Google launched a new tool, last week, known as the Gears Geolocation API. This tool will enable mobile and desktop users to detailed information about the area they are in, even if they do not know where they are and their mobiles are not GPS enabled.
Lastminute.com, the popular travel site, has added this new feature, which will help users to find restaurants in the area they are in, without having to type in where they are. All a user needs to do is click on “Find your location” on the home page and select the type of restaurant. The user will receive the required information based on their automatically identified location.
Another site that has also opted to install this feature is Rummble. Rummble a social discovery engine, recommends places to visit along with personalized recommendations from friends. A user has to access ‘m.rummble.com’ and then click on ‘update location with gears’, in order to get suggestions about nearby places to visit.
The new Gears Geolocation API allows users to find out their location, based on the nearest cell phone towers or GPS.
This service is available for free, on both mobile phones and laptop computers. The facility can be accessed through IE Mobile for phones and through Internet Explorer and Firefox for desktop computers.
As of now, Gears Geolocation API is accessible through Windows Mobile or any other GPS supported device. It should be available on other mobile platforms such as Android in the near future.
It is worth mentioning here that Google has warned users to use the Gears Geolocation API only through websites they trust, as the service could be used to hack into mobile devices quite easily. Users have the option to allow or deny Gears permission to find out their location.
