New magical blue circle on your map

Wednesday, November 28, 2007 | 8:48 AM

Posted by Mike Chu, software engineer, Google mobile team

We've all been there: You're out and about, and you need to figure out where you are, what's around you, and how to get there. Google Maps for mobile can help you do all that, but first you have to enter in a starting point using the keypad. And let's face it -- entering things into your phone using the keypad is so 2006. While some people are lucky enough to have GPS-enabled mobile phones that provide location information for Google Maps for mobile, the vast majority of us are not. So what to do?

Starting today, we have an answer: Google Maps for mobile with My Location . My Location is a new beta technology from Google that uses cell tower identification to provide you with approximate location information, so it will work on phones without GPS. Simply fire up Google Maps for mobile, press [0], and the map will indicate your approximate location by centering on a blue circle like this:

If you do have a GPS-enabled device, My Location can actually complement it. My Location kicks in faster than GPS in most cases, so you can access your location even faster on the map. It also works reliably indoors (unlike GPS) and doesn't drain your phone battery at the rate that GPS does.

Of course, this feature is in beta, which in this case means a few different things: First, although accuracy and coverage may vary, both will improve over time as more and more people use Google Maps for mobile. Second, My Location isn't currently supported on all devices (see our Help Center for more on this); we're working on that. Third, we'd love to get your feedback on it -- feel free to leave your comments below.

To give Google Maps for mobile with My Location a try, text "MYLOCATION" to 33669, or head to www.google.com/gmm on your mobile browser.

If you'd like to learn more about the My Location technology, take a look at this short video:

Labels: Mobile Blog

133 comments:

idreamincode said...: Awesome for us with Verizon who have crippled a GPS ie. 8830 Blackberry! This news makes me so happy!; November 28, 2007 at 9:01 AM
Unknown said...: Marc - will this be enabled for the iPhone?; November 28, 2007 at 9:29 AM
Mikehill33 said...: Very AWESOME. Nice job, works well.; November 28, 2007 at 9:42 AM
Xfaith said...: what do we need to do to have it work on blackjack; November 28, 2007 at 9:46 AM
Jerry G. said...: Even though my Treo 700wx does not work with the "my location" yet all I have to say is WOW! That is so awesome. Great job Google. All it needs now is voice for the directions.; November 28, 2007 at 9:51 AM
Brian Douglas said...: Like Jerry G said, wish there was support for the Treo 700wx... Also wish it had an actual arrow to show the direction you are traveling when paired with a GPS device - similar to what Microsoft has for their mobile version... Other than that, I love Google Maps Mobile!!!; November 28, 2007 at 9:53 AM
Weston Deboer said...: When is this going to be available for the iphone; November 28, 2007 at 10:11 AM
askedrelic said...: Hi,

I love this feature, I just installed it on my Blackberry Curve, 8300. It worked flawlessly and positioned me within like 500 feet.

Also, this does something I've wanted for a long time: search based on your location. The previous version of GMaps would search within the map area, but it seemed random, it would show me items hundreds of miles away... This works well and is awesome!; November 28, 2007 at 10:19 AM
Paul said...: Tried this on my LG CU400. Now it says "Invalid class, can't launch," and I can't use maps at all anymore.; November 28, 2007 at 10:21 AM
Yensid Tlaw said...: When will Google Maps work with my Verizon phone?; November 28, 2007 at 10:21 AM
Miehas said...: Looks good,

But I get a content too large error on my phone :( I guess it is time to get a new phone.; November 28, 2007 at 10:35 AM
Unknown said...: does not work on my sonyericsson p1i.

:(

another suggestion would be to enable TOUCH SCREEN SCROLLING on symbian UIQ3 phones.

but it looks much, much better than the older version.; November 28, 2007 at 10:39 AM
A Blogger said...: Works fine on my Nokia E61!; November 28, 2007 at 11:06 AM
Jeremy said...: Will developers be able to build applications using the data google has collected to do the triangulation?; November 28, 2007 at 11:16 AM
Vinay hosamani said...: awesome... when are we it be supported in india; November 28, 2007 at 11:38 AM
František Fuka said...: The video says "The service gets better the more you use it". What exactly do you mean by this and how is this technically possible? I tried using it at least 10 times and the accuracy is always "1700 meters".; November 28, 2007 at 11:55 AM
Tommi Vilkamo said...: Brilliant. Great work!!

