Android Location Providers - GPS or Network Provider

Question

In my application I would like to determine the user's current location. I do however have a couple of questions in this regard:

There are different Location Providers, which one is the most accurate? The GPS Provider or the Network Provider?
In how far do those available provider differ? How do they function?
Could you please provide me with some code-snippets or tutorials on how to get started with implementing GPS functionality in my application?

User · Answer

GPS is generally more accurate than network but sometimes GPS is not available, therefore you might need to switch between the two.

A good start might be to look at the android dev site. They had a section dedicated to determining user location and it has all the code samples you need.

http://developer.android.com/guide/topics/location/obtaining-user-location.html

User · Answer

There are some great answers mentioned here  Another approach you could take would be to use some free SDKs available online like Atooma  tranql and Neura  that can be integrated with your Android application  it takes less than 20 min to integrate    Along with giving you the accurate location of your user  it can also give you good insights about your user   s activities  Also  some of them consume less than 1  of your battery

User · Answer

There are 3 location providers in Android        They are       gps       GPS  AGPS   Name of the GPS location provider  This   provider determines location using satellites  Depending on   conditions  this provider may take a while to return a location fix    Requires the permission android permission ACCESS FINE LOCATION       network       AGPS  CellID  WiFi MACID   Name of the network   location provider  This provider determines location based on   availability of cell tower and WiFi access points  Results are   retrieved by means of a network lookup  Requires either of the   permissions android permission ACCESS COARSE LOCATION or   android permission ACCESS FINE LOCATION       passive       CellID  WiFi MACID   A special location provider for   receiving locations without actually initiating a location fix  This   provider can be used to passively receive location updates when other   applications or services request them without actually requesting the   locations yourself  This provider will return locations generated by   other providers  Requires the permission   android permission ACCESS FINE LOCATION  although if the GPS is not   enabled this provider might only return coarse fixes  This is what   Android calls these location providers  however  the underlying   technologies to make this stuff work is mapped to the specific set of   hardware and telco provided capabilities  network service        The best way is to use the    network    or    passive    provider first    and then fallback on    gps     and depending on the task  switch between   providers  This covers all cases  and provides a lowest common   denominator service  in the worst case  and great service  in the best   case       Article Reference   Android Location Providers - gps  network  passive By Nazmul Idris  Code Reference   https   stackoverflow com a 3145655 28557  -----------------------Update-----------------------  Now Android have Fused location provider  The Fused Location Provider intelligently manages the underlying location technology and gives you the best location according to your needs  It simplifies ways for apps to get the user   s current location with improved accuracy and lower power usage  Fused location provider provide three ways to fetch location   Last Location  Use when you want to know current location once  Request Location using Listener  Use when application is on screen   frontend and require continues location  Request Location using Pending Intent  Use when application in background and require continues location    References    Official site   http   developer android com google play-services location html  Fused location provider example  GIT   https   github com kpbird fused-location-provider-example  http   blog lemberg co uk fused-location-provider  --------------------------------------------------------

[android] Android Location Providers - GPS or Network Provider?

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