Cool IP address geographic lookup

[calbear2000]

I'm making a google map mashup of a chain store that can zoom you in to your geographic area based on your IP address.

The goal is that any visitor to the website will see all the stores around his area without him even having to tell us his location.

I'm thinking of buying this: http://www.ip2location.com/ Anyone have experience with this or can offer a cheaper alternative? (I'm buying DB5, which is $350/year)

Thanks

 

[jnalpak]

Does it really work for most people? What about the massive amount of people who use a proxy to connect? Even without a proxy, it says I live in the wrong city.

 

[kamper]

It didn't tell me anything other than what country I'm in and who my isp is (neither is very impressive). Are you sure you want to pay that much when your users could just enter a postal code or address? I mean, you're going to need that functionality anyway, in case they want to check for a different location. You can make it easier for them by saving that info in a cookie so they only have to enter it once.

 

[LanceM]

I agree. It may be *possible* to do something, but it doesn't mean you should. Is it really the most logical method from a usability standpoint?

 

[aphex]

You're located in
(US) UNITED STATES,
VIRGINIA,
HERNDON


Wrong by about 2000 miles.

 

[calbear2000]

Thanks for the feedback - of course, we'll have a search field. But it would be really cool if I can figure out approximately where you live and dive in accordingly.

I've heard maxmind.com is more accurate than ip2location. Any developers have experience with that?

 

[bob4432]

only missed me by about 5mi according to the lat/long coordinates

 

[kamper]

Originally posted by: calbear2000
I've heard maxmind.com is more accurate than ip2location. Any developers have experience with that?

maxmind at least got my city, but that's still only a tiny bit more information than a whois lookup gives me.

The link is http://www.maxmind.com/app/locate_my_ip for those who want to test it.