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.