Google Adds Local News For Smartphone Users

Android and iPhone users can now get local news via the mobile version of Google News.

It’s accessible by visiting news.google.com from a mobile browser. Google News will ask for permission to use your current location (if you haven’t already given that permission), and if you allow it, a “News near you” section will be added to Google News.

Google isn’t the first to offer local news like this. Bing’s iPhone app also has a section for local news under the “News” tab, and CNN’s iPhone app also offers local news (and weather) via the “My CNN” tab. I can’t find a tab/section for local news via Yahoo’s iPhone app, which is ironic considering the company’s big emphasis on local and hyperlocal news. (See Is Yahoo Going Hyperlocal? from my Hyperlocal Blogger site.)

That said, on quick glance, Google’s local news targeting is better and more precise than the other options that I’m familiar with — at least on the iPhone. (Though it also seems to be a bit slow to update, at least here in my smaller metro area; story #3 is six days old.)