Who in the world wants to buy new phones so that the government can track you where ever you go. It is now mandatory that all new cell phones have gps tracking devices planted in them by the year 2005. I think I will stick with my old trusted phone and only turn it on when i need it. I will leave it off unless making a call and i can check my voicemail once a day. I don't think anyone needs to know my where abouts 24 hours a day. Sounds like big brother is watching too closely for me. They can pinpoint your location to 300 feet. May not sound like a big deal but privacy means a litttle to me. You won't have any by the year 2005, the way it's going now.
You will need to give up cellular alltogether. Even your old phone can provide an opportunity to locate where you are by anyone with sufficient resources and desire to do so. I won't go into all the other ways you can be located by the simple things you do in your everyday life. If you don't want to be found, you will need to move to a desert island and live in a cave. By the way, don't peek out of the cave.
Well with Phase II it's less than 300 feet! Second..This concern seems a little silly considering I'm sure that the NSA and CIA and others can track someone by using their SSN #, bank transactions, landline phone calls among others!! So a cell phone with GPS, ahh big deal! Commercially, GPS features and convenience will outweight the drawbacks! Besides if you are worried about the government tracking you you've got a lot bigger problems on your hands! What are you hidding?
If you do not want to be trackable, don't use a phone (even a landline). Pay cash for everything. Don't get a driver's license. Don't buy a car. Don't have a bank account. Work only for cash. Oh and don't use the internet.
Well, phones aren't requiried to contain GSP chips. The requirement only says that carriers have to impliment some system where they can locate people that call 911. This can be done through GPS, triangulation, or any other method. GSM providers seem to be going for triangulation (ATT, Cingular, and T-Mobile are going this way) while CDMA providers seem to like GPS (Verizon and Sprint are going this way). Currently, it is incredibly difficult to track cell phones other than to the tower you are transmitting to. Some companies are tring to add triangulation software to their networks, but it probably won't work with current phones. The government is taking steps to ensure that people's privacy will be respected and that the techniques will only be used in response to a 911 call, but I'm sure that's of no comfort to you. Oh, and it is impossible to locate phones by triangulation unless a call is made so you don't need to turn your phone off unless you have a GPS tracking based phone.
I've not seen the newest of the newer phones but when I used a Samsung A460 for a short while I think I recall that the menu permitted the user to turn GPS on or off. Don't know if the newer ones permit this but that would solve your problem. On the other hand, I agree w/ the others...you can run but you can't hide.
If you call 911 the GPS tracker will automatically be enabled even if you have shut it off. People who worry about these things don't care that you can turn it off since things that are turned off can be turned back on and they are affraid that someone else could remotely turn it back on.
No one seems to have mentioned that a GPS won't work at all in buildings or in most cars without moonroofs. I'd think triangulation would be best. I've already done that. Knowing all the tower IDs and control channels in the area I can talk to someone, tell them how to put their phone in field test, they read me the info, I say "Oh you must be right near the so-and-so building" They say "OH MY GOD! How did you do that!?"
Both technologies work, however both have their weaknesses. Triangulation is not very effective if you are in a rural area with few towers. Likewise, triangulation may not work well in certain cities with haphazard coverage. GPS will not work within certain buildings, although it should work near windows. The best compromise is to have both system functional.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the phones that ise "GPS" have a hybrid technology where both satellites and towers are taken into account? I am 99% sure the location-based Sprint phones do not have a full-fledged GPS receiver.
When did the cell carriers change things to make it more difficult to track a phone that was on but not making a call? As long as the phone is registered on the network, and can be "seen" by three or more "cooperating" (sync signal and time source) towers, I would expect that phone to still be traceable. -PatP
If there is actually a GPS receiver and antenna in the handset that communicates with the satellites, is there any way to view the lat/long information on the phone's display?
Thanks for the laudably terse reply; however, it appears to be incorrect. Based on information on Qualcomm's website, it appears that there is in fact a GPS receiver and antenna in some handsets. Both satellite based GPS location and base station triangulation is used to provide maximal location capability (they call it A-GPS, for Assisted). The Brew application, called GPSOne, is apparently loaded and working in my phone, but the Verizon network where I am does not yet support anything other than the E911 function. There is a screen to view your GPS location (in some format), and clearly, applications have been and are being developed to utilize this data once the network is up and running.
i would have to disagree with the phone communicating with a satellite. b/c i am not familiar withother co fones. i know fones typically have only communicated with towers and would need a super long antenna to communicate with satellites. if u want something that probably has gps buy a fon from globalstar for 400$ and 35$ per month for 30 min. the other gps technology souds pretty new
My LG VX2000 does have a GPS receiver in it. It does work. But like all GPS receivers, you must have a clear view of the sky to acquire enough satellites to get an accurate location. Verizon also uses RF direction finding as well. GPS is a great idea, but think about how many times it would actually be useful. How often are you in an area where your GPS enabled phone could "see" enough satellites to lock on? I have a tripmate GPS. Doesn't work inside my house at all. How useful would your GPS phone be if it is clipped to your belt and your inside a building? Not at all... Or locked in the trunk of car...or inside a mall...or inside of anything? Just something else to drive up the price of a phone, use battery life, and give people a false sense of security. Carriers have to spend millions to upgrade for wireless 911. 911 centers have to spend more money. Who wins? the equipment manufactures who get to sell more fancy gear. Will it actually work? not really. Who pays? We do. In higher costs of phones and service, and taxes (to pay for all those E911 upgrades). Just my 2 cents. If you are worried about "big brother" tracking you by your cellphone, well, relax. Get Paxil, because "your life is waiting"...
