Google has been conducting a study intended to tell them what information people need that they are not using Google for. In other words, they want to extend their search capabilities to cover that additional information.
One of the avenues for them to follow is context specific, location based searches. It is directed to the use of mobile devices and recognizes that people are often travelling or just in transit from home to work and want particular information along the way. For example, they might get to a bus stop and want to know when the next bus is coming. Or they might want to go to a particular night spot and want to know the wait time.
The system of course depends on using GPS chips to track peoples' movements and pinpoint their location at any time, raising privacy issues. If people don't want to be tracked, they can turn the GPS function off in their phone.
For a summary of the research Google is doing, follow this link.
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