And sure as hell, subscribed to your blog. Of course, if you are interested in your humble collaborators/competitors, do visit my humble playground at http://betalabs.nokia.com/blog someday too. (off-topic: why can't I comment here with any other profile than Blogger?); November 28, 2007 at 11:58 AM
Rob Bazinet said...: Very nice. As others have asked...when can we use this on the iPhone?; November 28, 2007 at 12:10 PM
Sam Gonzales said...: this is just freaking awesome!
gsm triangulation at its best.. I tested it while driving on the highway and it auto updated itself, and its pretty damm close.; November 28, 2007 at 12:28 PM
velorowdy said...: cool, but does this work in switzerland too? ...or just u.s.??; November 28, 2007 at 12:59 PM
Michael said...: Brilliant!

Works fine on Nokia E50 in Moscow, Russia; November 28, 2007 at 1:04 PM
Mike said...: nice but the latest version has no way to enter your location if "my Location" is not working... I had to plot a route using the same place for both start and end. I had tried entering just one location and it did nothing.; November 28, 2007 at 1:04 PM
Chipshot said...: Can a BB8830 do my location without loading the alx on the BES?; November 28, 2007 at 1:10 PM
me said...: please post the old version of GMM for download. I installed the new beta and it does not work on my phone. Now I have no GMM at all. Reading the help discussions - apparently many people are having the same problems :(; November 28, 2007 at 1:20 PM
Unknown said...: I've upgraded to the new google maps app on a Sprint Katana 1 and it's not working, even though the previous google maps worked flawlessly. Unfortunately there are no java exceptions visable to help determine what exactly is going wrong.

Anyone know how to go back and get the previous version of google maps?; November 28, 2007 at 1:22 PM
Jase said...: Installed fine on my Nokia e61i however the My Location function returns an error "Your current location is temporarily unavailable". I'm in Melbourne Australia.; November 28, 2007 at 1:45 PM
Unknown said...: On my MotoQ (Sprint), I get the following message when trying to access "My Location:" "Your current location is temporarily unavailable."

Beyond that, I don't like the interface changes, especially how the center button and the left soft key no longer zoom in and out. Plus the inability to manually enter a location seems pretty short-sighted. I echo the previous poster who asked for a way to revert to v1.29.; November 28, 2007 at 1:50 PM
Bookmarc said...: Oh no! I've put in the updated 2.0 version of Google Maps into my Panasonic VS2 phone, and it's not working altogether. The previous version was working, but now it doesn't load at all. Is a particular version of Java required to run this latest version of the app?; November 28, 2007 at 3:09 PM
OPP said...: privacy, anyone? How do I know when Google is (or isn't) watching me?; November 28, 2007 at 3:15 PM
Tristan Brotherton said...: Is Googles My Location database available via a webservice for use in other applications that we can write?; November 28, 2007 at 3:38 PM
Brian said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; November 28, 2007 at 3:51 PM
Anthony said...: Sprint's Blackberry 8130 (pearl) supposedly has the aGPS unlocked for 3rd party usage, but when I loaded google maps 2.0 beta on the demo phone in the sprint store it used the triangulation method (with light blue circled area) rather than aGPS to obtain a location. Are there any plans to use RIM's aGPS in Sprint's 8130?; November 28, 2007 at 3:51 PM
Ian Danforth said...: 2 Points

1. The post says "text MYLOCATION" whereas the video says "text BLUEDOT" pick one or note that they both work.

2. To increase accuracy for people on foot do this:

a. Ask the persons height

b. Have them walk in any direction for 10-20 seconds.

Now, using data sampled at point A and B, assume a line moving toward the tower which has greatest increase in reception.

Now you have two points a known distance apart (within feet) and their orientation relating to at least one tower. Triangulate to other towers. You should be able to significantly reduce your error.

-Ian; November 28, 2007 at 4:02 PM
UNDPilot said...: Using the 2.0 beta version on my Sprint Treo 700wx, I get a "your current location is temporarily unavailable" message pop up. How temporary is temporary? or is this because of my phone itself?
Thanks; November 28, 2007 at 4:29 PM
Alejandro Rivero said...: It is a pretty trivial idea once you know: 1) how to get the tower IDs from your software in a mobile phone, and 2) how to locate the coordinates of each tower. I guess the last thing could be done collaboratively, GPS phones being able to record and send the info to be archived so non-GPS phones can use it. Or do you get a map of locations from the Phone Companies?
In any case, congratulations.; November 28, 2007 at 4:47 PM
Unknown said...: Nokia N80 and all i get is'your current location is temporarily unavailable' message. Australia; November 28, 2007 at 5:20 PM
Unknown said...: The Populist said...
privacy, anyone? How do I know when Google is (or isn't) watching me?

