How can you track the train positions of the trains of Indian Railways, one of the largest railway network in the world? Fit GPS systems on all of the passenger & freight carrier trains and they transmit the location info to a Satellite..... Enter Android(the new mobile platform) strap each train(put it with the driver) a Android mobile phone with a application which will push the location info periodically via text message/GPRS viola we have almost accurate positioning system at what cost.. literally peanuts. In fact now every vehicle can come with a SIM card and a device running Android.
Why only with Android, it could have been possible with other mobile platforms but the others(platform developers, device manufactures & service providers) chose not give the applications enough power(such as call id) citing security reasons, but Google's' Android turned the tables on to them to open up or die. Forget cell location info the other mobile platforms do not even allow your application write to a file on your mobile it requires your consent(yes or no) before writing/reading to a file/network(more in my next post). All applications are treated equal on Android i.e if there is some info on your mobile then there is an API for your application to access it.
Wait this will not be possible without the support of the mobile service provider, you cannot do much with the cell id(its just a unique number referring to the cell phone mast of the service provider) as its physical location is known only to the service provider.
I am not sure if this info is public(security again). If they do not give out we need a new service provider that can turn the tables.
I would love to see this happen..
Write a sample application on the Android mobile phone(appearing later this year) get into to train and let the loved ones know your location with an SMS!! BSNL (mobile service provider )covers the almost all of complete area of Indian railway track.
Anyhow with Android and its location based services I can already imagine a number of places where it is going to make a big impact.
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