panoramaview
Latest
Wii U spring update now live, promises to speed up software load times
<p class="image-container" style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://www.engadget.com/2013/04/25/wii-u-spring-update-now-live-promises-to-speed-up-software-load/"><img alt="Wii U spring update now live, promises to speed up software load times" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2012/11/wiiuupdate620pxhedimgwmed-1353204596.jpg"/> </a></p><p><a href="http://www.engadget.com/wii-u-review/nintendo-wii-u-review/">Owning a Wii U</a> can feel like an exercise in patience: games and apps can take up to 30 seconds to load, and downloaded software needs to be manually installed. Thankfully, Nintendo heard its fans lamentations, and has issued the first of <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/23/wii-u-system-updates/">two major updates</a> designed to mitigate the problem. In addition to <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/26/nintendo-video-shows-off-wii-u-speed-improvement-coming-in-april/">dramatically speeding up</a> software load times, the update revises how the Wii U handles downloads and installs. Rather than manually having to install software, the system will automatically update, download and unwrap patches in the background, even if the console is powered down. The system update also puts the finishing touches on the <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/23/wii-u-virtual-console-hands-on/">Wii U Virtual Console</a>, which is promised to launch officially in the coming days. Nintendo's <em>old</em> VC can be accessed a little quicker now, too, as the update now allows users to jump directly into the <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2013/02/08/nintendo-digital-content-problem-wii-u-ecosystem/">sandboxed Wii ecosystem</a> by holding the B button during start up. All in all, a pretty solid update to a system that needs a little fixing. Check out the full list of changes after the break.</p>
Nintendo Wii U's spring update, Panorama View arrive next week
Nintendo's Wii U game console is getting its promised spring update next week, said company president Satoru Iwata in a Luigi-filled video presentation this morning. The update is said to launch software dramatically faster than before, as Nintendo demonstrated in a video last month. Iwata also said the update adds continuable downloads while the console is off, and that Virtual Console won't arrive until the following week -- should you wish to directly launch into the Wii menu, you'll be able to hold down the B button as the console is starting up. That said, if you wanna play those VC games directly from the Wii U menu, you'll need to re-buy them for $1 apiece for NES games and $1.50 for SNES games. A variety of games were shown off as available at the Virtual Console's launch, including classics like Super Mario World and Punch-Out! Apparently GameBoy Advance and Nintendo 64 games are planned for inclusion on the VC in the coming months, but no definitive date was given. He also said Panorama View will arrive next week for free, and it sounds like it'll be a separate download from the software update.
Google Street View and Maps coming to Wii U in January 2013
During today's Nintendo Direct presentation, Iwata-san had plenty of game footage to show to Japan-based fans, but he also casually mentioned that Google-powered maps and street vistas would arrive on the Wii U at the end of January 2013. As demonstrated by the man himself, you'll be able to swing the GamePad around to get the best view of anywhere that's been documented by Google -- including underwater. Navigation looks similar to the previously-seen Wii U Panorama View (which Nintendo confirmed would arrive Spring 2013) and although Street View isn't motion video, there's admittedly more to see from Google's cartography. You'll be able to navigate down roads, and use the vanilla map view and street view on both the big-screen and the GamePad. If you're liking what you hear, you'd better be quick: the app will launch free for two months, after which users will have to pay an as-yet-unmentioned price for access.
Garmin, Navigon GPS apps now consider mass transit, remember where we parked
Third-party navigation apps still tend to fall apart when the keys are out of the ignition -- try to cut back on car use and you're often kicked over to another app with its own set of rules. Both Garmin's StreetPilot Onboard app and its Navigon equivalent are getting a much more holistic experience through respective upgrades due this fall. Android and iOS users alike can soon buy an Urban Guidance pack that factors buses, subways and other forms of public transportation into their on-foot routes. The playing field is leveling off for drivers willing to stretch their legs, too: iPhone owners with Navigon's app get the same last-mile walking directions and parking finder as their Android counterparts. StreetPilot iPhone app users are left out of this last addition, but they'll see compensation in the form of an optional Panorama View 3D mode and the Google Street View they're about to lose from Maps in iOS 6. The updated titles will still cost $30 for Navigon-only regional packs, $50 for editions with US-wide maps and $60 for all of North America, although you'll need to spend $5 more ($3 during the first two weeks) for Urban Guidance and $10 for the Panorama View 3D pack.