If you dont use the service its safe to assume Google doesnt know where you are.

How do you know your mobile provider isnt watching you and then passing the info on to the Govt so they can watch you by satelite. Time to get the tin foil out i think.; November 28, 2007 at 5:28 PM
无名小虾 said...: It's strange that Google just officially released this function? I have been using this function at least since the beginning of this month...

http://www.wumingxiaoxia.com/index.php/2007/11/10/my-digital-life/; November 28, 2007 at 6:02 PM
mike said...: Everything works well with the new gmm on my Moto Q except for the My Location feature. Shows a message "your current location is temporarily unavailable". The other features are impressive, hope this is corrected soon.; November 28, 2007 at 6:05 PM
Bruno Campagnolo said...: Works great in Curitiba/Brazil on my Nokia E61!; November 28, 2007 at 6:13 PM
Unknown said...: Thanks, Google! The simplicity is beautiful, and the additional enhancements to the interface are wonderful improvements.; November 28, 2007 at 6:15 PM
marc66thomas said...: seem to NOT work in California on a Treo 700p
HMMM what todo? ...; November 28, 2007 at 6:51 PM
Prasoon said...: Doesn't it work with Nokia 6300 of Symbian 40 or is it just because I'm in India and hence not able to run this..

It says feature unavailable :(; November 28, 2007 at 6:53 PM
Michael D Smith said...: Installed sweet on Nokia N80 but when I choose the My Location item it says "Your current location is temporarily unavailable" - Sydney, Australia; November 28, 2007 at 7:00 PM
James said...: It sounds like a great idea!

Sadly, it doesn't work on my phone. Motorola Razr V3--when I run the application, all I get is "Application Error."

It could well be my phone though; the camera function doesn't work either.; November 28, 2007 at 7:06 PM
Fahed said...: Fantastic job. Its actually very good to use now i like the UI and button changes. Finds my position fairly accurately without GPS. Very good release!

Using N95 8GB in the UK.; November 28, 2007 at 7:42 PM
Unknown said...: You are great. I love Google!; November 28, 2007 at 7:53 PM
Unknown said...: I tried to install on my windows smartphone which already had the older version. The installation failed saying that it could not remove the older version. I had exited the older version ... perhaps some files are locked still?; November 28, 2007 at 8:56 PM
Unknown said...: Still sucks on a SE W950, with apparently no way to use the touch screen resulting in an inability to pan the map in any direction but north - south.; November 28, 2007 at 10:24 PM
Unknown said...: At first I've received the "Your current location is temporarily unavailable", but after a short driving everything went OK.

Works well on my Nokia E70. Not very precise yet, but keep up with the great work!; November 28, 2007 at 11:03 PM
Unknown said...: I have Sony Ericsson K810i Cyber-shot phone. Today i downloaded new Beta soft. from Google by pointing my phone's Net-Front Browser to maps.google.com

after downloading, it took a while to load ( blue bar... ). Later it showed me "Your current location is temporarily unavailable".

I didn't closed Google Maps software. I started searching the web by typing the above generated error in Google Web Search on my PC.

Roughly in 5 or say 10 minutes when i checked my phone, I got my approximate location within 1700 metres. So It definitely works.

Do one thing ; Go to Menu->Help->About/info-> Scroll Down to the last line. You will see just like that :-

404:59:some numbers:some numbers

Here 404 means India
and 59 stands for CellOne Rajasthan.

This is a network code.

If that type of thing appears then wait for sometimes as your software might be in processing stage.

This is a useful thing. Thanks a millions to Google. Though in Beta stage it's not pinpointed like Good SONY GPS devices but at least when you are travelling via bus or Train then say at midnight while you get up from your birth then you can get some info about your current location. It's cool. The other way to get info is to use Cell Information feature in your phone. For Sony Ericsson phones, go to MESSAGING->SETTINGS->AREA INFO->CELL INFORMATION->ON

in standby screen you'll see the name of place as a second line after Network name. ( Provided your operator supports. )

Thanks.; November 29, 2007 at 12:38 AM
Simo said...: So, are you guys at Google gathering a database of cell tower location information within your map databases? Or, in fact you've must been doing that already for a while?

