The increased importance of processor-based devices has made navigation services and other forms of location determination available to a substantial number of users. For example, online services are now available that can provide maps, directions, navigation information and other information relating to the geography of places on Earth and also in the sky.
Some devices are intended for portable use and are therefore sometimes referred to as mobile. Some of them rely on a form of radio communication to connect to a home station, a network or some other base, with which information can be exchanged. With some mobile devices the range of radio signal coverage is substantial and the users can therefore operate the device anywhere in a significant geographic area. This ability to move around with the device also increases the need to determine the location of the device, to a more or less exact geographic position. Some technologies have been introduced in this regard, including Global Positioning System (GPS) and other approaches that use signals from transmitters on the ground.