“Google is set on Wednesday to launch a new feature in its Google Maps for Mobile program that automatically sets your location even in phones that lack a global positioning system (GPS) device,” Elinor Mills reports for CNET.
“The beta feature triangulates your approximate location based on nearby cell towers so you don’t have to type in your address,” Mills reports.
“The new My Location feature is launching in beta to get it into the hands of consumers faster, said Steve Lee, product manager for Google Maps for Mobile. The performance of the technology, which was developed in-house, will improve the more people use it, he said,” Mills reports. “‘We’re creating a database of cell tower locations and that database is built from people using Google Maps for Mobile,’ Lee said.”
“Because it works indoors, doesn’t drain the battery as much as GPS does, and is much faster (a few seconds compared with what can be a few minutes on GPS), according to Lee. However, GPS is more accurate; GPS can be off by a few meters while My Location will be within 10 city blocks, on average, he said,” Mills reports.
“Google Maps for Mobile is available on the iPhone, but the My Location feature isn’t yet,” Mills reports.
Full article here.
InformationWeek’s Stephen Wellman interviewed Steve Lee, product manager, Google Maps for mobile, who says, “As more and more devices that support cell ID technology ship, we’ll be working to make the My Location technology available on them. Users can access Google Maps for mobile with My Location in the following countries, though coverage may vary at first: US, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Portugal, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, The Netherlands, Russian Federation, and Taiwan.”
Full interview here.
Google Maps with My Location (beta):
Direct link via YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIG-Dx7kF3Q
Google Maps with My Location (beta) here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Tony” for the heads up.]
Doesn’t currently work on iPhone. It needs Safari to download maps to the iPhone, and we all know that’s not possible 🙁
Available in Liechtenstein: If it’s gonna be off by more than a few meters over there, too, then it might not even tell you the correct country you’re in!