No problem with that itself but the user should know that what information the application is actually sending to the server.; November 29, 2007 at 12:57 AM
Pablo Grisafi said...: works fine form me in argentine with a WM handheld, but cant run in my siemmens c66....
NoClassDefFondError: javax/microedition/io/file/fileconnection; November 29, 2007 at 1:31 AM
Andrew Grill said...: Being a location expert, I have published a first look at Google My Location and how it compares to other solutions.

http://blog.andrewgrill.com/blog/_archives/2007/11/29/3381526.html; November 29, 2007 at 4:03 AM
Unknown said...: Mr. Andrew You wrote :-

"I re-read a recent article in the FT with Google’s CEO, Arun Sarin who said about location "..."

Mr. Arun Sarin is a CEO of Vodafone.; November 29, 2007 at 4:16 AM
Simon said...: Installed on a Vodafone UK SE K800i - worked like a charm, accurate to within 10m (albeit in London)

Brilliant!; November 29, 2007 at 6:25 AM
EmptyPockets said...: Google, you are awesome...; November 29, 2007 at 6:44 AM
Unknown said...: Apparently this does not yet work for the Samsung BlackJack :-( (1st generation).
Please, please, please make it work on the BlackJack!!!; November 29, 2007 at 7:21 AM
Otto said...: The new 2.0 version straight up does not work! I have an LG CU500 phone, and the previous 1.4.2 version worked fine, but the 2.0 version gives me an "invalid class" error or something like that. Highly disappointing, not only did you not add new features, you broke the whole app!

Plus, there's no way to downgrade! The GMM site only offers the new, non-working version. Really lame release, Google. Really super lame. Now I can't show off the nifty Google Maps on my phone anymore. :(; November 29, 2007 at 7:36 AM
Douglas Karr said...: Fascinating. Hope to see an API where I can text MYLOCATION and access it through a map on the web! Since you guys know the location, I should be able to just query the API for a phone number and actually get back the lat/long, no?

I usually know where I am... but others don't! :); November 29, 2007 at 8:07 AM
Ruut said...: You did a great job.

I also have some critics. Some people see your software as spy ware, since you used (without asking permission) the GPS of mobile phone users in the past to build your cell tower database. For more info see: http://navizon.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/11/google-and-priv.html; November 29, 2007 at 8:53 AM
Simon Leinen said...: boelimaa: Yes, this works in Switzerland, at least with certain carriers. A colleague and myself tried (in the same place), and while I (with an Orange subscription/SIM) always got the "location not available" error, he (Sunrise/coop prepaid) got a pretty accurate location.; November 29, 2007 at 9:06 AM
Anonymous said...: http://www.google.com/gmm/bes

Download link is broken. For enterprise blackberry customers.
Please fix it so we can deploy.; November 29, 2007 at 9:08 AM
Otto said...: For anybody that can't get 2.0.0 to work on their phone, here's how to downgrade:

Navigate your phone's web browser to here:
http://www.google.com/gmm/apps/v1.5.4/L1/gmaps-Generic-Advanced_MIDP2_L1.jad

That will get the older 1.5.4 version of Google Maps Mobile. It works for me and my LG CU500, whereas the new 2.0 version is decidedly broken.; November 29, 2007 at 11:45 AM
CooterBrown said...: New location feature does not work on my Sprint 6800 (HTC Mogul). I get the "Your current location is temporarily unavailable." Would sure appreciate a fix on the next version!! :-); November 29, 2007 at 11:45 AM
Unknown said...: Very Nice! Only Google can come up with such convenient stuff that makes life easier. I don't have GPS on my Blackberry 8700g and it's so useful. Can't thank Google enough.; November 29, 2007 at 12:18 PM
Unknown said...: It works on the Iphone with "navizon"....; November 29, 2007 at 12:36 PM
Unknown said...: I just blogged about this feature a couple of days ago, then you go and release a beta of it. Too bad that it doesn't work on my Sprint Samsung A900. Maybe next version. Is it the phone or the J2ME application accessing phone internals?; November 29, 2007 at 2:04 PM
Anonymous said...: Doesn't work on my phone either and it crashed the app when i tried to get help on it..... I guess you shouldn't expect much from a beta release. I just hope it didn't cost me too much. It did download pretty quick.; November 29, 2007 at 2:53 PM
Unknown said...: This is possible that you and your friend that are on different networks and at same place are getting different results. Let's take an example of Google Earth. A few years ago when it was launched; it didn't have place name of each and every location compared to today and even still it's getting finer each day. If you are a member of Google Earth community then you can contribute by sharing the names of those places that you know. The same thing applies here at GMM. Google didn't say but it need volunteers. Here the information is mobile carrier specific. That means On the same place ATT tower might be registered to GMM MyL but it's not necessary that Vodafone's tower is also registered in MyL database of Google.

