FlightMan

OK, I have an iTouch, had it as a b'day present 2 years ago.

Anyway, I had to pop out to a house about 2 miles away today to drop an envelope off. Never been there before but had the address in an email.

So I;

Open the email.
Click on the address within.
Google Maps opens and the address is marked with a little red pin.

Nothing unusual about that is there.

However, off I go with my 10 year old in the passenger seat, holding the iTouch and calling out the roads as we get closer to our destination. And there it was, a little blue dot on the display, marking our position as we drove along the road all the way to our destination. I went back via another route and the blue dot followed us all the way home!

How? An iTouch has no GPS doesn't it? I had no WI-FI connection. How did it know where we were?

I'm really puzzled.

I found this thread on MacForums,

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=519463

where the OP appears to have had a similar experience, but he is laughed out of town, based on something called WI-FI triangulation? One comment says
" so you're telling me that it tracked your car as it was moving down the road? I don't think so. "

But that's exactly what happened to me!?

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

Probably got a fix at home and uses the accelerometers to track movement from then on, not tried it but its the most plausible explanation.

hodgy0_2

are you a terrorist -- or have any other dealings with the security services?

(they use blue dots)

PaulC72

it connected to a phone network and your bill is on the way

SwissTony

iTrader: (19)

Yeah I would worry about that blue dot and the **** off helicopter 400 ft above you tracking

FlightMan

So, does anyone actually know WTF was going on?

I would have thought one of the Apple techies on here would have an idea. I'm baffled. Jacko's accelerometer sounds plausible, but I'm not sure it's that sensitive is it?

bigsinky

iPod touch finds your location using known Wi-Fi hotspots.

scud8

iTrader: (1)

There is a database of WiFi hotspots (one's that broadcast an SSID) and the Touch can use that to find its approximate location.

FlightMan

Driving down a residential road at 30mph? No businesses between me and the destination address.

bigsinky

yep, but you're still not convinced, I can tell

FlightMan

Well the database of known wi-fi hotspots I buy that.
But surely this won't include residential addresses?

SunnySideUp

Is your car fitted with a Bluetooth Speedo and Steering Wheel Sensor?

That's where the info is coming from.

FlightMan

It's my commute car Pete. A 52 plate Yaris GS. It's fitted with a tape deck!

So no, nothing like that at all.

SunnySideUp

The Security Forces can fit certain 'devices' ......

Gordo

triangulation from phone masts. simple. my blackberry does it and that doesn't have gps or anything fancy on it either.

FlightMan

It's a wi-fi device. What do phone masts have to do with it?

SunnySideUp

Apple fit certain 'extras' to track their sheep

Gordo

Here we go - software tracks a mixture of registered wi-fi hotspots and cell masts and compares vs its database, to triangulate its rough position. Not as good as the gps in an iphone, but more accurate than just cell mast triangulation alone. Sorted (FlightMan, cell masts transmit an ID so you can pick them up without being on the GSM network).

SKYHOOK Wireless: How It Works > Overview

FlightMan

Gordo, thank you very much!!

+Doc+

What programme was it, need to test!

FlightMan

Well, I opened an email, clicked on the address within, and it launches what looks like Google Maps.

boomer

Location-Aware Browsing

mb

PaulC72

It can BT provide a service where you can sign up as a resident which provides you with minutes to use on hotspots around and about in exchange for this your router becomes a BT FON (iirc) point which allows people to connect to providing they are on the said service as well.

So from that residential addresses could also provide a location point via wi-fi.

tarmac terror

iTrader: (2)

Agree with PaulC72 - BT are providing BTOpenzone services using home hubs.

BT OpenZone: Is it or isn't it? ? The Register

Gordo

Any wireless hotspot has an ID - you don't need to be able to access the net via it to be able to get the ID and know where it is, including secure networks (sounds like Skyhook are populating their known map of IDs real-time, as and when these devices do touch the net, they're comparing and updating vs known locations).

boxst

I was quite surprised when I had an iPod Touch that it more or less knoew where I was without GPS or a telephone signal.

Apparently my SSID is in the database. All very scary stuff...

Steve

StickyMicky

People just don't realize nowadays just how much info they unwittingly transmit about themselves.

For example, I can tell you that a lass by the name of Rebbecca Hill, lives 0.6miles from my home, and downloads tv programs from ezeetv.

Never met her, nor do i want to as her picture looked a bit rough but she seams oblivious to the fact that i installed a simple app onto my phone, had a look about and found her home address + a record of downloading copyrighted content

The coppers must have it increasingly easy nowadays IMO!