Hack 19. Get Google Maps on Your Mobile Phone

Turn your Java-enabled cell phone into a portable mapping appliance.

If you have a GSM phone from the last three years or so, you (probably) have a powerful mobile mapping appliance in your pocket.

Mobile GMaps is a free program that lets you view Google Maps on your cell phone. It is limited to J2ME (Java 2 Mobile Edition) enabled phones, such as the Symbian Series 60 and Series 80 phones. The program is available at http://www.mgmaps.com. Read the instructions on the download page at http://www.mgmaps.com/download.php.

The easiest way to install the app is to use your phone's browser to go to http://wap.mgmaps.com. Then click on the Download link, and agree when it asks if you want to download and install the application.

When the program completes installation, you'll get a completed message and then be returned to the http://wap.mgmaps.com page. You can now exit from your phone's web browser. On my Nokia 3650 the program MGMaps installed into the Apps folder. Click on the application, and then select Start from the Options menu.

By default you will see a map of the United States fully zoomed out. You can navigate with the 2, 4, 6, and 8 keys. Zoom in with 5 or # and zoom out with 7 or *. Figure 1-56 shows Mobile GMaps on a Nokia 3650.

Figure 1-56. Mobile Gmaps on a Nokia 3650

Selecting Options gives you a menu of Satellite, Zoom, Location, Search, Settings, About, and Exit. Satellite flips you to Satellite imagery. Zoom brings up a menu that lets you zoom in, zoom out, or select a zoom level from 014. Locations are like waypoints on a GPS. You can set latitude, longitude, zoom level, and map or satellite view, and then return to that view from the Location menu. Search brings up a search screen that calls the Google search system.

There are a number of tricks and hints on the GMaps web site. Mobile GMaps was written by Cristian Streng. It is released under the Attribution/ NonCommercial/NoDerivs Creative Commons license. This means that you can use and distribute the program for free, but you can't make derivative works or use it for commercial purposes.

And as Cristian says, "If you like Mobile GMaps and find it useful in your daily life, if it saves you time and money, please show that you value my time, my expenses, my effort and my knowledge and consider a donation to me."

Rich Gibson