS coordinates directly, there was this thread but it is not really what you were after. http://www.howardforums.com/archive/topic/489644-1.html

As far as using the phone as a navigation device I have found it great. The maps and location details that are downloaded to the phone seem reasonably accurate. If you are searching for a neaby business (ie a resturant) it might pay to call first to see if they are still open. The phone number information is also provided. I don't need microsoft's streets and trips anymore, not that that is a big saving :-)

thindson

# tHAWT Episode 10: Wireless @ Tuesday, September 05, 2006 3:29 PM

In this episode we discuss aspects of wireless networks. Your wireless “phone” is much more

Living in a connected world