SiFR, a provider of GPS-powered location platforms, announced that

It will rapidly implement key end-to-end location-awareness features needed to enable mobile devices powered by the Android(TM) platform to provide an optimal location awareness experience for consumers.

SiRF is actively working on the Android platform to include some of the more innovative features of Secure User Plane Location (SUPL), a standards-based protocol that allows a mobile handset client to communicate with a SUPL Location Platform (SLP), including transport layer security (TLS) for location privacy and multiple session capabilities to provide the most compelling user experience. SiRF is also implementing support for Android-based assisted GPS (A-GPS) handsets, including mobile station based (MSB) and mobile station assisted (MSA) positioning methods to facilitate the Android platform passing Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and 3GPP conformance testing for third-party certification.

Location is huge, and it appears that 2008 is going to be a break out year for location-aware services and applications.

We also heard about a prototype for Android using the HTC Qtek 9090.

The new Google Maps with My Location product is an update to Google Maps for Mobile that has location information even if you don’t have GPS.

It uses information from cell towers a la Navizon on the iPhone.

As for privacy:

This approximation is anonymous, as Google does not gather any personally identifiable information or associate any location data with personally identifiable information as part of the My Location feature. The feature can also be easily disabled by anyone who prefers not to use it.

And more info:

If you have a GPS-enabled device, this blue dot corresponds to your GPS location. At times, or if you do not have a GPS-enabled phone, you might see the blue dot surrounded by a light blue circle (as shown on the right) to indicate uncertainty about your location.

Why the uncertainty? The My Location feature takes information broadcast from mobile towers near you to approximate your current location on the map - it’s not GPS, but it comes pretty close (approximately 1000m close, on average). We’re still in beta, but we’re excited to launch this feature and are constantly working to improve our coverage and accuracy.

The My Location feature is available for most web-enabled mobile phones, including Java, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Nokia/Symbian devices.

Just press “0″.