Google Gears Goes Mobile

Try saying that three times fast! We're all using web-based applications these days to get our jobs done. From web mail to wikis to writing this blog post, web applications are here to stay. The web as an application platform has tremendous advantages. Using a browser to access applications requires fewer software updates, easier accessibility from any computer and platform independence. But along with those advantages comes one pretty big disadvantage - the requirement for persistent internet access. Web applications need internet access to work and they don't tend to function if network bandwidth is poor or intermittent. Some applications get around that by installing some code on your local device.Google is one of those companies and recently announced a version of Google Gears for Windows Mobile 5 or 6. Google Gears Mobile will allow Gears enabled applications to work off line, utilizing a small database engine that gets installed on the client device. That database can store session information locally for those times when connectivity is poor or nonexistent. We have a long way to go in making web-based applications work well on mobile devices but Google Gears is certainly a step in the right direction.