Glympse Application

I've used Glympse on both my Blackberry Bold 9700, my iPhone 3GS, as well as my Samsung Nexus-S. The version that I'm currently using on my Blackberry Bold 9700 is v1.0.24. Because this program requires a data plan, I currently use it mainly on my Blackberry Bold 9700 unless I go to the US where I will use it in conjunction with my US data SIM either on my iPhone 3GS or my Samsung Nexus-S. On the Blackberry, the map that Glympse uses to show locations is Bing maps whereas on the iOS platform (since it not only works with iPhones but with iPads as well) and the AndroidOS platform, Glympse uses GoogleMaps.

Even though my review is pertaining mainly to my use of Glympse on my Blackberry Bold 9700, there are only minor differences between the different phone versions so my review/comments are pertinent to the other Glympse versions on the other phone models as well.

Glympse is a free program (at the time of this blog entry) that allows you to share with anyone (via e-mail, SMS, Facebook, or Twitter) your location for a specified time frame. What is sent is a link to Glympse's website that will show your "real-time" (within a few seconds) location. The person receiving the link or who clicks on the link will see the route and your current real-time location. If they have Glympse installed on their smartphone (Android, Blackberry, or iPhone), they can enter the Glympse location code into their Glympse program and they will be able to see your real-time location for the duration that you've specified (up to a maximum of 4 hours). If the person doesn't have Glympse installed on his/her internet enabled smartphone, he/she can still see where you are but they will have to manually update/refresh their browser/map in order to know your current location.

Provided that the person with Glympse has a data connection on his/her phone, when the e-mail option is selected, the person whom the Glympse is sent to gets an e-mail from "Glympse Invite" (invite@glympse.com) with the subject: "Here's  GlympseUserID's location, courtesy of Glympse". In the body of the e-mail message is a URL similar to: http://glympse.com/ABC-DEF. The "ABC-DEF" represents the Glympse location code and the recipient of the Glympse e-mail is only required to use this code if he/she has Glympse installed on his/her smartphone (and uses the option in the Glympse menu "View a Glympse". Otherwise, if the recipient is using a computer, he/she can click on the Glympse URL location link which will bring up a map showing the starting position of when the Glympse was actually sent as well as the route taken. When the animation ends, the final location of the arrow in the animation will be the sender's current location (provided that he/she is running Glympse in the background and the duration of the Glympse did not expire).

When sending a Glympse via SMS (text messaging), Glympse will send it using the owner's SMS so depending on the owner and the receiver's respective SMS plans, charges may be incurred by either or both parties.

What I like about this program is that if I'm running late or if I want to meet someone (and they have access to an internet connected PC or internet connected smartphone), they will be able to know where I am. Before my appointment/meeting, I would send them (or upload onto Facebook/Twitter) my Glympse. Using my Glympse location code (or Glympse link), they could then figure out where I am in relation to where they are and have an idea if I am running late or not without the need to contact me to see where I am.

If you have any questions/comments regarding this blog entry, please don't hesitate to leave a comment in the  comments section.