Find My iPhone service for Auckland, New Zealand

Question

Hi,
I was wondering if there is any Apple iPhone user from Auckland, New Zealand? I mean I got some serious question for Find My iPhone service on MobileMe.
The thing is when I inserted Vodafone NZ SIM, the Find my iPhone shows me closer to my location but not accurate, when I actually inserted 2Degrees it shows me way North of my current location approx more than 5KM away and Google Maps the current location is way wrong, it's an urban area anyway. The thing is it actually works really well in Auckland city, so if you lost you phone in an urban area you might as well tries to forget it?
All and all, does Find My iPhone service relies on Telco service?

Answer 1

0_o What about TomTom App compared to TomTom GPS Device? Do they rely on Cell Towers too? I'm sorry this is off topic but TomTom App sure look like a nice addon for my app.
Car navigation apps use only GPS. They have to work in areas with no cell phone coverage. It takes longer to get the initial location, but the GPS is left on, since they are normally getting power from the car. The iPhone's built-in map app just turns on GPS when needed, to save power, so faster startup is important.
And back on topic, let's said if I lost my iPhone and since the signal location is not accurate do I actually lose my iPhone for good?
You can end a message and sound to it, so someone might find and return it. It won't help in the case of a thief, of course.
And since this is no good to me I wonder if MobileMe service is really worth it at all.
It's not worth it for just the Find My iPhone function (unless you frequently misplace things), but if you have a Mac, it's other functions can be worth the cost.