Skyhook demos SpotRank location maps at SXSW

Skyhook Wireless provides Apple’s official location service for iPhones by sniffing the air for Wi-Fi networks. The list of available networks is then compared against a map of known network names. It’s a clever trick that works particularly well in cities, where the list of available networks changes from one street corner to the next.

For the South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin, Texas this week, Skyhook is hosting a real-time map of location requests made in the real world of Austin by the iPhones carried by conference-goers. Skyhook publishes similar maps for Manhattan and Miami — a trio of spring break hotspots, pun intended.