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I installed it the day Slashdot posted this. It is really great. It is kind of slow to be used in much other than emergancies.



I don't agree. Sure it's slower than the web version, but I bet I could still find and call a pizza joint much faster than I could find a phonebook. If on the road, I could find an address and directions much quicker than the time it would take me to boot a laptop and locate a free wireless AP.

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Most phones have GPS built in. Why don't applications take advantage of that? I read somewhere there is no programming interface for it, but [matthew mcconaughey] it would be a lot cooler [functional] if there was. [/matthew mcconaughey]

No, most phones don't have GPS built in. All phones sold today have E911 capability which is not the same thing. E911 phase 1 only reports the cell tower being used. E911 phase 2 uses celltower triangulation to resolve position to between 50 and 300 meters. And it's certainly not global either - no cell signal, no positioning information.

But - it would be nice if Google could attempt to use that information, if only to get a base area for searching. Being able to search the local area without even knowing a town name or zip code could be incredibly useful.

Some software does exist that can take advantage of the information. For instance, miniGPS uses that information to trigger events that you can use to eg change profiles automatically when you arrive in or leave a cell. It looks cool, but I'm not sure it's worth $19.
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