Google Open Spot is a new app that lets you both mark and find where a parking spot in a city is. The app is available for Android OS phones running at least version 2.0 and lets users mark on a map when they are leaving a parking spot which in turn, lets another driver know where a parking spot is available.
Start helping others find parking, and together we'll all save time, save gas, and reduce pollution. Like to keep score? The more open spots you mark, the more parking 'karma points' you'll get.
If you are running Android 2.0 or higher, you can grab the application from the market. You also need to be a user in the US, Canada or the Netherlands to get the software. Users in other countries will need to wait a little longer before the software becomes available.
Parking spots are shown to users who are located with in 0.9 miles of the available parking spot. As you drive towards the open spot, others might appear on the map if they are also available as your 0.9 mile radius moves around the city.
Spots are removed from the map after 20 minutes. We know that 20 minutes is a long time for a parking spot to stay open, but we think that more information about available parking is better than less.
Pin Colours mean the following...
o Red pins are freshly-marked spots.
o Orange pins are spots marked over 5 minutes ago.
o Yellow pins are spots marked over 10 minutes ago.
More details over at Google.