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Domain: snaptrack.com

Stories and comments across the archive that link to snaptrack.com.

Comments · 7

  1. Re:Buy one for yourself by spaceyhackerlady · · Score: 1 · on Mapping The Tour de France Riders From Space

    A couple of other implementations, with various wrinkles: one that is assisted, and one that stands alone.

    I've done some interesting plots by driving around town with a GPS receiver, a data cable and a laptop.

    ...laura

  2. Re:Overview of how it works... by _mythdraug_ · · Score: 1 · on Using the GPS Features on Cell Phones?

    There is no full GPS unit inside the phone. Instead it takes the GPS signal, does some limited processing, and sends the information to the cell tower it's in contact with. The cell tower has the remainder of the equipment to finish the processing (including knowledge about its own location and the signal it's receiving) and can locate the phone to within the usual resolution of GPS (several meters on a good day)

    SnapTrack is licensing hardware to select phones that does include satellite reception as part of their a-GPS technology.

  3. Re:Overview of how it works... by _mythdraug_ · · Score: 1 · on Using the GPS Features on Cell Phones?

    There is no full GPS unit inside the phone. Instead it takes the GPS signal, does some limited processing, and sends the information to the cell tower it's in contact with. The cell tower has the remainder of the equipment to finish the processing (including knowledge about its own location and the signal it's receiving) and can locate the phone to within the usual resolution of GPS (several meters on a good day)

    SnapTrack is licensing hardware to select phones that does include satellite reception as part of their a-GPS technology.

  4. Re:Overview of how it works... by _mythdraug_ · · Score: 1 · on Using the GPS Features on Cell Phones?

    There is no full GPS unit inside the phone. Instead it takes the GPS signal, does some limited processing, and sends the information to the cell tower it's in contact with. The cell tower has the remainder of the equipment to finish the processing (including knowledge about its own location and the signal it's receiving) and can locate the phone to within the usual resolution of GPS (several meters on a good day)

    SnapTrack is licensing hardware to select phones that does include satellite reception as part of their a-GPS technology.

  5. Re:Lots of phones already have GPS by $caching · · Score: 1 · on Personal GPS in a Mobile Phone

    This is not quite true... Although Qualcomm's patented SnapTrack uses this type of design, and many handset manufacturers have got licenses for using it, other manufacturers like Motorola iDEN i88s have full SiRF chipsets. The major pitfall of SnapTrack is that it only works while within range of infrastructure.

    On an iDEN handset I wrote a J2ME app that gets a GPS location fix via the MIDP API, screenscrapes a map from mapquest, and rasterizes the image on the handset. The quality is actually quite good, but you need IP functionality on the handset.

  6. Performance of gps phone / Privacy protection by morcheeba · · Score: 4, Informative · on GPS Meets PCS
    Here's a very-old press release (12-Apr-99) from the people who did the GPS portion of the phone. Some highlights:


    Using prototype handsets from Motorola and Samsung, more than 8,000 test calls were made over a period of days and under a variety of conditions including clear skies, inside moving automobiles, inside homes and large buildings, and in wooded areas. The tests were conducted on GTE Wireless' 800MHz network and on Sprint PCS' 1900MHz network. Preliminary results show SnapTrack typically located callers with an accuracy under 25 meters. In optimal conditions, callers were located within five meters. In calling environments with extreme signal blockage, such as indoors where conventional GPS will not work, SnapTrack located callers within 90 meters, well below the FCC's 125-meter accuracy requirement.
    ...
    A variety of miniature antennae also are being tested with each phone, and testing is conducted at all times of day in order to measure effects from GPS satellite constellation variation.


    On their site, they have a spiel about privacy protection. Here's a quote:


    Only when a subscriber dials 9-1-1 or requests a location service will the location be determined. Callers can initiate location requests the same way they control other phone functions.


    Of course, who knows if this will be respected by the OEM's who implement the snaptrack technology in the phones. There's always the tin-foil-over-the-gps-antenna solution... maybe those people with the tin foil hats are on to something!
  7. Performance of gps phone / Privacy protection by morcheeba · · Score: 4, Informative · on GPS Meets PCS
    Here's a very-old press release (12-Apr-99) from the people who did the GPS portion of the phone. Some highlights:


    Using prototype handsets from Motorola and Samsung, more than 8,000 test calls were made over a period of days and under a variety of conditions including clear skies, inside moving automobiles, inside homes and large buildings, and in wooded areas. The tests were conducted on GTE Wireless' 800MHz network and on Sprint PCS' 1900MHz network. Preliminary results show SnapTrack typically located callers with an accuracy under 25 meters. In optimal conditions, callers were located within five meters. In calling environments with extreme signal blockage, such as indoors where conventional GPS will not work, SnapTrack located callers within 90 meters, well below the FCC's 125-meter accuracy requirement.
    ...
    A variety of miniature antennae also are being tested with each phone, and testing is conducted at all times of day in order to measure effects from GPS satellite constellation variation.


    On their site, they have a spiel about privacy protection. Here's a quote:


    Only when a subscriber dials 9-1-1 or requests a location service will the location be determined. Callers can initiate location requests the same way they control other phone functions.


    Of course, who knows if this will be respected by the OEM's who implement the snaptrack technology in the phones. There's always the tin-foil-over-the-gps-antenna solution... maybe those people with the tin foil hats are on to something!