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GPS start-up plans to include Yahoo's local-search data in its navigation device for cars.
Other GPS (Global Positioning System) navigators also have built-in business directories, but Dash Navigation will be the first to integrate Yahoo Local Search into its device.
GPS navigator to include Yahoo search [news.zdnet.com]
I built a prototype GPS powered local search that allowed a person to enter in what they wanted to find and as you drove and came within range of the product being sold at a local shop it would show on the map with the price. I was screen scraping my data for the proof of concept. I really built it because I didn't feel like checking for certain electronics items all the time. Typing a search into the phone all the time is just a horrible experience so my daily commute would check twice a day as I rode past the stores based on my saved query :-)
The only problem was that I was the only one who thought it was cool so into the code junkpile it sits. So how is local GPS search going to work exactly I wonder?
JAG
Don't be shy...my drive by pop-ups on a GPS enabled device (picture in your mind VH1's pop-up video) didn't excite anyone but me but at least I built something for me to play with :-) Anyone else...anyone?
JAG
There's got to be a coordinate added to each entry for it to be read by the system as relevant for the requested search.
The idea is bound to be a winner as it becomes adopted.
There's got to be a coordinate added to each entry for it to be read by the system as relevant for the requested search.
Hmmm. That was the easy part for me. What I did was I set up a central server and had scripts screen scrape the electronic stores inventory for the ones around my commute.
In my case I was looking for a certain camcorder which I stored in my profile on the server. Then I just had my GPS device ping my server regularly to tell it where I was. Once I get within 'X' miles of a store the server just looked at what the scripts found and sent a pop-up with the camcorder and price. When I drove out of range the pop-up went away and when I was within range of the next store the same process kicked in and so on.
So...the tech part was easy enough but it's how the GUI part is going to work that confuses me the most :-/
Perhaps it is not the search engines that are best suited for this but rather the shopping portals since most of them have much more information including the zip code (which we can get the latitude and longitude coordinates from) of the products anyway.
Thoughts anyone?
JAG
