Everyone is talking about Google's Local for mobile application. The application is neat indeed, but what I really find interesting is all the extra “shock and awe” because the application comes from Google… I even read today a piece by Matt comparing this application to “AJAX”! Come on, it is a smart client, not a script standard Web application based on HTML, CSS and JavaScript — I do understand what he is trying to communicate. Google writing their own (mobile) smart-clients that leverages their own (web) services was the next logical step — step I have been expecting.
In any case, the Local for mobile Java ME application from Google (as well as others such as Cristian Streng's Mobile GMaps) just proves the power of Mobility + Web 2.0 or Mobility 2.0 if we want to give it a buzzname. It also creates awareness about Java ME's ability to run useful mobile applications that run across multiple handsets from different vendors. This is just the beginning. We will see similar Mobility 2.0 application from Yahoo! and Microsoft and many smaller companies with integrated GPS, and other cool stuff. Thanks to Google for helping create awareness about what is possible in mobility!
ceo