New Google Maps feature could simulate GPS on iPhones

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
A new version of Google Maps introduced this week includes a beta feature dubbed My Location that was designed to simulate the GPS experience on mobile phones and handheld devices that do not include GPS hardware, like Apple's iPhone.



Essentially, the My Location feature takes information broadcast from mobile towers near non-GPS equipped mobile phones to approximate the device's current location on the map down to about 10 city blocks.



"It's not GPS, but it comes pretty close (approximately 1000m close, on average)," the Mountain View, Calif.-based search giant explained on its website. "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 currently available for most web-enabled mobile phones, including Java, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Nokia/Symbian devices. However, it is not yet compatible with Apple's iPhone.



Still, Apple has promised to continuously update and improve upon the feature set of its inaugural mobile handset, making it more than likely that the feature will turn up once it emerges from the beta stage.



For a more detailed explanation of My Location and a visual demonstration, please see the video below.



«1

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 35
    outsideroutsider Posts: 6,008member
    10 city blocks is a pretty big margin of error. Hmm. This would not be very useful inside NYC or LA, for example.
  • Reply 2 of 35
    kasperkasper Posts: 941member, administrator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Outsider View Post


    10 city blocks is a pretty big margin of error. Hmm. This would not be very useful inside NYC or LA, for example.



    I agree. The are still working to update all their tower info, so hopefully it will improve.



    Best,



    K
  • Reply 3 of 35
    admactaniumadmactanium Posts: 812member
    well, it's still very good for a lot of google maps features like looking up nearby businesses. i've always disliked having to find the address of my location in order to find nearby businesses. even within a ten block radius this is a useful feature for that. not so great for turn by turn directions obviously, but better than nothing. if you can't find the guided route within ten blocks, then you're not that good at finding your way around.
  • Reply 4 of 35
    solipsismsolipsism Posts: 25,726member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    making it more than likely that the feature will turn up once it emerges from the beta stage



    1) I hope Apple adds it before then as Google likes to keep their web apps in beta for years.



    2) I love the simplicity of the video.



    3) We've had a lengthy discussion about the range of different cell technologies on these forums about a year ago. The 1000M range is a really a worst case scenario for rural areas.
  • Reply 5 of 35
    haggarhaggar Posts: 1,568member
    Will it have features like turn by turn voice prompts and automatic rerouting if you go off course? If not, then I would rather have someone make a mapping application for the iPhone which can be paired with a bluetooth GPS receiver.
  • Reply 6 of 35
    randykatorandykato Posts: 5member
    Navizon does this already on the iPhone.
  • Reply 7 of 35
    rawheadrawhead Posts: 90member
    Navizon does this very poorly on the iPhone, you mean.
  • Reply 8 of 35
    chameleonchameleon Posts: 5member
    Navizon does this very poorly for anyone foolish enough to hack their iPhone, you mean.
  • Reply 9 of 35
    randykatorandykato Posts: 5member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by rawhead View Post


    Navizon does this very poorly on the iPhone, you mean.



    Works fairly well for me in NYC.... it gets closer than the quoted Google average of 1km.
  • Reply 10 of 35
    randykatorandykato Posts: 5member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by chameleon View Post


    Navizon does this very poorly for anyone foolish enough to hack their iPhone, you mean.



    Yeah, I'm foolishly getting a lot more utility and fun out of mine.
  • Reply 11 of 35
    killerappkillerapp Posts: 56member
    FCC mandates that all cellphones be capable of identifying a 911 caller to an accuracy of 50-300 meters. Link to E-911 Therefore, we know that the iPhone is already capable of doing much better than 1000m. Likely it can do 50m, and if they'd just include an onboard GPS chip, it would locate you on a Google Map within a couple of feet.
  • Reply 12 of 35
    heyjpheyjp Posts: 39member
    I agree with above... no it's not the ideal solution for getting me to grandma's house... but if I'm driving on the interstate between cities, it will get me across the country. And, it would be nice when you open GoogleMaps on the iPhone to click one button to zoom the map to close to where you are. When you are out driving, it is awkward as heck to type in the name of an intersection your passing... while you're passing it.. to get a rough look at where you are.



    I think it will be a TERRIFIC and useful feature.





    Jiim
  • Reply 13 of 35
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    Compared to a real GPS unit, this is terrible. I don't care what Google says.
  • Reply 14 of 35
    mrtotesmrtotes Posts: 760member
    I don't think this is a surprise at all. It always seemed that Google Maps was half the idea.
  • Reply 15 of 35
    davegeedavegee Posts: 2,765member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Outsider View Post


    10 city blocks is a pretty big margin of error. Hmm. This would not be very useful inside NYC or LA, for example.



    Tho... it should be great in Vegas... Given each one of those casinos **IS** 10 city blocks long (and wide)



    D
  • Reply 16 of 35
    funkyp56funkyp56 Posts: 36member
    just the update to google maps was great , new menus
  • Reply 17 of 35
    asj2007asj2007 Posts: 4member
    Google Maps for Mobile is a Java (J2ME) application, and thus will not work for iPhones because iPhones cannot run Java apps or games.



    http://www.google.com/gmm/index.html
  • Reply 18 of 35
    randykatorandykato Posts: 5member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by asj2007 View Post


    Google Maps for Mobile is a Java (J2ME) application, and thus will not work for iPhones because iPhones cannot run Java apps or games.



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



    Ummm... iPhones have a native Google Maps app. And I have lots of games on mine.
  • Reply 19 of 35
    leptonlepton Posts: 111member
    I think this is going to be very useful for finding "the nearest" something. It's what I do now. I basically position the map to show me a few mile radius of where I am, and have it search for "mcdonalds" or whatever, and the pins fly down to show me all the ones in the area. This will help me here, since it will do that initial general positioning for me.



    What it's not very good for is turn by turn since it hasn't got a decent starting position, but in my case that's not usually what I'm needing.



    P.S. But yep I'm getting a GPS enabled iPhone the day one shows up.
  • Reply 20 of 35
    ajpriceajprice Posts: 320member
    1km accuracy? Thought phone towers would do a better job than that. Its never going to be within a few metres like GPS, but within a few hundred would be more like it.
Sign In or Register to comment.