Items tagged with Maps
We’ll admit that we didn’t exactly see the 3D maps wars coming, but here it is: just as Google lavished updates on its own Maps, Apple ditched the app and launched its own competing maps feature with iOS 6. Ever the rabble rouser, Amazon looks to be getting into the 3D maps game as well with its acquisition of UpNext, according to GigaOM. UpNext, which is actually available for the iPhone with a tablet version for both iOS and Android, offers beautiful 3D maps of cities all over the U.S. Users can scroll around 3D cities, search for and see what places are nearby, and get walking or public transit directions to and from selected locations. You can even tap places to check venue reviews,...
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Google Maps needs no introduction. It's a hugely powerful tool, and while Latitude never really took off, the underlying idea was also a useful one. But now, Google's taking that same sort of thought and applying it to business. The company has just launched Google Maps Coordinate, which is a new way for Maps users to organize teams on the go. It's designed to improve communication between businesses and their employees in the field. When a business signs up for Google Maps Coordinate, they get access to the Google Maps Coordinate web and mobile apps. Once that's in place, employees in the field can download the mobile app to their phone. And then... Share real-time location....
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With the final item in the deluge of Apple posts, the company debuted iOS 6 and many of its over 200 new features. Predictably, Siri got plenty of attention in this OS update. She is now available in the iPad as well as the iPhone, and she speaks English, French, German, and Japanese, with new support for Spanish, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, and Cantonese. More than that, however, Siri’s been “learning” a lot since she was born 8 months ago; if the demo at WWDC is to be believed, she’s learned a lot about sports, films, places to eat, and how to launch apps. It’s essentially Google searching without any typing and with specific and uncluttered results, plus of course...
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Take one look at the Google Calendar ahead of you. Yes, it's April 1st, and no one does April 1st better in the technology world than Google. Every single year, these guys spend a significant amount of time creating extremely clever jokes that usually make the collective tech universe smile. This year is no different. The joke this year surrounds an 8-bit version of Google Maps... for the Nintendo Entertainment System! Yeah, it's far-out, but it's so well put-together that it's impossible to ignore. If you're throwing belief to the wind, the 8-bit version of Maps works with old school NES system, somehow connecting to the Internet, supporting voice search and using graphics that are easy to download...
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Google updated Google Maps for Android to version 6.5. With this update, you'll see a redesigned Navigation home screen on Android 4.0+ devices. For devices that have a high pixel density screen such as the Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy S II, Droid Razr and others, Google is now offering higher resolution map tiles which means you'll enjoy a crisper, less cluttered map while navigating. The new style is also said to help maps react more quickly to panning, zooming, and twisting. Google also added the ability to prioritize a transit mode and route option in Google Maps 6.5 for Android. Crossing the 50 billion km mark and giving Google Maps for Android a fresh look March 28, 2012 at 1:01 PM - Every day,...
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Nokia's Lumia line has already proven to be a spearhead for Windows Phone, and it's clear that Microsoft is seriously winning from the partnership. Lumia users only have a few handsets to choose from at the moment, but Nokia is making that handful look even more attractive with three powerful (and exclusive) app updates. Available only to Lumia phones, there's an updated Nokia Maps, Drive and Transport. The refresh to Drive is perhaps the most significant, adding complete offline guidance options for a number of countries. Simply download the maps before you leave, and then you're able to navigate when you arrive without ever having to use costly roaming data. There's also a new speed limit indicator...
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When Google announced their intentions to snap up ITA, many suspected that they would tap into their Google Maps universe in order to make searching for hotels a lot easier. Now, Google has introduced Hotel Finder, which is launching now not even as a Beta, but as an Experiment. Just punch in a location, dates, price and / or rating. Users can search specific areas of town for hotels based on price and rating, but with a maps view, this all happens far quicker than it has in the past. Give it a whirl -- Google is working on improvements as of writing, and it's a safe bet Expedia and Orbitz are shaking in their boots....
