One of the most exciting features of OS 3.0 on the iPhone is Safari’s implementation of the HTML 5 spec for browser-based geolocation. This allows Web sites to ask the browser for the user’s location, a capability that has largely been limited to device-specific applications.
This new capability allows for easier-to-use location-based services. Flickr has jumped on this with a “photos taken nearby” application that will show you pictures centered around your location. Click on the “Photos taken nearby” link at m.flickr.com and you’ll instantly see a map of your location with nearby pictures.
The initial implementation is basic; you have no control of the pictures shown. It would be nice to see to search the nearby pictures for specific terms or to see pictures taken by someone. But as a proof-of-concept, it works great.
This is undoubtedly the first of many browser-based location services we’ve seen. Google has already announced that it will launch its Latitude service in a similar fashion. You can imagine other services such as local business search, movie showtime lookups, weather and local news provided automatically in the browser.
It’s a sign of how far we’ve come in mobile since the launch of iPhone 3G. It wasn’t long ago that I wrote asking carriers to set my location free. In principles of mobile design, I wrote “Don’t create an app if you don’t have to.” Now you don’t have to for location-based services.
My one complaint is that the browser sends back a very precise latitude/longitude. This is necessary for cerain applications, like mapping. But most applications don’t need that level of precision. Weather, for example, only needs a city level of precision. I’d like to be able to control what gets sent.
More on: geotagging
