Google's latest Nearby for Android feature, or simply Google Nearby, makes app browsing more efficient with its ability to provide those that suit your current location.
Some of the apps on Google Play are more likely built for a specific, rather than general, location. These apps seek to improve a user’s experience if, for example, they are visiting a museum and require an audio tour of the exhibits; or if a consumer is purchasing items from a local store and needs a barcode scanner to compare related items.
Instead of browsing through the many apps Google Play provides, Google Nearby will notify the user of a localized app for the museum, grocery, or landmark, making the whole process hassle-free.
Some specific applications of Nearby for Android based on Google's announcement include:
• Printing photos directly from your phone at CVS Pharmacy
• Exploring historical landmarks at the University of Notre Dame
• Downloading an audio tour when you're at The Broad in L.A.
• Skipping the customs line at select airports with Mobile Passport and
• Downloading the United Airlines app for free in-flight entertainment while you wait at the gate, before you board your flight.
These are just some of the many different ways apps can improve a user’s experience when visiting a new location but are, more often than not, lost in the Google Play directory.
The new Google Nearby feature allows developers to easily reach their target audience by attaching signals to Eddystone Beacons situated in a certain area. These beacons can be accessed by Android devices and allow developers to display relevant ads or apps on a user’s mobile device, specific to the current location.
Nearby for Android builds on Google's existing Nearby API, a feature that allows mobile devices within the same vicinity to communicate with each other, and combines this ability with the technology found in Google's Physical Web Support, which allows Android devices to pull webpages pertinent to the user’s location.
To enable the feature, users only need to turn on their Bluetooth and Location, and Nearby for Android will do the rest. The update should be reaching most Android devices with the next update of Google Play Services for Android 4.4, Kitkat and above.
Nearby for Android is also available on select Google devices, such as Google Cast and Android Wear.
For more developer-specific information, the Google Developers webpage may be accessed.
Photo: Mac Morrison | Flickr
