Socket Jockeying

Most of the major map/direction sites online have the ability to “send to phone” locations and addresses that you’ve plotted while on their site.  In addition, Google and Microsoft’s sites both have native client mapping applications for smartphone platforms such as Windows Mobile and Blackberry (and of course the iPhone comes with a Google Map program out of the box).

However, I find it surprising that no one has tried to glue these two features together to greater effect.  Today, the “send to phone ” feature typically is implemented by just dumping a text only flavor of the address or light weight directions to the phone via SMS or MMS messaging.  This is nice, but if I already have the vendor’s mapping client on my device, it could be so much more.

When I have a set of directions or just a set of locations, or annotated locations (both google and live allow this now) – I should be able to send this “package” to a phone via MMS or similar and then “load” the attachment into the local native map client.  This is effectively the method that Facebook’s application for the Blackberry uses to get notifications of your friend’s updates, etc.

Such functionality would allow for one to start mapping out locations on maps.google.com at home; say you’re are researching locations you’ll need for this evening’s outing.  You have a handful of locations you’re going to want later in the evening.  You’ve mapped these out, and now you want to have them with you for later reference in the evening.  You click “Send to Phone”.  Next you can open your mapping application on your smartphone and viola!  The location pins you sent to your phone, with their popup information, are already on the screen.