Google Gears goes mobile

Google announced a mobile version of its Google Gears browser extension software, promising developers the tools for storing web application data on mobile devices. Initially released for Internet Explorer on Windows Mobile 5 and 6, Google Gears provides developers with tools to store data from browser-based applications so those apps can be run even when no network signal is available, at the same time reducing data charges by restricting traffic between the device and the operator. Google adds the ultimate goal of Google Gears is to create a standard, web-based mobile platform requiring developers to write applications only once for deployment across multiple mobile operating systems.

"Mobile browsers simply cannot do much of what you want applications to do," writes Google software engineer Chris Prince on the web services giant's official blog. "The mission of Gears is to extend the capabilities of web browsers. It is clear to us that mobile browsers can benefit just as much as desktop ones. By adding features to mobile browsers, it becomes possible to deploy an increasing number of mobile applications as web apps."

For more on Google Gears:
- read this Google blog entry

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