If there's no GPS in the iPod, how can it know (with such a good precision) my location?
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2Applies to the non-3G iPad as well. – Ian C.♦ Oct 19 '11 at 15:14
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GPS uses satellites to triangulate your position with great accuracy, however there are other ways to get a fix provided you can triangulate via other means. Apple uses a database of WIFI networks with known locations to help ascertain your location in some instances (i.e. if you can see WIFI networks A B and E, then you must be approximately located at Z for example). Also, using cellular information you can do a similar thing by noting which cells you are able to see and the relative signal strengths you are receiving from them.
EDIT: Also, it is possible with a lesser degree of accuracy to estimate your location just by using your IP address. This can be tracked down to a certain extent and while likely not sufficient to be accurate by itself, when you combine this with all the other methods above you can start to get a picture with more accuracy.
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Thanks! I also just found a comment telling that Apple uses the technology from this enterprise: skyhookwireless.com/howitworks – The Student Oct 19 '11 at 15:57
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2No problem - Skyhook (& Others) were used up until OS3.1, From 3.2 onwards, Apple created and used their own database - see here for more techcrunch.com/2010/07/29/apple-location – stuffe Oct 19 '11 at 16:10
