Google Maps: My location locates travelers

You’ve been there before, scanning the sky for street signs, digging through your backpack for a map or running into an Internet cafe to refer to a travel website. Being lost is no fun when you’re late to catch a train, or when it’s getting dark and you haven’t found your hotel. Hey travelers, check out Google’s My Location, a new (beta) mobile feature that knows and tells you where you are.

Don’t’ have a GPS-enabled phone? Don’t worry. Google locates you by triangulating among cell towers. View your location and start using a mobile map to navigate to your next destination. This video explains how it works — and how you can find a restaurant serving chicken curry when wandering around London.

Caveat: I can’t use it on my Palm Treo and word on the street says iPhone, Motorola Q and Samsung Blackjack users are all out of luck too.

Travel producer Andrew’s BlackBerry Pearl experience:
“On screen, Google claims accuracies ranging widely, from 700 500 to 5,000 meters (depending on weather and reception levels), which seems about right. What’s cool is that it works, even when driving the speed limit on the I-5. in L.A. Now, I wish that it would track across the screen as My Locations moves, so that it could function as an in-dash GPS nav unit replacement.”

Tip: Hit 0 to Locate, 3 to zoom in and 1 to zoom out.

Have you tested the app yet? If so, what sort of accuracy readings are you getting?

Update: The AP reports, “The tracking system’s database currently spans more than 20 countries, including the U.S., much of Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Russia.”

Google My Location Buzz:
Google Mobile Maps PinPoints Your Location Without GPS [Tech Crunch]
With Google’s My Location, Who Needs a GPS? [Gigaom]
Google unveils GPS-less handset locator technology [Engadget]
Google developing locater technology [L.A. Times/AP]
Google Maps for Mobile now shows your location (without GPS)! [Google Maps Mania]

— Jen Leo, L.A. Times Travel Deal Blogger

[Video: Google/YouTube]

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 4, 2007 at 6:04 pm by Jen Leo and is filed under Business Travel, Global, News, Tips & Advice, Outdoors & Adventure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.