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Google's Trekker program takes you on a tour across the US
The individuals and organizations that borrowed Trekkers from Google's loaner program have been a big help to Street View's growth, capturing various places around the globe that you can tour online. Now, Mountain View has launched the five newest Street View locations that came out of the project, which can take you on a virtual journey across the US. You can take a tour of the Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve with its ancient redwoods and meadows, or of Kansas City that takes you to the top of the Liberty Memorial Tower and to the famous Shuttlecocks installation.
Google Maps for iOS shows you the fastest way to travel in one page
Google Maps for iOS has become a lot easier to use when you're in a hurry and quickly need to check how to get to your destination. The app now shows you all the possible ETAs for all the transportation types it supports in a single page, just like its Android counterpart. Simply ask the app for directions by typing in your location and where you want to go to whenever you need help in deciding whether you should hoof it, pedal it out, take the car or catch the next bus/train. The feature's live on the iOS app, and you can get it as soon as you download the latest update. By the way, if you have an Apple Watch, you can now also get directions right on your wrist.
Google Maps now works on the Apple Watch
Sure, Apple Maps has improved significantly in the past few years since it launched, but for many Apple users it still doesn't hold a candle to Google Maps. But if you're an Apple Watch user who wanted to use your watch for directions, Apple Maps has been your only option -- until today. A new update for Google Maps on iOS rolled out today that includes full Apple Watch support, among some other useful features.
Google wants to help you post food photos on Maps
If you can't help but take photos of your food before you chow down, you'll be glad to hear that Google might be ready to fuel your habit. Months after shutting down its experimental food shot app Tablescape, Google is testing a Maps feature that would notify you when you take a food photo at a restaurant, giving you a chance to attach it to a Maps location in "just two taps." The trick would speed up your restaurant reviews and help you get back to eating. It'd be a big help to Google, too, since it'd get the foodie pics that usually go straight to Instagram and Twitter. Only higher-level Map Maker guides can test the feature at the moment, but we'd expect it to spread quickly if the early trials prove successful. [Image credit: Getty Images]
Google Maps wants to include more of your photos
Remember Views, Google's repository for geotagged Photo Spheres and panoramas? Honestly, many of us around the Engadget compound had forgotten about it too. Mountain View has decided that rather than hide away these features on some separate site that nobody ever visits, it'll be folding the service directly into Google Maps. This means you'll see your new Maps profile in the pop out menu on the left, along with all your contributions. Eventually Google will reveal the total number of images you've uploaded, the number of times they've been viewed and expand your options for sharing content on Maps.
Google adds its replacement for addresses to Google Maps
Sure, exact coordinates are useful if you're treasure hunting, but if you're just trying to find something in a part of the world where addresses are uncommon or nonexistent, they're way too long. Google proposed a fix earlier this year with the rollout of free to use Open Location Codes, aka Plus+Codes. Now, those short codes (six or seven letters and numbers) are searchable on Google Maps. If you're further away from a particular area, you may need to include the town, city name or region code for them to work, but codes already exist for every location, and you can find them on the web at plus.codes. The codes specify an area instead of a point, and for more accuracy, you can add more digits. The way the system is setup, they can be encoded or decoded offline, so there's no problem even if you're in an area with little or no internet connection. Of course, someone other than Google will need to use them for this system to catch on (others like What3words are trying to do the same), but at least now you can see how it works right in Google Maps. [Image credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Google Maps on iOS won't blind you at night anymore
When you're using Google Maps in the dark, the iOS app's blinding bright white display can kill your night vision. Good thing then that a new update addresses that and adds a few other welcome improvements. Now you can label waypoints on your map and in search suggestions according to the patch notes, and even alter captions for photos that you've added as well. Of course, there's the usual bug fixes along for the ride as well, but it's not like those will keep you from going blind on your way home from the bonfire you checked into via Facebook.
