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The latest edition of Earthcomber, a GPS-enabled application for Palm OS and Windows Mobile PDAs and smartphones, enables users to wirelessly retrieve free maps and data over-the-air and on demand. The purpose is to give travelers a convenient way to explore their surroundings for places that would make their trips complete without having to remember to pre-load information ahead of time.

Earthcomber CEO Jim Brady said to PDAStreet that compared to commercial mapping software that comes on a CD, Earthcomber can now rescue you on the spot when you didn't have time or didn't think to pre-load maps. He also claims over-the-air map and data download as a really breakthrough.

"Imagine if your flight has been delayed, or your meeting extended, so now you're going to be spending a little time where you didn't expect. Up until now, you had to pre-load Earthcomber (or any quality vector maps for Palm or Windows handhelds) before your trip," Brady said to PDAStreet. "But now, you tap the U.S. map, pick a state, pick a city, and now you're downloading not just the full vector map for the area, but local business and events data that's up-to-the minute."

"Within a couple of minutes, your Treo or whatever you use now can zoom in and zoom out of any corner of the area, and you have complete information on all there is to see, do, eat, discover, all tailored to your personal interests," he added.

This short download resides on your handheld, so you can use it to navigate in places where there is no Wi-Fi or phone signal. Comparatively, Brady said, mobile browser maps, which require a connection are agonizingly slow, are not personalized and require a fresh search and fresh input for everything you want to find. With Earthcomber, you get all the data at once.

The free location-based service can help users find a hot spot, coffee shop, ATM, office supplies, fast-food, banks, restaurant, car rental, historic sites, museums, schools, public buildings, parks, convenience stores, pharmacies, cleaners, fuel, eye-care, a pet store, etc. It lists over 2.5 million locations around the U.S. in all.

Earthcomber does this by scanning an area for all items of personal interest, unlike web-based mobile look-up services that require users input an item on the spot. Users pre-define their favorites, interests and needs ahead of time. When one is nearby, the application lets you know automatically.

The service also provides the latest movie listings for 5,400 theaters and 30,000 screens.

"We're finally at the point where mobile technology and consumer demand have caught up with each other. Handhelds can get the information you need on the spot, and have the smarts to work for you," Brady asserted to PDAStreet. And because they can, people can now travel lighter and more assuredly. Getting not just maps, but complete public and personal info, on the spot, means you can get an instant lay of the land, and see right away your best personal options of where to go and what to do."

You can even use EarthComber without a GPS-enabled handheld or smartphone, but to get information on points-of-interests, you must tell it exactly where you are on the map in that case.

Turn-by-turn directions for wirelessly (cellular or even Wi-Fi) connected devices are also available through EarthComber.

Brady told us that his company plans to take additional advantage of live wireless connections by adding more capabilities to the informational layer of the service, where the points of interests lay. Where today, for example, a restaurant listing maybe hasn't been updated in quite a while, in the future a user's smartphone may reflect changes made to its menu listing in the last 24 hours.

Other enhancements in the latest release allow users to store more maps and content onto their devices or storage cards. In addition, EarthComber says the application's performance has been improved significantly.