touch-packages team mailing list archive

[Ondrej Kubik <ondrej.kubik@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

GPS is most accurate positioning system we have on the phone. However it
comes with price, here are some of the bad features of GPS: drains
battery, does not work indoors, takes long to get initial location when
used first time (or long after last use)

Therefore number of supporting used to leverage those "bad" features of GPS, however those other technologies come at the price.
Namely network based location (wifi, GSM cells) is faster and less power hungry than GPS, but it has lot worse accuracy.

HERE location service uses network based location in order to show user coarse location quickly, while GPS is working on the background to acquire precise location. This can be observer in here maps when actual circle representing accuracy shrinks in the moment GPS location is acquired.
In short we get between 1m to 15m for GPS location, based on number of visible satellites.
but 25m to 30km! accuracy for network based location. 30km is extreme with no visible wifi and only one visible GSM cell tower. Still valid example.

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1421623

Title:
  Welcome wizard claims GPS is less accurate than wifi based location

Status in the base for Ubuntu mobile products:
  New
Status in Ubuntu UX bugs:
  Triaged
Status in ubuntu-system-settings package in Ubuntu:
  Invalid
Status in unity8 package in Ubuntu:
  New

Bug description:
  First boot welcome wizard in location sections claims GPS is less accurate than network based location service from HERE.
  While this can be theoretically true in some insane corner case, in normal life GPS is far more accurate.

  To help form correct text here are main differences.

  GPS - more accurate, but slow to acquire fix, does not work indoors,
  drains battery more, no need for internet connection, does not send
  any data out.

  Network based location - almost instant to get coarse location, works
  indoors, accuracy depends on network coverage in the area, more power
  efficient, requires internet connection. To get location data about
  visible GSM network and wifi networks needs to be send to 3rd party
  server.

  tested on krillin vivid-proposed r107

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