Comments on: Where’s this phone? http://lastminutelabs.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/wheres-this-phone/ News and views from lastminute.com labs in London Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:49:50 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=MU By: neer http://lastminutelabs.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/wheres-this-phone/#comment-138 neer Fri, 23 May 2008 12:37:43 +0000 http://lastminutelabs.wordpress.com/?p=32#comment-138 ya i like this awesome information ya i like this awesome information

]]> By: tomsoft http://lastminutelabs.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/wheres-this-phone/#comment-133 tomsoft Sun, 11 May 2008 07:58:16 +0000 http://lastminutelabs.wordpress.com/?p=32#comment-133 First, thanks for the mention of http://www.opencellid.org . The coverage is still very incomplete, but we put a lot of hope on latest GPS enabled phone from SonyEricsson, which will contains both access to GPS and CellID. We create the database by getting information from the users which have both GPS info and CellID, which is now only avaialble with an external bluetooth GPS. But I am quite sure that Google has done the same with his native version, at least on some french operators, thanks to a very simple experience: - try to access location on let's say a SonyEricsson phone on an unkown cell -> can not get your position - now, use GoogleMap on the same network operator and at the same place with an N95, and locate yourself - go back to your SonyEricsson -> You will be located.... First, thanks for the mention of http://www.opencellid.org . The coverage is still very incomplete, but we put a lot of hope on latest GPS enabled phone from SonyEricsson, which will contains both access to GPS and CellID.
We create the database by getting information from the users which have both GPS info and CellID, which is now only avaialble with an external bluetooth GPS.
But I am quite sure that Google has done the same with his native version, at least on some french operators, thanks to a very simple experience:
- try to access location on let’s say a SonyEricsson phone on an unkown cell -> can not get your position
- now, use GoogleMap on the same network operator and at the same place with an N95, and locate yourself
- go back to your SonyEricsson -> You will be located….

]]> By: Robert Stonehouse http://lastminutelabs.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/wheres-this-phone/#comment-132 Robert Stonehouse Fri, 09 May 2008 20:55:20 +0000 http://lastminutelabs.wordpress.com/?p=32#comment-132 Navizon is another cell id database and application for a number of devices celltrack is a program for Symbian phones (and there was a program with the same name for Windows Mobile - it grabbed data out of the memory of the CPU running the radio stack!). As well as getting a list of nearby cell towers that can also get the Timing Advance. This tells you how near you are to each tower so you can approximately triangulate yourself. What about geo-locating the IP address? though there are probably few exit points from the mobile operators networks. I don't think there is a good answer to this query at the moment. Maybe as mobile browsers evolve (firefox, opera mobile) they will offer the facility to send nearby cell location in the HTTP headers to a set of trusted sites. Navizon is another cell id database and application for a number of devices

celltrack is a program for Symbian phones (and there was a program with the same name for Windows Mobile - it grabbed data out of the memory of the CPU running the radio stack!). As well as getting a list of nearby cell towers that can also get the Timing Advance. This tells you how near you are to each tower so you can approximately triangulate yourself.

What about geo-locating the IP address? though there are probably few exit points from the mobile operators networks.

I don’t think there is a good answer to this query at the moment.

Maybe as mobile browsers evolve (firefox, opera mobile) they will offer the facility to send nearby cell location in the HTTP headers to a set of trusted sites.

]]> By: James Body http://lastminutelabs.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/wheres-this-phone/#comment-131 James Body Fri, 09 May 2008 11:53:56 +0000 http://lastminutelabs.wordpress.com/?p=32#comment-131 Terence - you are right about the privacy issues. This is really where applications like Fire Eagle really come into their own - allowing the end user to control how much or what granularity of info is released and to whom. Location data is one important component to what we title internally as 'Plutonium Data' - (thank to Martin eddes who coined the term). Just because data is potentially dangerous (as is Plutonium) it does not mean that it should not be used for all kinds of productive and beneficial uses! It just means that we have to be very careful about how we handle it (and take protective measures). Terence - you are right about the privacy issues. This is really where applications like Fire Eagle really come into their own - allowing the end user to control how much or what granularity of info is released and to whom.

Location data is one important component to what we title internally as ‘Plutonium Data’ - (thank to Martin eddes who coined the term). Just because data is potentially dangerous (as is Plutonium) it does not mean that it should not be used for all kinds of productive and beneficial uses! It just means that we have to be very careful about how we handle it (and take protective measures).

]]> By: Terence Eden http://lastminutelabs.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/wheres-this-phone/#comment-130 Terence Eden Fri, 09 May 2008 07:46:19 +0000 http://lastminutelabs.wordpress.com/?p=32#comment-130 Sadly, those are your only real options. Unless the phone or the service provider inserted an HTTP header with latitude and longitude, you're reliant on the phone (hence an app) or an aggregator. The main reason for this is privacy. An app will generally ask permission to locate me and I'm quite likely to accept if it's part of the functionality that I need. However, I don't want to broadcast my location to every single website that I casually browse. So, I have to give my permission to be located to my operator who in turn needs to give it to you (via an agrregator). It similar to not wanting to give your phone number to every site you visit. So, we come down to a tricky balance of privacy and profitability. I suspect future browsers will allow applets or flash to run which would be able to determine location, but until then, I can't see any way to short cut the system. Sadly, those are your only real options. Unless the phone or the service provider inserted an HTTP header with latitude and longitude, you’re reliant on the phone (hence an app) or an aggregator.

The main reason for this is privacy. An app will generally ask permission to locate me and I’m quite likely to accept if it’s part of the functionality that I need.
However, I don’t want to broadcast my location to every single website that I casually browse.

So, I have to give my permission to be located to my operator who in turn needs to give it to you (via an agrregator). It similar to not wanting to give your phone number to every site you visit.

So, we come down to a tricky balance of privacy and profitability. I suspect future browsers will allow applets or flash to run which would be able to determine location, but until then, I can’t see any way to short cut the system.

]]> By: SMS Text News » Archives » How do you properly locate a phone on the mobile web? http://lastminutelabs.wordpress.com/2008/05/08/wheres-this-phone/#comment-126 SMS Text News » Archives » How do you properly locate a phone on the mobile web? Thu, 08 May 2008 22:57:24 +0000 http://lastminutelabs.wordpress.com/?p=32#comment-126 [...] Where’s this phone? « travel innovation If anyone has any further light to shed on this topic, feel free to chime in - we’d love to hear [...] [...] Where’s this phone? « travel innovation If anyone has any further light to shed on this topic, feel free to chime in - we’d love to hear [...]

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