Originally Posted by
James Moore
Virtually all cell phones use something called A-GPS (
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS) that uses cell tower signals to find your first position. The initial accuracy doesn't need to be that high, it's just trying to reduce the time and power it takes to lock on to satellites.
If you're on recent Android releases, the way they find your position is a blend of a bunch of different things, not just GPS. If you want _serious_ detail, Google puts out an Android developer podcast, and there was a recent show on location providers.
Android Developers Backstage: Episode 96: Location: It's Where It's At
Very interesting, thank you ^ I was aware that cell towers could be used to determine position to a certain degree - in the context of this usage however, would we not be relying on "pure" GPS since the phone will (should!) be in flight mode, and therefore the assistance would be unavailable?