Where is the barometer on galaxy nexus

They could be pulling from 20, barometric sensors in a single neighborhood or city. There's also an app in the Android Marketplace called pressureNet , which currently logs barometric data from Motorola Xooms which also have the sensor and plots the info on a map. Once they have more users and more data, they promise to use the data to provide weather insights. But given that the app is all of 10 days old, its usefulness remains to be seen.

There are privacy concerns at play here—when aren't there? Such an app would have to collect your location along with the barometric data for it to matter at all. And in all likelihood, Google would have access to this data, which rightfully worries some.

But for others, location is exactly why a barometer will be most welcome. The other popular use for barometers? GPS is great when you have a clear shot of the sky, but when weather is bad, or you're in the city of a cramped metropolis, things get a bit dicey. That's why accelerometers, wi-fi chips and, yes, the barometer, have become increasingly useful in navigation, able to help assist the GPS in determining location.

The barometer uses its atmospheric pressure readings to determine your altitude and more accurately determine how quickly you're moving through an area. Considering that smartphones have all but made the standalone GPS navigation device obsolete—and that Android houses one of the better navigation apps around—it would make sense that Google would want to put time and effort into making that technology even better.

Outdoorsy-type apps could become more useful to hikers and adventurers for whom topography matters. Here's the other thing: once devs get their hands on Ice Cream Sandwich and its barometric possibilities, who knows what they might come up with? The most obvious secondary benefit might be to gaming developers, who could use the altitude measuring to improve control schemes in games. Sign up. Galaxy Nexus barometer explained, Sam Champion not out of a job. Volpe Sponsored Links. In this article: Android , android 4.

Our editorial content is not influenced by any commissions we receive. The upcoming Samsung Galaxy Nexus looks amazing. The next Google flagship phone is thin, incredibly fast, and loaded with a number of next-gen features like the ability to unlock the homescreen using facial recognition. One of the features that puzzled a lot of people was the inclusion of a barometer.

People wondered what purpose it could serve.