Google Maps for Mobile 2.0 Provides Faux-GPS with 'My Location'

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

Google has just announced Google Maps for Mobile 2.0 which will allow people without GPS-enabled phones to pinpoint their location on their handsets. Using its new "My Location" technology, which uses the location of nearby cell towers to determine your location, it delivers a makeshift GPS-like locator on many phones without GPS. Navizon for hacked iPhone has done something similar for a while now, but this is a touch more legit. It'll also compliment phones that do have GPS capabilities, as this technique is faster than GPS and works better in buildings where GPS can be flakey. It doesn't work on every phone, unfortunately, but it will work on "most smartphones, including all color BlackBerry devices, all Symbian Series 60 3rd Edition devices, most Windows Mobile devices, newer Sony Ericsson devices, and some Motorola devices." There's a beta of it available for your perusal now. [Product Page]