As i said earlier Google needs volunteers that means only those people who have GPS Handsets with GMM Running or Handsets which are attached to GPS Accessories like Sony Ericsson HGE 100 or any Bluetooth GPS Accessory and GMM software ON can help Google to enriched it's database of Mobile towers.

Now again let's move back to the problem when 2 people on different networks are at same place. If a first person gets the approximate location information on GMM that means that some times ago a person who has GPS Phone or Phone with GPS Accessory had passed to that location while GMM was running so GMM has sent the information of that Tower and saved into the database.

So, if you have a phone that can work with GPS and you want that your area or village gets fully covered on GMM so that other citizens or tourists who doesn't have GPS Phone can take an advantage of it; then you have volunteer for it. If there is a vacation or weekend then just attach GPS accessory or start in-built GPS and on the meantime start GMM. Now just roam around your favourite places. Next time when anyone without GPS functionality will use GMM; he will not receive error messages like "location temporary available" and at the end of the day you will feel content that you did something for your area or locality and now it is fully covered under your favourite mobile carrier/ Operator.

If this method is getting costly to you then do one thing, start Cell Information on your phone. Now if you see a new location name on screen then just start your GPS and GMM and Google will register it. Now exit the software. Again if you come to that place where different location name is showing then do the same thing. Thus your favourite area will get 100% covered.

In short, if more people with GPS use this service in different areas the more it will get enrich.; November 29, 2007 at 9:35 PM
Amby Rit said...: Don't get surprised !
check www.mobiance.com

Mobiance is providing the same service in India from last couple of years.; November 29, 2007 at 10:49 PM
Unknown said...: Can't download it. I go to www.google.com/gmm from my Treo 650 and it says v2.0 is available. When I download and install it, i only get v1.2.0.9 instead. Tried again from my computer and the link points to the old version.; November 29, 2007 at 11:03 PM
mac said...: Nice feature, however, do you know that mobile operators change very often the cell-id identifiers? how will you deal with this?; November 30, 2007 at 12:57 AM
lemur said...: It doesn't work on my Nokia 6288 in Poland :(; November 30, 2007 at 1:27 AM
Kerry DH said...: Will this ever work on the Treo700W? I can't find a solid answer on this?; November 30, 2007 at 5:30 PM
123456 said...: @Satya: I dont think it works like you say. I had GPS activated here in my location a couple of times already but still as soon as GPS is deactivated Google still does not know anything about my location (in UMTS coverage). In GSM Network the feature always worked for me. Hmmmm ...; December 1, 2007 at 1:10 AM
Anonymous said...: I have an HTC PPC6800 via Alltel in the Oklahoma City metro area, and when I hit 0, it says "Your current location is temporarily unavailable." Too bad. :(; December 1, 2007 at 11:33 PM
Ben said...: Just tried it on an HTC Touch + WM6 (HTC P3450), and got a consistent 100 meters (=300ft) precision in Paris, France. (while the blue circle way too conservatively announces a 1700m precision); December 2, 2007 at 2:33 PM
idontlikeguys said...: Treo 700wx support pretty please.; December 2, 2007 at 2:48 PM
David said...: Is there any way to force the download to the English version of the application?

