How accurate is RedLaser on the iPhone?

What does Android and iPhone location data point to specifically? The location of the device itself or nearby towers? How accurate are they?

• I have parsed out the cache.cell and cache.wifi files from an Android phone, and the h-cells.plist (iPhone 3) and consolidated.db (iPhone 4) files from iPhones. They both have latitudes and longitudes, an accuracy value, confidence value, date/time stamps, and a unique key. What is the metric for these fields' values? Do the coordinates point to cell towers or the device's location itself?

• Answer:

  The co-ordinates your device has given you do not point to your location itself, as far as I've examined the files. It appears that this is only collecting data about the cell towers around you. However, that is dangerous too, as by a process known as cell tower triangulation, the approximate location of your device can be obtained. To me, the accuracy value in my data appears to measure how accurate the distance to the nearest cell tower is, though I'm not entirely sure..