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Tech and Culture

Google Local for Mobiles is awesome !

I installed Google Local for Mobiles on my Sony Ericsson S710a a couple days ago. The best part about this service is that it is a 100kb Java program that actually installs in your cellphone. This means that you don’t need to use the browser or type in any obscure URLs when you need to find the nearest Indian restaurant!

It is noteworthy that this service is completely free of cost, unlike the $4 a month that Mapquest charges for a similar service. You can also look at satellite pictures of your destination or the route much like the full-blown Google Maps service.

Personally, this service doesn’t have much appeal to me other than helping find the phone numbers of various businesses while on the road. I am quite content with my Garmin StreetPilot C330 GPS device. Although the StreetPilot has millions of points of interest on its hard drive, replete with phone numbers, there are instances when I am unable to find the restaurant of my choice or a working phone number. This is when the Google service on my cellphone would help me. It is faster than using Google.com, and I can easily connect to the business by clicking on the contact number directly from within the software!

I tried it tonight, and was impressed by the fact that it stores recently searched addresses and locations for future use. One thing I would like to see is more phones with GPS technology built in so that you do not have to input your current location manually!

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