Need To Know What Time That Store’s Open Until? Try WhatsOpen Beta

by Justin

This may not be a straight out GPS unit, but it is definitely a useful application for the GPS obsessed and for those that aren’t. VentureBeat has been covering a self-funded startup, WhatsOpen, that went live in public beta a couple nights ago. The startup, described as a “secretive local search company”, lets you type in a store you’re looking for along with your current location and gives back a Google Maps mashup that displays a list of relevant store, their respective hours of operation, their phone numbers and their distance from the city center. It’s database of business listings and some of the accompanying information is more extensive than either Yahoo or Google, giving WhatsOpen a definite advantage over its much bigger competitors.

The company apparently also offers an iPhone application and are also currently working on a Google Android application that will be GPS-enabled giving more accurate results as to the distance of a store in relation to your current location. The beta is currently available in the United States, China, and Europe.