Google’s new My Location feature

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Google’s Mobile Maps with My Location Saved my a** in London. We’re about to go out in Paris. It works great here too.

This is, by far, the coolest thing I’ve put on my cell phone recently. Why is consumer software sexy? You have to look no further than this. I don’t know how I survived without it.

What is it? You hit “0” on your phone and it shows you where you are. Plus it can tell you how to get back to your hotel after you’ve gotten all lost walking around a city you don’t know well.

Published by Robert Scoble

I help entrepreneurs build their technology business' story, help with getting ready for investors, with other launch plans, and many other strategic things that can help your new startup. Call to talk: +1-425-205-1921 (text first).

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33 thoughts on “Google’s new My Location feature”

  1. Absolutely! ‘my location’ rocks! It would definately be very cool if we could start seeing other mobile applications being developed tapping into this functionality — tons of very cool capabilities can come from this “little” feature.

    Btw, consumer software that is fun and easy to use is ‘sexy’… trust me, it “ain’t” all sexy. (I think we all wish it was. 😉 )

    Jeremy Horn
    The Product Guy
    http://tpgblog.com

    Like

  2. Absolutely! ‘my location’ rocks! It would definately be very cool if we could start seeing other mobile applications being developed tapping into this functionality — tons of very cool capabilities can come from this “little” feature.

    Btw, consumer software that is fun and easy to use is ‘sexy’… trust me, it “ain’t” all sexy. (I think we all wish it was. 😉 )

    Jeremy Horn
    The Product Guy
    http://tpgblog.com

    Like

  3. on the n95 you of course hit 0 .. then grab a beer (if in london) or a coffee (if in france) … wait around for 10 minutes (acquiring signal) then perhpas it will work.

    Just don’t move to fast (like in a car) or it will fail again …

    n95 gps is hopeless !

    Nige

    Like

  4. on the n95 you of course hit 0 .. then grab a beer (if in london) or a coffee (if in france) … wait around for 10 minutes (acquiring signal) then perhpas it will work.

    Just don’t move to fast (like in a car) or it will fail again …

    n95 gps is hopeless !

    Nige

    Like

  5. I survived with Opera Mini and a little bit of my own mind. And I have to do it that way till next year when I get a new cell phone, because my BenQ S68 supports anything but this cool feature.
    Unfortunately on a friends SE S500i it is “temporary not available”, but this could be caused by 3 thick concrete walls around us.

    Does anybody know how the feature works?
    Our theory is GPS-style:
    – Pings to three GSM-radio poles and measure the reaction time
    – aquire signal strength and quality from the phone

    The second point would be an explanation for not working on my phone, the first for the “temporary not available” message.

    Greets from Germany,

    Jonas

    Like

  6. I survived with Opera Mini and a little bit of my own mind. And I have to do it that way till next year when I get a new cell phone, because my BenQ S68 supports anything but this cool feature.
    Unfortunately on a friends SE S500i it is “temporary not available”, but this could be caused by 3 thick concrete walls around us.

    Does anybody know how the feature works?
    Our theory is GPS-style:
    – Pings to three GSM-radio poles and measure the reaction time
    – aquire signal strength and quality from the phone

    The second point would be an explanation for not working on my phone, the first for the “temporary not available” message.

    Greets from Germany,

    Jonas

    Like

  7. The other cool thing is that it does an end around cell phone providers that lock down the GPS in phones so that they will only work with the provider’s pay navigation service (Verizon are you listening; you just got served!!!).

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  8. The other cool thing is that it does an end around cell phone providers that lock down the GPS in phones so that they will only work with the provider’s pay navigation service (Verizon are you listening; you just got served!!!).

    Like

  17. Sadly, a good friend of mine actually died as a result of not having ‘my location’ on her cell phone. God knows how many others met the same fate because they lacked Google Mobile Maps, i.e. showing up on an Arctic ice floe in a bikini.

