Google has been working on adding new and improved features to its offerings to make searching for users’ local area easier, and thus has introduced “Near me now”.

The local search service’s goal is to make it simpler to quickly look up local businesses and information about them. Users can access this new feature by accessing Google.com through an Android or the iPhone  on the “Near me now” button once the phone provides your location. According to Daily Tech, the new service was created to address two issues for mobile device search users. “Near me now” will provide information about businesses physically near you and let users gain more information on whatever they are in front of with a “Explore right here” option. By clicking or “tapping” on the latter option, users would be able to read reviews about restaurants that they are about to walk into.

There are catches, however, to how the service works. You must be running an iPhone with OS 3.x or higher and/or an Android device that is 2.0.1 or later. Google’s recently introduced Nexus One Android phone will work with the new features as well. The “Explore right here” option option only works if the handset provides an accurate location to one city block, so the feature is likely only going to be guaranteed to work in large cities.