Apple & Skyhook Adds iPhone Location Over Wi-Fi

• Posted: Saturday, January 19, 2008
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• Author: pradhana
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• Filed under: Apple, iPhone, Wi-Fi

Apple has just announced several upgrades and new products that take advantage of a lack of wires. The iPhone can now figure out your location by triangulating either the location of nearby cell towers or by fishing around for WI-Fi signals.

The cell-tower system uses information from Google, which also provides the map data. Wi-Fi location details come from Skyhook Wireless.

"Apple sells the most innovative mobile products on the market today, and now iPhone and iPod touch include Skyhook's Wi-Fi positioning capabilities," said Ted Morgan, CEO of Skyhook Wireless. "We are very excited to be a part of these great Apple products."

The iPhone can make a connection over either EDGE or Wi-Fi, Skyhook confirmed that the iPhone can take its snapshot of the signals around it and transmit that to their servers over either Wi-Fi or EDGE.

When connected to a Wi-Fi network, the query can go over Wi-Fi, of course, but could be coupled for better results with cell radio sniffing, too. Using Wi-Fi Positioning System (WPS), iPhone and iPod touch users can now locate themselves in the popular Maps application with the tap of one button.

Skyhook has built a database of over 23 million Wi-Fi access points with their locations. The patented technology behind WPS leverages that database to provide location information. Skyhook's software-only system offers high accuracy indoors and the ability to make location more precise for users.

Skyhook Wireless was founded in 2003 to capitalize on the growth of Wi-Fi and the emerging market for location-based services. Skyhook's location coverage today includes 70% of the U.S. and Canadian populations, the top metropolitan areas of Europe and expanding coverage in Asia.

Location is one of the most desired features on mobile devices. With location, consumers can easily search for nearby merchants and destinations and get directions to whatever destinations they choose. Wi-Fi is growing in popularity on mobile devices with analyst firms like ABI Research projecting that almost 250 million consumer electronics devices and over 360 million handsets with Wi-Fi will be sold annually by 2011. [WNN/Skyhook Wireless]

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