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Need to know exactly where your bus is? Who doesn't, right? Google, in typical fashion, has just made one of life's chores even easier. Starting now, Google Maps for mobile and desktop is capable is telling you when your bus is actually going to arrive, courtesy of live transit updates. The company has partnered with transit agencies to integrate live transit data in four U.S. cities and two European cities: Boston, Portland, Ore., San Diego, San Francisco, Madrid and Turin. They're already making strides in telling folks when mass transit options are going to be late or on time, and the bus is the next logical piece of the puzzle. When you click on a transit station or plan a transit route with...
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One reason to stick with Android, particularly for avid travelers, has been Google Maps Navigation. It's a built-in turn-by-turn navigation system that comes free with Android, and isn't available on iOS. But Google may be shooting themselves in the foot somewhat here. The company recently reported that 40% of all Maps usage is on mobile devices -- not surprising given that people really need to know how to get from place to place while on-the-move. And now, they've upgraded their Maps for Mobile service by making it even more robust in mere mobile browsers. Browsers that work on both Android and iOS. Now, whenever a user visits maps.google.com on a phone/tablet browser, and you opt-in to share...
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Another week, another update for Google on the Android front. iOS' major competitor just keeps the hits coming, this time with a point release to Google Maps. The company has just released GMaps 5.3 into the Android Market, which lets you see your Google Location History dashboard, check in at “home,” and add your own aspects for places when rating them. If you’ve enabled Location History for Google Latitude, you’ve been able to visualize interesting trends in your location history with a personal dashboard at google.com/latitude on your computer. Now, you can also see your dashboard on your phone by tapping View location history from your Latitude profile. You’ll...
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While we still have a very long way to go before electric vehicles are "the norm," Google is already one step ahead of most. The company has just added a network of electric vehicle charging stations to Google maps, which will enable those with EVs to more easily find stations to recharge their cars. It's a vital addition to Maps, and it should be a best friend to those who are tired of driving in circles to find charging ports. Incidentally, this should also cut down on gasoline emissions on hybrid cars who use fuel to drive around in search of a charging station. To use the new feature, just search for “ev charging station” plus the appropriate area, for example, “ev charging...
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Traffic. Just the mention of the word makes some city folk cringe, and for most everyone, it turns a good day into a bad one. It's a dreadful thing, and it's something that some people have to deal with on a daily basis. But technology has been coming to the rescue lately, with many personal navigation devices adding real-time traffic alerts to keep motorists from falling into nasty log-jams that are near impossible to escape. Google is a bit behind when it comes to that, but when the app is free, who could complain? Google Maps 5.2.1 introduces a killer new feature: real-time traffic alerts. The new version of the app has the ability to route users around traffic, and with over 35 million miles...
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Recently, Google's Street View expanded to all seven continents. Where could it possibly go next? To places that aren't accessible via car. While Street View has done a tremendous job of providing an up-close view of locations by sending camera-equipped cars to record images, the one thing that cannot be recorded by car is anything off of the street. You may think that's not too big of a deal, but there are actually quite a few monuments and addresses that could benefit from having Street View, but can't because of a lack of road leading there. Look at Stonehenge in England. To get a Street View look, you'd have to off road into the monument. Not going to happen. But now, Google is sending out...
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It's not often that lawsuits end in $1 payouts, but that's what has happened with Google and a Pennsylvania couple. Back in 2008, Aaron and Christine Boring sued Google because a Street View car, which drives around takes 360-degree shots of street surroundings in order to show on Google Maps, invaded their privacy. According to the couple, the car didn't pay attention to a "Private Road; No Trespassing" sign, and they weren't too pleased. After fighting back and forth for two years now, Google finally agreed to pay up. But the settlement is just $1! The couple said that they're glad to have this over with, and would've accepted a formal apology from the start. So why waste money on lawyers when...
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