I'm in Germany and it always defaults to the German version. While I have no problem understanding German, I would prefer to have the English version.; December 2, 2007 at 11:34 PM
Me said...: Will this be available for Palm OS?; December 3, 2007 at 11:39 AM
Manuel Risco-Herrera said...: work nicely fine (quite accurate)
Canberra, Australia; December 3, 2007 at 3:01 PM
Zac said...: Support for the I-607 Blackjack would be greatly appreciated. It is after all a Windows Mobile device.; December 3, 2007 at 3:44 PM
Unknown said...: Doesnt work in Armidale Australia, Warick Australia but worked in Brisbane, however, to a distance of 1,700 metres! Not useful at that distance.; December 3, 2007 at 5:02 PM
Kevin said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; December 4, 2007 at 1:31 AM
C.Fred said...: Is the service offline? I got a "Your current location is temporarily unavailable" while trying it in Atlanta, GA.; December 4, 2007 at 1:49 PM
Anonymous said...: Still not working in the Oklahoma City region.; December 4, 2007 at 3:32 PM
Anonymous said...: Platform: winm-PocketPC-TITA100/Web [en_US, en]
myl: N/A

:(

I'm on a PPC6800 with service through Alltel in zip code 73054.

Please add support for this device. Thanks.; December 4, 2007 at 3:38 PM
Sam said...: I have this working on an E61i and it is great. It has been surprisingly accurate wherever I tried it (in the UK) and when I need greater precision I can connect GMM to my GPS receiver over bluetooth.

Two suggestions.

1. Prefix all telephone numbers returned from a search with the country code so that it is always possible to call the number directly (essential when on the road in Europe). This should be easy.

2. Add "Find on Map" on option list in the Contacts app so that it is possible to display and/or route to/from an address stored in a contact book entry. Even better, provide a decent Contact book app for the E61i, the Nokia one stinks.

Keep up the great work

Sam; December 5, 2007 at 3:02 PM
Eliasibe said...: Simply wonderfull!!!!

I live in Brazil, my home city is Brasilia. My Location found me perfectly.

This is the just one of the several wonderful things Google gave us.

Congratulations.; December 5, 2007 at 7:25 PM
Juho said...: but when will we get my maps and mobile integration...?; December 8, 2007 at 4:16 AM
chris j said...: i am a member of a search and rescue team, it would be very useful if we could put in another mobile no. and get it's location. Phone companies will do his for us but it's slow and very innacurate; December 8, 2007 at 10:52 AM
Mark said...: I need My Location for Treo 700w running WM5.; December 11, 2007 at 1:02 PM
RB7-Invmed said...: I have a RAZR2 V9 and downloaded 2.0 a week ago and it worked great including My Location. The other day I switched out the 1gig memory card for a 2 gig card and then had to reload it and now it states in the Help-About section that My Location doesn't work on my device. Why doesn't it work now and it did before.; December 15, 2007 at 4:48 PM
g said...: WHEN WILL IT BE WORKING FOR THE TREO 700WX???; December 17, 2007 at 10:30 AM
RB7-Invmed said...: Found the solution. I changed the default download to Phone instead of card and installed it. Now My location works fine.; December 26, 2007 at 7:52 AM
Unknown said...: Has anyone got this to work on their SonyEricsson P1i? Touch-Screen usability would also be appreciated ;); December 27, 2007 at 1:07 AM
Unknown said...: Google ruined what was a great product. With this "my location" based on cell towers, I have to force it to listen to my GPS unit. It's defaulting to the cell towers when my GPS is sitting right then trying to talk. Then if I do get the GPS unit talking and I go through trees, the my location jumps me to some random spot it thinks I'm in based on the cell towers. Do you know how unnerving it is to be in one location on a map and then you look down and your 1/2 mile away on another road? Google needs to have a GPS My Location and the cell tower "My approximate location" as two separate features. The Cell tower thing is useless and a gimmick and it screws up my real GPS! I have to go looking for some other software now that works or go back to the older version. I've warned all my friends NOT to upgrade to this version.; January 4, 2008 at 6:29 PM
Unknown said...: I was on my way from Delhi to Jaipur ( India ). I was on MTNL Dolphin Network. War around AIIMS Flyover - Gurgaon....it showed me that i am in Bahrein....; January 4, 2008 at 7:51 PM
Simon said...: @Wayne : You can switch the my location tool off in the options, if it's not working for you.; January 7, 2008 at 2:50 AM
Anonymous said...: This is really great, it even works here in Sydney. I was dreading it was going to be a U.S. only thing.

I'm wondering though, 3G phones connect to multiple towers at once. This allows triangulation between the connected towers and much greater accuracy. I'm not sure how a third party (i.e. non-network controlled) application would calculate this, but it's worth investigating.

