Now, a user looking down their contact list can see not only the location of his or her Palringo contacts, and also how far away that contact is.
In an up and coming update, one further click will bring up a map showing the location of that contact and also the location of any other Palringo contacts within a 10 kilometre radius.
In the same update, the location function will allow a user to display their own location on a map, which is convenient for those visiting somewhere for the first time.
Location and proximity information adds an interesting new layer of social network connectivity. A Palringo user can choose to reveal location to any, all or no contacts, changing this selection at any time. Location can be set manually by the user, or Palringo can detect location automatically, keeping it continuously updated.
Location and proximity information complement Palringo’s rich messaging service, which already provides the option to send and receive vocal instant messages, picture messages and text-based messages. The Palringo service is designed for use on mobile phones, but versions are also available for Mac OS and other desktop environments.