Question

I am using the following code to get the latitude and longitude. Is it fine to rely on Network Provider always?

public static String getLatitudeLongitudeString() {
    LocationManager lm = (LocationManager) GlobalApplication
            .getAppContext().getSystemService(Context.LOCATION_SERVICE);

    Location location = lm
            .getLastKnownLocation(LocationManager.NETWORK_PROVIDER);

    if (location == null) {
        return "";
    } else {
        Geocoder geocoder = new Geocoder(GlobalApplication.getAppContext());
        try {
            List<Address> user = geocoder.getFromLocation(
                    location.getLatitude(), location.getLongitude(), 1);
            double lat = (double) user.get(0).getLatitude();
            double lng = (double) user.get(0).getLongitude();
            return lat + "," + lng;
        } catch (Exception e) {
            Trace.e("Failed to get latitude and longitude", e);
            return "";
        }
    }
}

Answer 1

Honestly it “depends”. But I would say review this article and figure out what the best combination of the options is. You may want a passive provider (Froyo+) to catch some GPS updates from other apps… Also depends on what you are using it for. If its a mapping app, then you want GPS, but if its just for “you are in San Francisco” type text, then the less accurate is fine…