Google Mobile Adds Local Search To iPhone 3.0
iPhone/iPod touch: Mobile Safari joins Android and BlackBerry browsers in getting location awareness with Google, using GPS or Wi-Fi triangulation to figure out what food, stores or other goodies are nearby when you search.
As with its counterparts, the location setting sticks with the browser until you hit update, or it happens to notice you’ve moved locales. Google says it doesn’t pull location data unless you allow it at the prompt—two prompts on an iPod touch, actually—and the location feature can be disabled from the Preferences link at the main Google page.
Has location-aware searching ever helped you find a place to go while you’re on the go, or is it just more data collected without reason? Tell us your take on geo-aware Google in the comments.
Official Google Mobile Blog: Search with My Location for iPhone 3.0. And All that Jazz [Official Google Mobile Blog via TechCrunch]
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Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
@TheFu:
get an iPhone.
Alex K
I use google maps on Iphone all the time. It works great. Replaced my GPS, plus it finds any thing or anybody i am searching for with turn by turn maps
Example: I was in a large city looking for a particular kind of used vehicle. Google found about 6 dealers with that vehicle in stock and gave me complete maps form my current position.
deanes
@TheFu: Buy an iPhone? :)
Google Mobile stuff doesn't recognize my Nokia N800 as a mobile device. They always redirect to a page to enter a phone number to attach to the device for some reason. Selecting "other" on the device list doesn't work so well either.
I love that they have a "send a text message" to figure out the OS. Also, worthless, since an N800 isn't a phone.
Anyone have a work around?
TheFu
Mmmmm - Jeremiah's wings. And of course, the Bug Jar. I used to play there regularly when I lived in Rochester.
Now if only I can find some good food and live music venues here in Austin.
I've found location awareness not overly useful in Google results. When I search things like restaurants, I still for some reason get results from the next major city over, even though it sees my exact location.
For iPhone apps like Yelp and Urbanspoon, however, it has been incredibly useful in finding nearby restaurants.
i can has location?
again with the Rochester, NY stuff ... are you from Rochester? I knew a Kevin Purdy (not very well) a while back when I lived in Rochester.
I was under the impression this was already a feature in the built in Maps app even prior to OS 3.0? I've typed in things like "pizza" "starbucks" etc and it finds the nearest related restaurants/businesses. It's worked well and I use it often.
I guess the ability within Safari may come in handy to some but Maps has worked just fine.
I like people say, there is a mobile robot love to say "However, this robot has been for some time"
@Alex K: Gee, that was very helpful.
TheFu
@Alex K: Not interested in:
a) paying a monthly data plan
b) having to "hack" my own device to run software I select
c) iTunes (BARF!!!)
More likely to have my company provide a blackberry.
TheFu
Funnily enough, just yesterday when I was in different city and needed to get directions to the hotel but couldn't remember the address. Stuck the name of the hotel into Google on my iPhone, hit "Get Directions" and it very nicely fired up Google Maps and showed me how to get from my current position to there. Worked like a charm.
mrsilver
@TheFu:
Get an iPhone. its an iPhone post
unkone