This interactive map crams in American literature's greatest road trips
People love road trips. Some like 'em more than others. And some like them perhaps a little bit too much. This interactive map from Richard Kreitner and Steven Melendez crams the locations mentioned in twelve road-tripping books including Mark Twain's Roughing It and Jack Kerouac's On the Road. That total's 1,500 entries, paired with the most appropriate coordinates the author could assign. You might take issue with some of the book choices, but we'll only accept complaints after you've tackled the entirety of this cartographic labor of love. You'll find the bibliography after the break.
Google Maps shows what it knows about everywhere you've (ever) been
Google's Location History feature keeps track of the places your mobile device has been (if you opt-in and turn it on) and now you can look back through that data with "Your Timeline." Rolling out on the desktop and Android versions of Google Maps, its gives you an easy-to-navigate look at your comings and goings. It also shows what it recorded about how you made those trips (by plane, train, automobile, bike or even walking -- how do you think it remembers where you parked?) and displays the Google Photos you took. This data has always been available on the Location History webpage, but now it's easier to see. Google says the feature is "private and visible only to you," and you can delete any segments that you'd rather not have recorded -- we can't wait for the first court case that comes up in -- or drop in nicknames for frequently visited spots.
Android gets Google Maps desktop-to-mobile destination info, too
The latest update to Google Maps on Android is one of those things that honestly should have happened a long time ago, but surprisingly didn't until recently: Now you can send destination info directly to your mobile device from the desktop. Just like on iOS. And as Android Police points out, it all sounds pretty facile. So long as you have the latest version of the mobile app installed, from the Maps website you should see an option to send the current query to devices you're signed into with your Google account. From there, an actionable notification pops on your gizmo and you can either check out the destination's website (if there is one) or its profile card on Google. Like I said, it's pretty simple and something you'd have thought was already there but actually wasn't. [Image credit: Getty Images]
Google Maps for iOS can share places on Facebook
There might be a time when you quickly need to share your location on Facebook to make sure at least one person knows where you are. If that ever happens, you can just fire up Google Maps on an iPhone or an iPad, drop a pin and share your info from within the app, now that it's been updated with the feature. The latest version's also useful if you're friends with someone who always seems to get lost, since it comes with the ability to share via FB's Messenger app, as well. Plus, it brings a better Transit view to the platform with more route choices and real-time arrival info, just like the one already available on Android. Finally, you get a brand new image gallery when you update. That will make it easy to look at user-uploaded photos on Maps, which you can use to cross-reference places you've never visited in the past.
Google parks its map-making tool inside Drive for easy access
To make things easily accessible, Google is nesting its My Maps feature in Drive. This means that in addition to creating custom maps for whatever need may arise, you can also nestle them alongside documents or forms created with the productivity suite's other apps. Drive's cloud storage abilities also make it simple to store and share those custom maps in a place that you'll know exactly where to find them. Even if you can't remember, Drive's search box can lend a hand. My Maps has been around for a bit, but it hasn't nearly as easy to find. Now, it's accessible from the red New button in Drive, situated in the extend menu under the core apps. As Google notes, it's incredibly useful for building a guide for multiple colleagues attending the same conference or keeping a few different hiking trails organized. And perhaps best of all, it'll pull data from a Sheet, Document or Form to save you from all of that extra typing.
Send destination info from your desktop to Google Maps for iOS
If you're looking for an easy way to send places from Google Maps on the desktop to your trusty iOS device, the wait is over. The folks in Mountain View updated the software for iPhone to allow you to send restaurants and other spots you search for on the desktop to your mobile device for reference while in route. You'll need to be signed in on both your computer and your iOS device with notifications enabled on the latter. From there, hunt for a new dinner spot and click "send to device." When you do so, a notification delivers the address alongside options for getting directions or skipping straight to navigation. Version 4.7.0 of the app also lets you edit business hours for those listings and view all of your reviews and photos from the Your Places section of your profile. If you're iOS device hasn't alerted you to the new version yet, you can nab it from iTunes now.
