This was a big announcement last night (more will come today) and the impact is just starting to be acknowledged in the mobile tech world. Google announced a Beta (of course) of Google Gears which is an open source browser plug-in that allows developers to take their applications offline. Where’s the impact? Take Google Reader (Google’s feed reader) for example. Now with the click of an icon, users can download up to 2000 of their feeds (minus pics and graphics) and have the same reading experience offline as they do online. I gave this example a try last night and it is a real winner that I can see saving me a bit of time by allowing me to perform the simple task of reading feeds when I’m not connected. Some are calling it a paradigm shift or game changer. I’m not sure about the degree, but it is going to have an impact depending on how the development community responds.

If you’re looking for more on this Marc Orchant has some good info, and TechMeme is filled with a series of links.