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© 2010 Jason Delport
Since Google launched their new maps product searches coming to this site about finding the cell id via Java ME have been off the hook.
Here's a *speculative* theory of how Google may have achieved this. The product currently works on a selection of Sony Ericsson phones, Motorola phones, BlackBerry devices and Nokia S60.3 devices. The first three are Java ME applications and the last is a Symbian application. Basically Google must have an enormous database of cell ids which are linked to a longitude and latitude position. How Google came to have this data is anyone's guess but it must been a huge endeavour. If Google ever had to open up this database via an API it would pretty much kill off all the network operators expensive LBS services. Now that would be a happy day!
On the devices themselves Google probably used the following Java ME properties within the application to find the cell id. This data is then sent to the Google server where the cell id is translated into a longitude and latitude position which in term is handed off to the Google Maps API which returns the result to the device. Pretty simple really. It's just that it needed someone with the resources of Google to pull this off. I wonder how they created the cell id database? There's a story for the telling!
Update: Simon Judge also has a theory but his is slightly different to mine.
Sony Ericsson
System.getProperty("com.sonyericsson.net.cellid");
System.getProperty("com.sonyericsson.net.lac");
System.getProperty("com.sonyericsson.net.mcc");
Motorola
System.getProperty("CellID");
System.getProperty("LocAreaCode");
System.getProperty("IMSI");
BlackBerry
GPRSInfo.getCellInfo().getCellId();
GPRSInfo.getCellInfo().getLAC();
GPRSInfo.getCellInfo().getBSIC();
Further Resources
http://www.placelab.org/ (thanks Peter)
http://www.cellspotting.com/
http://gsmloc.org/
Given a large amount of devices, some of them with GPS, it should be possible for Google to build such a database. Devices with GPS could send their longitude / latitude together with their cell ID to Google thus linking cell IDs to geographic positions. Just a guess.
Regards,
tamberg
Checkout PlaceLabs.org - the code to pull it off is there.
I think you are probably right but I have subsequently found that there are also some open cell id databases out there. Google probably used a combination of sources. Simon Judge also thinks that they may have a partnership with the network operators themselves.
Hi,
for the Vodafone Germany network, Google has released a version of google maps which connects to the LES (location enabling server) of Vodafone via HTTP and gets the location of the customer from that server. Don't know if they have done that for other operators as well...
Cheers
Dominik
Trust me when I say that the operators have not assisted google in this endevour (as suggested in Simon Judges comment). What google has done is in fact built a massive database of cellIDs - which is actually quite a simple (if laborious) task. All it takes is to physically drive around with some software that records the lat/long via GPS and also the current cellID/MCC/MNC observed on the mobile network(s).
System.getProperty("com.sonyericsson.net.cellid");
work only with jp7.3 and Higher (java platform)
==> sony ericsson k800i
W100
W200
...
w800
thx
It's difficult to guess this.
According to http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9824546-7.html ('Google Maps for Mobile adds 'My Location' feature')
"We're creating a database of cell tower locations and that database is built from people using Google Maps for Mobile," Lee said.
and according to
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/28/google-doesnt-know-where-you-are-but-it-has-a-good-guess/ ('Google Doesn?t Know Where You Are (But It Has a Good Guess)') and
http://navizon.typepad.com/my_weblog/2007/11/google-and-priv.html ('Google and Privacy? No worries, right?')
they haven't told their users that their doing so...
Hello,
First of all please accept my apology as my question might be of a novice type. I am new to this subject and am interested in knowing how Google accomplishes the remaining part of the story i.e., getting the signal strength with respect to a cell id and the triangulation algorithm. Please mention the syntax and / or any learning reference that I can look in to as a guide.
Thanks
How google takes for SonyEricsson CDMA devices
and also how the SonyEricsson UIQ3 Symbian OS 9 version will took using google Map.Is it possible.
Hi All,
I have an application in which i have to get the IMEI number. I am using Blackberry Bold.
I am using getIMEI() method. but not getting the IMEI number. can anybody tell me how to get it? Please reply me soon.
Thanks in advance.
Dolan.
Hi all , To get signal strength for mobile phones , try place lab API'S at www.placelab.org