For very accurate cell phone tracking the best handsets are phones with GPS technology. This gives ultra accurate positioning because of the inclusion of AGPS (Assisted Global Positioning System). Assisted means that the cell phone's location is fixed by it information relative to the gps network and also relative to the cell towers on land.
Naturally with this kind of technology there are downsides but they are outweighed by the benefits. Price and privacy are the two negatives most mentioned. This technology is quite expensive and the land networks to power agps have required significant investment mainly by Qualcomm. However the GPS network is free to use. Also the cell phones with AGPS technology can be more expensive than regular phones. The tracking element to be of use, means a customer has to employ the services of a third party service provider who often charge for their service of locating the phone.
With the advent of new technology there is also the issue of identity theft and privacy. Users are concerned about their location being made available easily to people who may abuse the tracking function. People dont want other to be able to pinpoint their exact location. In the future there will also be increasing location based advertising and people don't want to be spammed with offers every time they walk down the street or in the shopping mall.
However there are benefits. Using AGPS cell phone enables parents to know where their kids are at anytime. It is also an intention of the authorities that a 911 call that can be instantly pinpointed for use in emergency roadside assistance and locating lost people. There is now also the ability to run GPS navigation applications direct on a cell phone for wayfinding uses. New software applications also include travel and tour guides that use the GPS function to provide location based tour guide information direct to the user.