Google Maps real-time transit info is now available in more places
Public transportation info has been in Google Maps for quite some time, but today the feature is seeing some handy improvements. First, when you select a transit option in the app, you're served a a list of options that will not only show you the next bus or train, but how long you'll be playing Candy Crush if you miss it alongside some alternative options. The details are updated in real time and you can expect to leverage the tool in more places, too. Google added partners to the list in six new locales: UK, Netherlands, Budapest, Chicago, San Francisco and Seattle. While public transit info was available for those spots, you can now access real-time info as well. The folks in Mountain View say today's news brings schedules for over 2.5 million stations, stops, terminals and more worldwide. Heck, you'll even be able to see when your train leaves on your wrist.
Google Maps delivers destination info, voice directions while offline
Sometimes you still need navigation and destination info when you're offline. Google is delivering just that with offline Maps. Even when you're not connected (or in airplane mode), the app will still provide information on places in your searches. This means that you can browse hours, reviews and other important details for places like museums and restaurants. What's more, voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation is included as well for maps that you've saved for offline use. Unfortunately, there's no word on when the new tools will arrive other than a vague "later this year." Don't miss out on all the latest news and updates from Google I/O 2015. Follow along at our events page.
Google Maps: offensive search results came from 'online discussions'
Google is constantly scraping the internet to fill out its search results, but apparently using crowdsourced information can have its drawbacks. Over the last couple of days word spread that searching for certain racial slurs (guess) showed the White House as the top result, and now Google is offering an explanation why. Unlike the MapMaker-inserted Android/Apple logo prank, Google says the results popped up "because people had used the offensive term in online discussions of the place." Other than blaming the internet, the team is updating its algorithm to fix the issue and is updating its ranking system to address "the majority" of those searches. Marketing Land found a few entries that led to the White House, none of which worked when we tried them today. It looks like certain offensive terms are now being blocked from showing results at all, although creative minds may be able to poke holes in the filter.
Google Maps app suddenly shows up on an Android Wear watch
After updating his phone to Google Maps version 9.9, an Android Central writer made a surprising discovery: a near-fully functional Google Maps app had suddenly appeared on his Wear watch as well. The app reportedly works much like the standard mobile phone or tablet version (ie pinch to zoom, swipe to navigate) and even opens with the "Ok Google" voice command. But it's not perfect however. For example, launching the app on your watch apparently causes it to also launch on the phone. Plus the watch app could only be closed by physically pressing the LG Watch Urbane's side button. While it's nice that Android Wear now mirrors the Maps functionality that Apple Watch wearers enjoy, the watch app's overall bugginess is likely enough to make you just keep fishing out your phone for directions.
Google Maps for Android lists your events, flights and reservations
Google Maps' Play listing doesn't quite elaborate on what's new with the latest version, but the update's definitely more than just a bunch of bug fixes. Android Police has discovered that the app can now mine your Gmail account for info whenever you search for these particular key phrases: my events, my flights, my reservations and my hotels. "My events" will list your Calendar entries, while the others are pretty self-explanatory. Unfortunately, these key phrases only work for the Android version of Maps at the moment -- the good news is that they're not exclusive to Mountain View's navigation service. You can actually type those key phrases or use them as voice commands on Google search or on Google Now. So long as you're logged into your account on a browser or a relevant app, they'll work perfectly whatever your device or platform is.
Ford explains why Sync 3 supports Apple and Google car apps
With both Apple and Google wrangling to become the infotainment center of your next new car, Ford will be choosing neither. Or both, depending on how you look at it. During an interview with Re/code, Ford CEO Mark Fields provided some details on how his company will be leveraging its in-house designed Sync system to act as middleman between smart devices and vehicles.
Send directions to your Android phone with a Google search (update: and notes)
Sending Google Maps directions to an Android phone hasn't been that hard for a while, but it's now downright easy. Google has introduced a web feature that delivers instructions through a simple search. As long as your phone is properly linked to your Google account, you only have to search for "send directions" to get the ball rolling -- choose the route, hit send and your device will be ready to navigate. Only some people appear to have access to this option as of this writing, but there's a good chance that you'll get to check it out before too long. Update: Google is also giving you the option of sending notes to your phone just by searching for "send a note."
