I am designing a Windows Phone 8 app and I have been researching location API. However I am only seeing location services for GPS. I don't really want to use GPS for my location app, I only need to a broad cell tower information. I would like to use the cell tower ID and any other information the API comes back with.
Would it be possible to obtain this information currently with the WP8 API?
No, this capability is not currently available in the Windows Phone SDK.
Related
There is really no correct place to ask this question, so I hope someone here can answer me.
If I already bought an app through Google Play, do I have to repurchase it if I want it on my Windows 10 computer (to synch between Android phone and computer)?
I certainly seems that way. I am logged in with the correct gmail account on both devices. I also tried pressing the price button in the Windows 10 store, but it does ask for my credit details. Also, no apps appear under under the "Bought" menu.
I would appreciate any help here!
Currently apps on the Windows Store are apps that are for or run on Windows 10, the Google Play store is for apps under that store and ecosystem and an app on one store would have to be purchased from the other as well if want it on Android Phone and Windows 10 PC at the moment
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.
Windows Phone 8 has offline Maps with Point of Interests. Can I access the point of interest database from the device? I want to show a list of sights near-by.
It looks like the new HERE Maps Launchers may solve your problem, specifically the ExploremapsExplorePlacesTask class. The use case is described in the documentation as:
The ExploremapsExplorePlacesTask allows you to start the Maps
application where the nearby places of interest are shown.
The associated demo displays the map as shown:
Furthermore, there is an upcoming webinar on this subject early next month.
Is it possible to monitor or trace GPS device through a Google map?
If it is possible, what are the ways to do it?
Thank you.
It is possible. At minimum you will need the following:
A GPS device that has access to the internet and supports an HTTP stack for calling web services.
A web server that exposes web services that can be consumed by the device. These web services will allow the device to report the most recent GPS data to the server.
A web server (can be the same one as above for low traffic sites) that allows access to a google map rendering of the GPS data.
I have been working on a project that does this. The intent of the project is to learn how and share the experience. Here is the URL http://gpsnerd.com/
Hope this helps.
Bob
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.