ReadWriteWeb

Uh-oh, Google Doc's offline mode is going...well...offline. Starting May 3rd, offline access for Google Docs, the Internet search giant's web office suite, home to an online document editor, spreadsheet editor and slideshow creator, will be disabled. Previously, users had been able to take advantage of the offline functionality provided by Google Gears, an open source browser extension which allowed for both the viewing and editing of files when an Internet connection was not present. Soon, the Gears-enabled feature will be no more. But have no fear - this setback is only temporary..at least that's what a company blog post says.

In the plugin's place, there will be a "new and improved" HTML5-based offline option which will replace the former solution, but its exact launch date is still unknown.

This morning Google announced that "offline Gmail" is leaving the Gmail Labs testing area and will be implemented as a standard feature for all users. Once enabled, this feature allows you to access your Gmail even when no internet connection is available. You can read and respond to messages, star them or label them just as you would if you were online. When a connection is restored, all the changes you made are synced with Google's servers and any messages in your Outbox are sent out.

As of today, all Gmail users will now have this feature turned on by default, however those who have never used it before will need to configure it first in order to take advantage of the enhanced functionality.

Google today announced a Geolocation API for Windows Mobile phones running Google Gears. The Geolocation API will allow developers to get location data based on the cell-ID of nearby cell towers or from built-in GPS systems. Soon, Google will also integrate data from nearby WiFi connections. For now, Gears only works with Firefox, IE, and IE Mobile and only on select Windows Mobile phones. There is no information available about when (or if) it will become available on other platforms, though Google's Android will probably implement it as well.