Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote, quoted or indirectly quoted someone who said :
Why would GPS require a network connection?
I'll make a stab that there is a common API that works either by
asking the network for information gleaned from tower triangulation or
from an onboard GPS unit. If you don't have a GPS you can get a rough
location.
Perhaps part of the API turns the latitude and longitude into map
information which would require the net if the phone did not have the
maps loaded.
Perhaps the two schemes back each other up when the other is not
working for some reason.
It seems unlikely, but perhaps the phone does not do the GPS
calculations. It sends the raw data to a computer for number
crunching.
The answer may be gleaned by having a look at what other services the
API offers.
Honi soit qui mal y pense.