PubCrawler

PubCrawler was a mobile web app I developed in 2009. It is no longer hosted at http://www.ubikapps.net/apps/pubcrawler/index.html. I created it to explore the possibilities of geolocation and local storage on newer mobile devices. It finds pubs near your location and displays them on a map. So far so Google Maps. The interesting thing is that if you have the right browser or phone it can:

  • Find your location automatically
  • Save pub crawls on the device by date and location for viewing later

It was developed in:

  • HTML 5
  • CSS 3.0
  • JavaScript using the APIs:
    • Google Gears GeoLocation
    • Google Maps V3
    • Google Local Search

Features:

  • GPS, cell tower location, IP address or manual geolocation
  • Save pints consumed in each pub
  • Switch between map types (Map, Satellite, Hybrid, Terrain)
  • Navigate map with touch gestures on Android 1.5 or later and iPhone
  • Save pub crawls for later viewing
  • Show route around pubs
  • Change location to plan or continue a pub crawl somewhere else

Supported browsers and devices

  • Automatic location:
    • Android phones like the T-mobile G1, Motorola Droid or Nexus One
    • iPhone/iPod Touch with firmware 3.x or above
    • Windows Mobile 6 with Opera Mobile 9.5 technology preview build (go to gears.google.com in the browser to install Gears)
    • Firefox 3 with Google Gears installed (although the CSS 3.0 elements won’t look right)
    • Firefox 3.5 (no Gears needed) – does not save crawls
    • Google Chrome
  • Manual location:
    • iPhone/iPod Touch with firmware 2.x
    • Any browser that supports JavaScript (but does not have Google Gears or HTML5 support)

On Gears supported devices the first visit will show a pop-up asking you if you trust the site to use Gears. If you don’t click the accept button you will have to enter a location manually. Similarly on HTML5 supported devices a pop-up is displayed the “New Crawl” button is first clicked.