Google Maps simulate GPS on phones

The new version of Google Maps boasts a beta feature known as “My Location” that was specially designed to simulate an actual GPS experience on cellphones as well as handheld devices that do not come equipped with GPS hardware. It does so by taking information broadcast from mobile towers that are nearby non-GPS equipped cellphones, approximating the device’s current location on the map with an accuracy of about 10 city blocks. While that isn’t as precise as an actual GPS system, it is as good as it gets currently. The My Location feature is currently available for the majority of Web-enabled handsets, including Java, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Nokia/Symbian devices. Unfortunately, iPhone owners will have to sit out on this one.