G1 Android app sends users down the pub

LASTMINUTE.COM has created a mobile application for Android-based mobile phones to help users find out what's going on around them.

The software, called nru, runs on the T-Mobile G1 phone - currently the only device that uses Google's Android operating system - and uses the in-built GPS positioning in the handset to determine where punters are.

The application can tell users about things to do nearby, suggesting pubs, clubs, restaurants, theatres and so forth. A compass in the G1 allows the software to tell which way the phone is facing to show customers how to get where they are going.

The software is an early stab at providing much-trumpeted location-based services on mobile phones.

"Nru is an innovative solution which allows users to quickly find nearby things to do, whether they're after a meal out, a trip to the cinema or the nearest pub, just by moving their phone around," said Lastminute's head of innovation Marko Balabanovic. µ