Mobile Devices and Geolocation
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the exhilarating avenues opened by the advent and popularization of geo-conscious mobile devices, that is to say, mobile phones that can tell you - and other people or machines - where you are. This subject is, of course, deeply connected to geographic knowledge applications like MapMyGlobe.
As long as users access your app from their broadband, fixed connection, there’s only one main way to achieve geolocation, through IP addresses and databases of uncertain precision.
However, as more and more users browse Web 2.0-type apps from their handheld devices the precision as well as the variety of possible ways to geolocate them are increasing dramatically.
First, you can always resolve the device’s IP address in the same way you used to do it for fixed lines. The IP address is your network carrier’s, and this will give you, at best, a city-level precision.
From the phone and the network carrier’s point of view, now, another solution is to identify cells you’re receiving signals from, and triangulate them so as to get your position from the cell towers’ positions. This is better, but is still not that precise: in cities, interferences between waves and rebounds on buildings cause losses of precision, while in the countryside a single cell tower covers a very large area. It also implies you need to be connected using your carrier’s network, which might prove pricy and slow depending on your country and service plan 
A remarkable way of achieving the same thing, possibly much more precisely, and while using a regular Wifi connection, is through the use of a MAC address-location mapping. The company that got to popularize this service is called Skyhook Wireless and they provide the impressive Wifi geolocation service for the iPhone. The way they work is that they basically just cruise around U.S. and European cities in a Wifi-probing GPS-enabled van and write down Wifi routers’ MAC addresses and geographic coordinates, a practice known as wardriving.
You can also, of course, directly use a GPS-enabled device (or Galileo in a few years…), which are more and more widespread.
Finally, if we look forward at a few years from now, cell phones will most certainly contain a RFID chip - so that you’ll be able to use your phone as a credit card or transportation ticket. So if there’s a critical mass of RFID sensors out there, which is probable, you’ll be able to track people directly from the actions they make or the things they buy. It doesn’t even require you to use your device as a phone anymore, as this geolocation scheme will rely on its own, external network - a Supranet. Of course, this is further away from today, and it will cause severe privacy and security issues. But is also opens worlds of possibilities in terms of services and applications.
As you can see, there are more and more different ways to geolocate your users. In a future post, I’ll write about how I think the ability to easily locate users on a Real-time basis can prove revolutionary in web applications in general, and in Content Management Systems in particular.
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:34 pm
For a related article on a geo recommendation app on the iPhone, see
http://www.technologyreview.com/Infotech/20844/?a=f
July 9th, 2010 at 11:48 am
i am always fond of getting the latest mobile devices, it is some sort of an addiction for me to get the latest mobile stuffs”~”
July 26th, 2010 at 8:26 am
i am always on the lookout for new mobile devices. i am sort of a gadget addict.-”:
October 7th, 2010 at 10:32 am
Huh, I’m getting a 404 page when attempting to read some of your other posts. I hope you can fix it
October 13th, 2010 at 2:59 am
there is a great demand for mobile devices these days:`’
October 24th, 2010 at 10:23 am
we would definitely see some new mobile devices this year and of course in the first quarter of 2011~.;
December 19th, 2010 at 8:14 am
Cool article it is actually. My mother has been awaiting for this tips.
December 20th, 2010 at 10:22 am
mobile devices are always great because they always come in a handy package “`-
January 21st, 2011 at 11:30 pm
Merely discovered your internet page via google and i look at this could be a disgrace that you might be not ranked upper because of the fact that that is a great submit. To switch this i determined to steer clear of losing your internet website to my Rss reader and I will attempt to point out you in 1 of my posts since you actually deserv additional readers when publishing content material content of this quality.
February 2nd, 2011 at 10:52 am
Wow! what an notion ! What a idea ! Stunning .. Astounding ? I generally don?t submit in Blogs but your weblog forced me to, amazing get the job done.. attractive ?
May 30th, 2011 at 3:27 pm
I appreciate you for an extraordinarily incredible site. I located on this site material designed in the right approach. I would highly recommend those page around the world and then suddenly to each and every my buddies. I had exploring this specific online for plenty of nights. Again many thanks using this unique delightful subject.
June 1st, 2011 at 4:21 am
I seen your weblog on yahoo and check a number of of the earlier posts. Protect up the excellent operate. I simply added up your RSS feed to my MSN Information Reader. Seeking forward to studying via extra from you later on on!
June 18th, 2011 at 10:23 am
At this time it seems like Movable Type is the preferred blogging platform available right now. (from what I’ve read) Is that what you are using on your blog?
July 14th, 2011 at 4:36 pm
Many thanks for putting up this write-up, I believe everyone will thanks for that.
July 14th, 2011 at 9:11 pm
I am not really sure if greatest procedures have emerged around things like that, but I am sure that your good job is clearly identified. I was thinking if you offer any subscription to your RSS feeds as I would be very interested but i cant find any link to join here.Where is it?
July 14th, 2011 at 11:36 pm
If Penny stocks arent safe and intensely dangerous, next what price tag inventory could you state is less dangerous?Whats the best you would go or have gone? Along with the outcomes? Also what is regarded as Penny stock? $0.55? $0.Eighty five?
July 21st, 2011 at 12:45 am
If your post was a quote, it would be, “Happiness is a choice that requires effort at times..”.
July 24th, 2011 at 6:23 am
238320 beers on the wall.
July 29th, 2011 at 11:36 am
There is noticeably a bundle to know about this. I assume you made sure nice points in options also.
July 30th, 2011 at 10:08 pm
This website can easily contact lifestyles. Thank you for all you have created with this. I am going to undoubtedly continue returning to search much more of work.
August 2nd, 2011 at 12:21 am
whoah this blog is great i love reading your articles. Keep up the great work! You know, many people are looking around for this info, you could help them greatly.
August 14th, 2011 at 10:04 pm
I love tumblr, I in no way understood I can leave other Full blogging services (wordpress, blogger, typepad) for that young company once I first registered in it.. And for the urls, tumblr now extracts them from the publish titles, and tags are becoming elevated too. You can even now use it for micro blogging and aggregator to web sites you prefer.
August 17th, 2011 at 3:08 am
ugg outlet with regard to women and men all over the world provides. You can state how the Milan runway with regard to viewers within Sydney, uggs boot informal turn to supply broadly wellliked. Informal wool enables atmosphere in order to move not just in a position to remain dried out feets however watermark free of charge. These types of boot are supplied along with thermostatic sheepskin, all over the world provides boot with regard to women and men keepiUggs. Ugg informal consumers ought to appear expert in addition to providing you with the actual as soon as wellknown with regard to putting on their own items. You can state which Milan runway with regard to viewers within Sydney, offers broadly wellliked informal boot uggs appear. Informal atmosphere as the wool in order to dried out feets liberated to transmit not just enables the actual watermark.
September 13th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
I saw a lot of website but I think this one holds something special in it in it