Also, you say that the more one uses the application (and indeed, the more people use the application in general) the greater the accuracy will get. How does this work, particularly as there is no way to correct the system if you do indeed know your exact location?; January 15, 2008 at 6:50 PM
Ashifi said...: No blue dot love on MTN in Accra, Ghana. The new version of maps is nice though.; January 16, 2008 at 2:19 AM
rstonehouse said...: Two posts up @mister pointed out that as cell phones (2G and 3G) can be range of multiple cell towers. It is possible to use this to get a more accurate translation.

Better then that GSM radio stacks have a measure of timing advance in order to do time division multiplexing. This gives out a measure of the distance to the cell tower accurate to ~500m. If a few cells are available triangulation should make position info more accurate.

One program that read these values from the memory of GSM radio was available for certain HTC windows mobile phones called CellTrack.

It would be great if the Google Andriod mobile platform made manufactueres expose this info from the GSM radio - but it may be that GPS units become much more standard on phones. Still positioning using cell sites will be much better for battery life.

Also as users with GPSes contribute the location of cell sites it would be great to see APIs so that apps other than Google mobile maps can use them. There is an alternative called Navizon that already offers some APIs for this.; January 17, 2008 at 1:13 PM
Unknown said...: Hi - The new google maps doesn't seem to work over Wifi on my new Nokia E51. Love the idea of using cell towers for location data, but can you give us wifi functionality for general map usage? Free wifi mapping is much more useful that paid data packet 3g service.

Thanks!; January 18, 2008 at 7:06 PM
Anonymous said...: Very nice software, come in handy. I am using a Telus branded HTC Touch (Vouge)and i have never gotten the my location feature to work, it does not matter where i am. It just keep saying " Your location is temporarily unavailable ". Temporarily seems like forever.; January 25, 2008 at 9:34 PM
Unknown said...: The "My Location" feature works great on my Blackberry 8700, until it locks up. Then I get the "Your location is temporarily unavailable" EVERY time. What I discovered is that if I do a "Reset Google Maps" on the Help Menu, it immediately starts working again. Unfortunately, I have to accept the license agreement again, and I lose all my favorites, etc.

Other Blackberry users with newer models here at my office have found the same behavior.

This HAS to be a bug of some sort.

Any chance of a fix????

Joe; February 29, 2008 at 11:48 AM
Unknown said...: There's a new UIQ3 version of Google maps for mobiles that finally lets me use the touchscreen to navigate the map.
And, the "my location" feature is working too.
Sometimes it's a few kilometers off ... sometimes it's real precise.
Not something you'd want your life to depend upon, but neat none the less.

Thanks for supporting us UIQ3 users!; March 12, 2008 at 1:38 AM
Fran Turner said...: Will there ever be a way to get the blue dot on the Treo 650? If not, will it work with the external gps?
Thanks!; March 19, 2008 at 11:52 AM
Antti Kettunen said...: Version 2.03 does not work properly on the k800i under ATT service.

i can do 3 things on it.
1. search for directions on known adresses
2. change to satelite view and back
3. look at traffic.

