Java Cell Tracker

[munir]

hey, heres a little java midlet that i got bored and cooked up. it reads the cell ID youre in, and gives you basic information about it (cell id, where the tower is and approximately how far you are from it)
(you'll have to edit the permfile i think and i've only tested this on my A780, but should work for most motorola phones... someone try it on others and let me know)

also, the database list right now is only of Toronto(normal) and all of southern Ontario(once expanded) -- if you want a particular city or even a province/state listed, send me the list and i'll add it on

my first midlet ever so enjoy

[shaheer_k]

Interesting.

Try adding Pakistan to it... or if you want me to be more specific, Sindh, Punjab and NWFP...

Or if you really can't, how about Rawalpindi/Islamabad?

[tarwin]

oh this looks so neat
The cities I wish for (in order of preference):
Mexico City
Vancouver, BC
Victoria, BC

THANK YOU! ^_ ^

[f0x0r]

How about Austin, Pflugerville and Round Rock Texas.

[naset]

how about kedah or alor star.

[munir]

ahh im so sorry guys i dont exactly have any of those lists... nor do i know where i might find them... when i said send me a list, i meant of cellphone towers... like this one:
http://www.arcx.com/sites/RogersCID.htm

maybe i should add a learn mode to it so that you can add towers as you come across them?

[akhaliq]

now that can be a good idea, i mean adding towers at runtime

[akhaliq]

how about making it connect to a remote server (maybe sockets on GPRS) and transmit this data. this can help the one to track his own stolen mobile

and...hmmm... app shall be running al the time, transmitting location based on a configurable timer.

inijohan, can we put such a project for bounty? its a really good idea.

[yaworski]

I like your idea akhaliq, but...
1. there would be a problem with starting such app when phone starts (is it possible with java applications?)
2. java apps need approval before connecting to gprs (this can be probably resolved by edited permfile).
3. it should be waiting for code entry for some time (for example 60 seconds), and when no code is entered, then it should start sending information through gprs.
4. maybe it would be better to use sms messaging instead of sockets? When someone will steal your phone, he can use different provider and gprs settings will not work.
5. You only get cell ids, not positions. You would still need to have cell database and to this be really practical it should be really big.

Is it possible to display not only connected cell, but also adjacent cells like some network monitors in some phones? This would provide better location service than only info on one cell.

[munir]

akhaliq, youre a smart one i was actually aiming for the exact same thing when i started writing the midlet... help recover phones in case they get stolen but i had to put it on hold thanks to my workload.. but bounties are certainly inspiring

but, bounty or not, im getting back to this as soon as my exams are done with (tomorrow)

and yaworski is right, sms would in this case be better (although messier)
and i believe there *might* be a way to have java apps start automatically... using the push registry... but since i've only really been working with java for under like 2 weeks i might be wrong.