Windows Phone 8 maps - licence uncertainty - windows-phone-8

I plan developing Windows Phone 8 map application and think of using standard wp8 maps (Nokia) and map controls. It will be a fleet maagement/customers' devices location control application.
May I use standard maps used in wp8 and classes such as Microsoft.Phone.Maps, Microsoft.Phone.Maps.Controls?
On the first side, on the page
http://developer.nokia.com/lumia/nokia-apis/mapping
there is info:
Developers can use the APIs and library for any applications published
in Windows Phone Store.
The Windows Phone 8 Maps API and HERE
launchers are available free of charge for all developers.
But on the other side, when you enter "full terms and conditions" there is point 3 "Use Restrictions" where we can find like
You may not: (...)
use the Mapping APIs for business asset tracking, fleet management, or dispatch;
use the Mapping APIs in connection with any internal business application which (a) is directly related to the operation of your
core business or the core business of your customers, and (b) the
sole users of such application are your employees, contactors or
customers;
Does it mean my fleet maagement/customers' devices location control application can't use any Microsoft maps control code? (even with tiles from other source like OSM) If so, what are the other options/libraries?

Your application CAN use the Windows Phone 8 Maps API, but CAN'T use the Mapping APIS. Those are two different APIs: the first one is what you need to use (show points, routes, etc.), the second one is to create a map image, I mean, create roads, avenues, etc.

Related

How do I remove third-party tiles from Microsoft Band?

I have a Windows Phone 8.1 app which adds a tile to a Microsoft Band (version 1). Unfortunately it won't work because there are already too many 3rd party tiles added by other apps which I can't remove with the SDK (using the band client's TileManager.RemoveTileAsync() method)
There is a similar question discussing this topic here: Microsoft Band tiles which suggests that the Microsoft Health app has some way of getting a list of 3rd party tiles that may not necessarily use the SDK (I can't use the Microsoft Health app in this case).
Is there any way that I can remove 3rd party tiles using the SDK?
No, the Band SDK limits applications to interacting only with the Tiles that they, themselves, have created.
The Microsoft Health application has the ability to remove any 3rd-party Tile because, if it didn't, users would not have a means to do so if the application adding the Tile had, for example, been previously uninstalled.
If your application finds that the user's Band does not have space for an additional Tile, the application should instruct the user to use the Microsoft Health application to remove a sufficient number of Tiles and then return to your application to try again.

Adhoc distribution of Windows Phone 8 apps

I am in process of developing app for windows phone 8. I need the adhoc distribution of my app to all devices within the organization. I don't want to publish it on the market instead i want the installation of app on the devices within the organization.
Do i need to buy another account for adhoc distribution or i can use the same $99 account for adhoc distribution of app.
Thanks in advance.
Well there are multiple ways to distribute apps,
Directly via Visual Studio or XAPDeploy (however the device must be developer unlocked, and connected via usb)
Via the normal Store/Marketplace
Via Store/Marketplace, with "Hide from users browsing or searching the Store" so that only users with the direct link to the store can find the app
Via Beta app distribution
edit: beta apps now do not have a 3 month limit anymore. Only restriction is, that you can "only" have 10000 users and each users email must be manually added for them to be able to download the beta
Company app distribution, which is likely what you are looking for. (However this seems to be relatively difficult) More information here: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windowsphone/develop/jj206943(v=vs.105).aspx
Edit: I missed this one: Using "Windows Intune Direct Management for Windows Phone 8 Mobile Devices"
There are no other ways I know of.

GPS application with downloadable Maps

I am looking for a map application with the following:
Windows based.
City/Town street maps are downloaded to computer (i.e. does not required a wireless internet connection to get the map images real-time).
Uses GPS on the computer via comport.
Allows me to visually track where I am on the map as I drive around.
We actually have written our own GPS application which uses ESRI shapefiles. Periodically we get complaints from customers saying the GPS is significantly "delayed" (i.e. the icon showing current location is 2-3 blocks behind the true location).
To help isolate whether it might be hardware related or our software, I would like to test alternative applications to see if they have the same delay.
I personally used Microsoft Streets and Trips on a couple of road trips. The mid-level package even comes with a GPS receiver.
If you just want tracking, then there are many applications, such as deLorme, and Microsoft's Street and Trips. S&T's big brother, MapPoint allows a programming interface, which could allow you to test various things.
None of the consumer products will support ESRI formats, although the business-oriented MapPoint can import Shapefiles using a third party add-in (yes I sell one, but there are others).
MapPoint and Streets&Trips both come with road data on DVD. The road data cannot be changed with a download.