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  18. Sadly, a good friend of mine actually died as a result of not having ‘my location’ on her cell phone. God knows how many others met the same fate because they lacked Google Mobile Maps, i.e. showing up on an Arctic ice floe in a bikini.

    Like

  19. Pingback: Richard Wilkinson » Blog Archive » Be careful Scoble…

  20. I installed and used this on the HTC Touch Dual while in Amsterdam a couple weeks ago and it was the only thing that was able to get me around the city and back to my hotel again. It was AWESOME and works very well on devices without integrated GPS. I need to try it on the N95 now that the GPS works much better with the latest firmware too. I have tried other solutions, but I keep going back to Google Maps because it gets the job done.

    I actually used it again last night to find my hotel in Miami and I am sold on the latest features.

    Like

  21. I installed and used this on the HTC Touch Dual while in Amsterdam a couple weeks ago and it was the only thing that was able to get me around the city and back to my hotel again. It was AWESOME and works very well on devices without integrated GPS. I need to try it on the N95 now that the GPS works much better with the latest firmware too. I have tried other solutions, but I keep going back to Google Maps because it gets the job done.

    I actually used it again last night to find my hotel in Miami and I am sold on the latest features.

    Like

  22. Takes the fun out of actually stopping and interacting with a real, live human being.

    Who knows, you could have to stop and actually talk with people. Real people. Not computers.

    This is one aspect of modern technology I don’t like. The aspect of the “person” is largely gone these days. It started back in the early 90s.

    I remember back in the 70s and early 80s when I was but a lad. Kids actually went outside and played with each other. They played ball, went on hikes, went camping. These days, kids get all pissy and put out hits on their parents if they don’t get 7 days a week on their xboxes. Whatever happened to actually seeing people face to face. People say they are busier now. That’s not true. I’m no busier than I was 10 years ago, and I have a kid now. I spend time with my kid, go out, see movies, take walks (without gadgets).

    Robert, gadgets are cool, but people are better. Learn a little French or German, or whatever before you go somewhere. Go a little Luddite every know and again. It’s healthy. Try it.

    I remember several months ago, Wil Wheaton wrote a post about getting off the grid for a whole week, with not even a cell phone. Robert, I challenge you to go one whole week with no devices. None. No cell phones, no Internet, no gadgets. Totally unjack yourself from the matrix. I think you would be pleasantly surprised at the results. Your comments would be a lot fresher at the end of any week you tried this.

    Like

  23. Takes the fun out of actually stopping and interacting with a real, live human being.

    Who knows, you could have to stop and actually talk with people. Real people. Not computers.

    This is one aspect of modern technology I don’t like. The aspect of the “person” is largely gone these days. It started back in the early 90s.

    I remember back in the 70s and early 80s when I was but a lad. Kids actually went outside and played with each other. They played ball, went on hikes, went camping. These days, kids get all pissy and put out hits on their parents if they don’t get 7 days a week on their xboxes. Whatever happened to actually seeing people face to face. People say they are busier now. That’s not true. I’m no busier than I was 10 years ago, and I have a kid now. I spend time with my kid, go out, see movies, take walks (without gadgets).

    Robert, gadgets are cool, but people are better. Learn a little French or German, or whatever before you go somewhere. Go a little Luddite every know and again. It’s healthy. Try it.

    I remember several months ago, Wil Wheaton wrote a post about getting off the grid for a whole week, with not even a cell phone. Robert, I challenge you to go one whole week with no devices. None. No cell phones, no Internet, no gadgets. Totally unjack yourself from the matrix. I think you would be pleasantly surprised at the results. Your comments would be a lot fresher at the end of any week you tried this.

    Like

  30. Don’t try it in South Africa. You can get some high-level details but Google doesn’t seem to consider Johannesburg worthy of street level detail.

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  31. Don’t try it in South Africa. You can get some high-level details but Google doesn’t seem to consider Johannesburg worthy of street level detail.

    Like

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