thats all

I cant search for services or locations
i cant do much of anything with it anymore.. i wish i could undo the update and go back to the older version.; March 23, 2008 at 9:53 PM
Unknown said...: I love the maps, but My Location isn't working well. The first time I tried it, it was within 6 short blocks. Since then, it's been way off - like a mile or two.
(T-Mobile Dash); April 11, 2008 at 1:52 PM
iceblue said...: Please do what you can for those of us that love our Treo 700wx (sprint). Thanks.; April 20, 2008 at 5:24 AM
Unknown said...: Great feature. I love it. Makes my BB so much more useful. Sadly it only worked for the first week it was installed. Now all I get is "your current location is temporarily unavailable" message. Not just in my town but were ever I travel (I travel all over the US for work). I'm using an verizon 8130. I hope some day it starts working again.; April 29, 2008 at 9:31 AM
Unknown said...: Google Maps Mobile works Very Well here in Mumbai ( India ) with Vodafone IN network.It has covered almost whole city with exact location of suburban train station. But yes with CellOne network in Hyderabad, it's showing wrong location like in Banjara Hills.; April 29, 2008 at 11:22 AM
Jeff said...: another request for support on the sprint 700wx. at least give us a reason why it doesn't work. is it the phone, the service or the app?; April 30, 2008 at 8:38 AM
Rich DDT said...: Please please please there are many of us that want this working on our Treo 700wx - I believe it's Palm's fault, they need to offer the API necessary to access the ID number of the cell tower: http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/8094/palm-to-support-google-maps-my-location-after-all/
Google please urge them to make this happen ASAP!; June 17, 2008 at 6:36 AM
Unknown said...: it would be great if there would be a url, where to download older versions, like pre-2.0 Maps for Java, cause my Nokia 6230i with the latest firmware doesnt allow java-applications larger than 500k, although before the firmware-update of my phone a former gmaps mobile version worked just fine, which was seemingly smaller. now the mobile download after google send me the link-sms just ends early and abruptly with "file too large".; June 24, 2008 at 3:05 AM
Anonymous said...: We enjoy this characteristic , I just set up it on my Blackberry Curve, 8300. It worked flawlessly and positioned me within like 500 feet.
________________________________
Mac
Wide Circles; July 28, 2008 at 9:56 PM
Anonymous said...: The hottest tech stories from all around the web on a single page. Inspired by nature and dedicated to service, New York is a magical place where your every.
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Jack
Wide Circles; July 29, 2008 at 12:20 AM
peppermind said...: In the last weeks, I was on and off trying to find a way, how my maps would work on my mobile (blackberry curve). After putting all the pieces together, I seems, I found a way, how to access my "my maps" on the GMM. 6-step-Instructions see here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRXcfEPtceY; July 30, 2008 at 12:28 AM
Unknown said...: the sad thing is...my pocket pc does not support 'My Location'.
It is HP612c
So sad.; August 29, 2008 at 3:52 AM
Anonymous said...: Will developers be able to build applications using the data google has collected to do the triangulation?

===================================

JOHN

widecircles; August 29, 2008 at 9:43 AM
Unknown said...: All new features are good. But until you implement offline caching, it is all useless.; September 16, 2008 at 12:52 AM
Sandy said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; September 17, 2008 at 11:59 AM
Sandy said...: Love Google maps. Would love to get it signed to use the Sprint location classes (SPH-M500, but I think getting it signed to use Java location API should work for many sprint phones).; September 17, 2008 at 12:00 PM
hudz said...: I live in Malaysia, but My Location (Google map) shows me in Taiwan which I think our country connects the main Internet provider for Asia which is at Taiwan.; September 25, 2008 at 2:18 AM
deincognito said...: Which is exactly the information logged by Google over any of our particular access to the service? Is just Cell-ID and, if any, GPS long and lat provided by our mobile devices? Is there any information regarding our searches being logged?

Is there any other information such as IMEI or IMSI or any unidirectional identifier of our GPS antenna being logged?

Could you precisely identify logs being retained and for which purposes?

Thanks; October 27, 2008 at 11:55 AM
deincognito said...: Which is exactly the information logged by Google over any of our particular access to the service? Is just Cell-ID and, if any, GPS long and lat provided by our mobile devices? Is there any information regarding our searches being logged?

Is there any other information such as IMEI or IMSI or any unidirectional identifier of our GPS antenna being logged?

Could you precisely identify logs being retained and for which purposes?

Thanks; October 27, 2008 at 11:56 AM
Unknown said...: Here i would like to point out an error which has been introduced in a new version of 2.3.2.

In previous version of GMM myL 404:20 : 16006 : 24622

used to show right location i.e. Nerul Suburban Station in Mumbai ( India ) but now it shows a location in Dubai with accuracy of 5000m.

Please correct this error. Apart from this some nearby towers have started showing lesser accurate position than in previous version. Operator is Vodafone IN Mumbai.

Thanks.; November 21, 2008 at 1:45 AM
av said...: you can use an application called FindMyLocation on handango (for the blackberry) to find your location using cell towers; December 5, 2008 at 10:32 PM
Bill Winett said...: When I run it on my Motorola Q9C it displays weird characters (like wingdings). Same thing after completely uninstalling and reinstalling.; February 12, 2009 at 4:18 PM
Bill Winett said...: Turning my phone off and on got rid of the wingdings.; February 12, 2009 at 4:28 PM
Mukarram (Mac) said...: I still can not get it to work with my Verizon Samsung Ommia (i900)?

Any suggestions please?; February 15, 2009 at 7:01 PM
Web Tasarımcı said...: This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.; February 20, 2009 at 2:06 PM

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