One of my favorite (missing) features of Google Maps on my N95 was the ability for it to pick up my (approximate) location based on which cell tower I was connected to. I'm talking you fired up Google Maps, pressed 0 and within <5 seconds it took you to your location (which is faster than it even takes Ovi Maps to load!).

It was INCREDIBLY useful for being able to do quick location based services. Quite possibly the #1 feature I am missing on the N900.

So my questions are, was that something that Google built into Google Maps, something like a database of cell towers, their GPS coords and coverage radius? What level of effort would be required to have that same quick/approximate location information be made from within the N900?

My next question is how should this be worded into a Brainstorm? I want to give as much accurate technical details as possible so its not vague what is being requested. Also, this doesn't necessarily have to be just for Ovi Maps, I would think other programs could find this capability useful.

What I am wanting is a near instant approximation based on cell tower while the GPS is still attempting to get a more accurate location in the background.

Possible location methods are described here. I think "LOCATION_METHOD_CWP" is something that sounds like the method you described.

http://wiki.maemo.org/Documentation/...cation_methods

That's already in you N900. It's called AGPS (Assisted GPS) and activating it is the only way for getting a GPS fix in a short time.

You must set it active in Settings --> Location

By the way, if yo install latitude from the extras repository you can make googlemaps show your position, getting it updated by means of cell position, network ip or GPS.

Google maps in n900 microb browser gets your location with gps or without gps by using mobilephone network towers

Its already out...no need to request it.

The newest "geolocation" plugin/app, available in the "Downloads" section (newest app), works for my "Google maps bookmark". It acquires my location in 2-3 seconds, if that long.

http://maps.google.com/maps/m?







Also, the Near Me plugin, for the Firefox browser, looks and works very similarly, to the Google Search "app". It finds my location in "less than 1 second", without the need of the other geolocation plugin.

hope this does not screw up the position (or make it take longer) in countries with strict privacy policy like Norway. If you had my IP and used whois on it you could not tell more than that i might be from Norway You could reasearch about my ISP but to no help about my position xD

It's called maemo-geolocation and I think it's in extras-devel

I was able to DL/install...I do not have testing, nor dev repositories active on my phone. The Dev repo is not even configured.


Its under the "Fresh" column:


http://maemo.org/downloads/Maemo5/

Thanks, this is awesome and exactly what I was looking for!

This is what the basics of Ovi Maps should look/act like.