get location(lat/long) without gps just like my location feature of google maps

Get location(lat/long) without GPS, just like my location feature in Google maps. I have Google Maps in my mobile (Sony Ericsson G502 without GPS). It works fine without GPS in India.
1.How Google finds my position?
2. When i am searching cellid in opencellid database, it has less number of records for India. but Google Maps works fine in my mobile(India)
3.Is Google uses opencellid database or its own?. if Google uses its own, shall we have access to it database
4.Is there any commercial cellid database for India?
The answer is that cellular phones use various location methods, most were introduced as part of E-911 (Enhanced 911) or equivalent emergency service for other countries (e.g. 999 in UK) or since.
I don't know if GSM or CDMA has any localization protocols or standards itself beyond whatever E-911 and such requires. So I doubt there is a general API for all mobile phones.
Mobile phone localization is done via:
plain GPS
Assisted-GPS
Cellular triangulation / multilateration
Cell (tower) identification (FCC/etc. cellular tower database lookup)
Enhanced Cell Identification (E-911)
Uplink-Time difference of arrival (U-TDOA)
Time-of-Arrival (TOA)
Angle of Arrival (AOA)
E-OTD (Enhanced-Observed Time Difference)
and/or a hybrid of these technologies and approaches.
(Src: Wikipedia / Mobile_phone_tracking)
These approaches vary in accuracy and precision from ~35 km (22 mi) to ~5-10 meters (16-32 ft) or better.
3.Is Google uses opencellid database or its own?.
It appears that they have their own database without a public documented API.
4.Is there any commercial cellid database for India?
I don't know.
Google almost certainly uses a proprietary database. They admit as much as:
This involves analyzing the Wi-Fi access points around you and your computer's IP address, and sending this information to a Google server to then be translated into a location that we can show on the map.
http://maps.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=153807
Google Street View cars have been known to collect data about wireless access points that could be used in such a database.
Skyhook offer an API for geolocating devices based on Cell ID, Wifi access points, and if available, GPS. The iPhone OS uses this to provide its CoreLocation functionality.
They have SDKs available for most mobile and desktop OSes. It's very good, but you'll have to speak to them about licensing.
As other posters have mentioned, both Skyhook and Google maintain proprietary databases of location information for WiFi SSIDs and cell tower IDs. I believe Geomena is trying to start an open database of located IDs, but that it doesn't yet have the breadth of coverage that the proprietary competitors have. Google also provides a simple client-side JavaScript interface for IP geolocation (called ClientLocation), which might be just accurate enough for some applications, and a wide variety of IP geolocation databases exist.
If your application is web-based, you can take advantage of the W3C Geolocation API, which abstracts away the particular geolocation technology and provides your website user-controlled access to whatever geolocation method the browser chooses to use. On the iPhone, Skyhook's database is used to locate the phone with cell tower or WiFi or GPS location; Firefox uses the Google Location Service, which uses WiFi triangulation and falls back on IP geolocation.
Using some abstraction layer (like the W3C API) can have real advantages if you want your application to work across different platforms which have their own location methods, if you want your application to degrade gracefully when only rough methods of geolocation are available and you want your application to get the advantages of additional precision as your customers upgrade to devices with GPS technology.

IPhone App using Google Maps?

I have an IPhone game app idea that will use Google Maps and was wondering if I could charge for a app that used Google Maps? This will be like a mashup.
Yes you can but you have to pay for their enterprise license. If you do not charge for it or you are just developing it - it is free.
http://www.google.com/enterprise/maps/
Yes, you can charge for it and no, you do not have to pay for an enterprise license. Mobile Applications are excepted from the rule saying that applications using Google Maps have to be free.
https://developers.google.com/maps/terms
9.1.1 General Rules.
(a) Free Access (No Fees). Your Maps API Implementation must be generally accessible to users without charge and must not require a fee-based subscription or other fee-based restricted access. This rule applies to Your Content and any other content in your Maps API Implementation, whether Your Content or the other content is in existence now or is added later.
9.1.2 Exceptions.
(b) Mobile Applications. The rule in Section 9.1.1(a) (Free Access) does not apply if your Maps API Implementation is used in a mobile application that is sold for a fee through an online store and is downloadable to a mobile device that can access the online store.