Google’s Map Service for Cell Phones: Don’t Try This While Driving

Google has taken its local search service and wrapped it to go.

Starting this week, you can download the new Google Local software to your Java-enhanced cell phone to find nearby restaurants, hotels, ATM machines or WiFi hotspots.

To try it out, go to http://www.google.com/glm.

It is unabashedly cool to see Google’s interactive maps and satellite pictures displayed on your cell phone. But once the novelty wears off, Google Local has severe limitations.

For example, proximity is only one factor Google weighs in displaying search results. So when I looked for the nearest sushi spot within my ZIP code, the first five restaurants it recommended were 45 miles from my home.

That’s a long way to go for what my husband refers to derisively as “bait.”

The same thing happened when I searched for a WiFi hotspot _ Google Local recommended coffee houses near a distant college campus and in neighboring communities, but not the Starbucks a mile or so from my home.

The hardware limitations are, well, a moving violation in the making.

Google does not offer spoken turn-by-turn directions and global positioning system coordination like car navigation systems or other, though paid, mobile phone services.

Another hitch: Google Local only works on cell phones that run the Java programming language. That means it’s available on most new phones from Cingular, T-Mobile and Sprint but not Verizon.

Running Google Local on a cell phone presents obvious problems when trying to read a map and driving directions on a 1{-inch by 1-inch display.

Google Local also won’t work on popular wireless handheld devices with more spacious displays, such as the BlackBerry or Palm Treo. Nor is it compatible with portable devices, like the iPod, that lack the ability to connect wirelessly to the Internet.

Of course, Google Local isn’t the only mobile navigation software out there. Garmin Mobile, for example, offers a navigation service for cell phones that incorporates spoken turn-by-turn directions _ but it costs $9.99 a month. MapQuest, meanwhile, has MapQuest Find Me, which provides directions and points of interest for Sprint’s GPS phones for a monthly fee.

Google, by contrast, is free. But be warned _ some carriers charge for downloading data. Google coyly recommends inquiring about unlimited data plans to avoid “counting bytes like you do minutes.”

Once launched, Google Local presents a menu of options, such as search, directions or satellite images. To find the nearest florist, you type in your address or ZIP code and a key phrase _ in this case, flowers _ and Google yields a map of up to nine results, all plotted with virtual push-pins on an interactive map.

You use the numbers associated with each search result to get more detailed information: the name, address and phone number of the florist shop. You can immediately call to place an order or get driving directions to or from the shop. You can zoom in to get a better look at nearby street names, or pull up the satellite or aerial photo _ which, in an urban area, is utterly useless, but nonetheless fun.

Alternatively, you can fetch driving directions using Google’s SMS short code 46645 (GOOGL). You can enter an abbreviated search query _ such as from SFO to Pier 1, San Francisco _ to get turn-by-turn directions as a text message.

Following the driving directions, as I mentioned earlier, was an exercise in squint and dodge, as in squinting at the screen, while dodging obstacles on the road.

I’m as dexterous as the next commuter, capable of driving and swilling a latte at the same time. But Google Local tested my multitasking abilities. Being forced to hold the phone close enough to glance at the map, while pressing the number “3” to fetch instructions about the next turn, struck me as a circus act, not a practical tool.

This limitation makes Google Local for phones best suited for pedestrians. Everybody else should use it the old-fashioned way: by going to Google online and printing out directions. And keeping their eyes on the road.

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(Write to Dawn Chmielewski at DChmielewski@mercurynews.com.)

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