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How accurate is the new iPhone 'location' feature?
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Jan 2001
Status:
Offline
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Anyone get the update for their iPhone? How accurate is the 'location'/'pinpoint' feature in google maps for you? I only heard feedback from one person who said it was 20 ft off. Not bad!
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Mac Elite
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Aiken, South Carolina, USA
Status:
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Mine missed my location by one street over.
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Apple II GS | Powerbook 165 | iMac Rev. A 96mb RAM| iBook G3 500mhz, 128mb RAM | Power Macintosh G5 1.6ghz, 2.25gb RAM | Black MacBook 2ghz, 2gb RAM | iPhone Rev. A 8gb HD
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Grizzled Veteran
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Athens, Greece
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it works extremely well even with wifi triangulation on the ipod touch!! It got my position exactly right!
Not worth the 18euro upgrade but at least it's working....
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Professional Poster
Join Date: May 2001
Location: Hampton Roads, VA
Status:
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Originally Posted by timmerk
Anyone get the update for their iPhone? How accurate is the 'location'/'pinpoint' feature in google maps for you? I only heard feedback from one person who said it was 20 ft off. Not bad!
I've tried it twice and so far it's been pretty damned accurate. Enough that if I didn't know where I was the directions it gave me would have been a life saver.
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All glory to the hypnotoad.
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Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: London
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Pretty damn impressive. Got to the right part of my street, even.
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"most people are fools, most authority is malignant, god does not exist and everything is wrong" - Ted Nelson
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: UK
Status:
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Originally Posted by phobos
it works extremely well even with wifi triangulation on the ipod touch!! It got my position exactly right!
Not worth the 18euro upgrade but at least it's working....
Cool! Didn't know the location finder part was on the iPod touch version.
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It'll be much easier if you just comply.
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: in front of my Mac
Status:
Offline
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Originally Posted by ajprice
Cool! Didn't know the location finder part was on the iPod touch version.
Yeah, it's possible because they're not just triangulating cell phone towers, but they're also accessing the Skyhook Wireless "WPS" database. That tells you where you are by checking what wireless networks you can detect.
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Always within bluetooth range
Status:
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I'm spending the winter ocean front so I don't have a good cell tower on the "other side" to help with cell tower triangulation and there aren't many hotspots near to where I am. So, my locator is about as poor as it probably can be ... it's only locating me down to about a half mile radius. Can't complain though, at least it has me somewhat close to where I actually am (plenty adequate for directions, etc.). When I drive into town today, I expect the locator to be much more accurate.
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Illinois
Status:
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I've only tried it once so far, but it got the location of my house pretty much exactly right. Even if it's a little off, it's still hugely useful, since the main us of it is to get a starting point for getting directions. That was always a pain before.
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Forum Regular
Join Date: Nov 2004
Status:
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I find if I'm using wifi it works great. Using just the Edge network the location was way off. Well, enough that it's a couple of blocks away from the true location. Wifi, in comparison, was just about exact. It's more of a fun convenience compared to a true GPS system. I'm still grateful for it though!
I'm about 5-10 minutes from my state's capital city so there are plenty of towers around. Well, for reception there are...maybe not for the triangulation feature. When I go downtown I'll give the Edge version a try to see if it's more accurate there.
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Baltimore
Status:
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Wow. Mine was about 3/4 mile off. I tried it in a suburban area, maybe the towers were too far apart for a more accurate reading.
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Me Fail English? That's Unpossible!
R.W.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: May 2000
Location: Not Quite Phoenix
Status:
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Originally Posted by crabsandbeer
Mine was about 3/4 mile off. I tried it in a suburban area, maybe the towers were too far apart for a more accurate reading.
More like 1 and 3/4 miles off for me. Also in the burbs... Both in a full-bars area and in an area with barely a single bar. Signal strength doesn't seem to matter. Got an airport run tonight, which takes me right through downtown. I'll be very interested to see how close the triangulation gets in a dense urban core.
Update: At Phoenix Sky Harbor International, on EDGE, it pinpointed exactly which parking lot I was in. Along the freeway, through Downtown Phoenix, it was pretty accurate as well. Back in the burbs... Full bars or 1 bar, it's still up to 2 miles off 'round these parts.
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Last edited by DigitalEl; Jan 21, 2008 at 08:47 PM.
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Jalen's dad. Carrie's husband. partisan. Bleu blanc et rouge.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Vente: Achat
Status:
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I'm in New York city and it has been off by several blocks - even putting me across the river in New Jersey once.
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Nov 2000
Location: Boston
Status:
Offline
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It let me know I'm somewhere in the vicinity of Boston. Pretty useless unless you're REALLY lost.
I exaggerate, but it usually gives me about a one mile radius in the suburbs.
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-Toyin
13" MBA 1.8ghz i7
"It's all about the rims that ya got, and the rims that ya coulda had"
S.T. 1995
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Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: manticore or people's republic of haven
Status:
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first time I tried last night (wifi @ home) it was off enough that I didn't recognize the subrb/area it gave me...can't figure out how to get the name up show again nut when I tested st work today using edge was right on using my wifi router here
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some people are like slinkys: they don't do much, but are fun to push down stairs.
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Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: In a constant state of panic...
Status:
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Within a mile over Edge, but several miles off when Wi-Fi is on.
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Addicted to MacNN
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Toronto
Status:
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Pretty much on the money in downtown Toronto.
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Professional Poster
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Smallish town in Ohio
Status:
Offline
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It really depends. If I only have 2-3 bars, it will circle a 5-10 block radius. If I'm outside with full 5 bars of reception, it gets it down to a half block! Pretty impressive overall.
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: 888500128
Status:
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Originally Posted by paul w
I'm in New York city and it has been off by several blocks - even putting me across the river in New Jersey once.
Good God, man!
I'd sue for mental distress.
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Colorado
Status:
Offline
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I used it a few days ago in the Apple Store and it knew which side of the mall I was at. Not bad.
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Colorado
Status:
Offline
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Originally Posted by analogika
Good God, man!
I'd sue for mental distress.
Wait a minute! How did I get over here?!?
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Forum Regular
Join Date: Dec 2005
Status:
Offline
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It's a really nice feature; I've used the cell tower triangulation. Used it many times when I was traveling from Kentucky to Iowa. Used it mainly to find gas stations with diesel, places to eat, etc.
I've noticed that the accuracy varies greatly.
When I was in Indianapolis, it told me the restaurant that I was in. When I got farther away from towns (driving on long interstates), it would vary greatly, but it was always accurate enough for directions. It's a life saver when you've got no clue where you are.
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15" MacBook Pro (unibody), 4 GB RAM, 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X 10.6.2
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Mac Elite
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: New York City, NY
Status:
Offline
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I used WiFi and I was put in St. Louis, Missouri when I was actually in a suburb of Los Angeles, CA. So what, 2000 miles off? But I think that's about right. For some reason my home cable IP address is a St. Louis one.
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iamwhor3hay
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Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Sep 2003
Status:
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If I am in bigger cities it works well. (~500 feet!)
If I am in my suburban hometown, it doesn't work at all... I'm completely outside of the "circle" it paints over the map... about 3 or 4 miles from the center!
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"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." - Winston Churchill
MacBook Pro 17" 2.33 GHz - (mine)
MacBook Pro 15" 1.83 GHz - (wife)
Pair of iPhones
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Mac Enthusiast
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: In a constant state of panic...
Status:
Offline
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It's a nice novelty, but isn't accurate enough for any serious use.
...it's fun to play with when you're bored, however.
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