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Google Maps for mobile gets Street View and walking directions
Google Maps for mobile just stepped up in the feature department with Google's inclusion of Street View in its newest version. In case you've been hiding under a rock -- or live in almost any other country aside from the US -- Street View offers up a storefront take on your world rather than the traditional top down look you see with common maps. The new version also includes walking directions which will ignore pesky one-way streets and the like. While the list of supported handsets is missing, we do see BlackBerry listed and Java-enabled phones, too, so do us a kindness, grab it and let us know if it works on yours.
Googling BMWs coming to US streets
For more than a year lucky BMW-owning Germans have been hitting Google Maps, and more recently the rest of the Internets, at blazing (cough) EDGE speeds from their sport-seats. Now, Bimmer-owning Americans are getting a piece of the action with a little help from AT&T's GSM-friendly network. However, while there's no mention in the release, BMW Blog thinks US cars will be limited to GPRS, not EDGE. All 2009 American BMW models, except for the lowly X3 mini-'Ute (which BMW doesn't even bother to manufacture itself), will get Google Maps integration, enabling the driver or passenger to search for businesses from the dash. Directions can be piped to the car's nav system and calls placed via in-car Bluetooth. At $199 per-year it's not exactly a steal, but that does include standard BMW Assist functionality like locating your car if it's stolen or dispatching an ambulance if you're in a horrible accident. Yeah, we only care about the searching too.
Google Maps with transit directions comes to S60, Windows Mobile
Adding a feature BlackBerry users have already enjoyed for a little while now, the S60 and Windows Mobile clients for Google Maps have now been imbued with transit directions, making it easier than ever to find the closest ratty upholstered seat with puke stains on it. Actually, that's just a side effect of its real lease in life, which is finding the best way to get from point A to point B via various forms of public transit. Version 2.2, as it's playfully known, also adds business ratings, user-generated search content, and generally makes things snappier, so it seems like a pretty obvious upgrade -- particularly if you enjoy sitting next to a dude with a boombox who hasn't showered in three days.
Autoblog takes iPhone 3G's navigational abilities for a spin
Yeah, so there's still lots of confusion on whether bona fide turn-by-turn GPS software will ever arrive on the iPhone 3G (though signs are pointing to "yes"), but considering that it's not there now, Autoblog took Apple's new darling for a spin in the Bay and churned out some impressions. If you're looking for the long and short of it, the iPhone 3G's navigational abilities aren't that impressive. The reviewer even went so far as to say that having a passenger manning the arrow buttons that showed your next move was "almost a necessity." Additionally, the GPS flaked out and lagged behind the current location quite frequently, which can definitely be a problem when attempting to navigate one-way streets in an unkind downtown. So, should you sell off your standalone navigator on the way to pick up your new iPhone 3G? Probably not -- at least not just yet.
Voice search comes to Google Maps for BlackBerry devices
If you were concerned that you didn't look crazy enough screaming into your phone at business associates, family members, and the guy who does your landscaping, Google has added a feature to Maps for RIM devices which should confirm that yes: you're a total maniac. Available right now for a handful of BlackBerry phones (8110, 8120, US version of the 8130) you can grab Google Maps with voice search, which enables you to find what you're looking for by pressing the left-side button and speaking the name of a business (or location, we assume). Sure it sounds convenient, but think twice before searching for hookers or cocaine out loud -- stock brokers, you have been warned.[Via Gear Diary]
Palm launches unlocked Centro, gets Google Maps "My Location"
We've seen the Centro in its Sprint, AT&T, and Verizon (to name a few) iterations, but global roamers and free agents of all sorts will be delighted to know that Palm's increasingly popular little smartphone is now available in a delicious unlocked GSM flavor. The device sports all the same specs as AT&T's model, but clocks in with a $299 price tag and plain gray numberpad instead of the telco version's shocking lime green variation. Alongside the carrier-free phone, Centros will also be nabbing a version of Google Maps with its "My Location" feature (long absent from GMaps on Palm phones). Current AT&T and Verizon customers as well as new unlocked owners will be able to download the app tomorrow, with a software update for Sprint later this Summer. Finally, you'll all know where you are.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Garmin goes bonkers at CTIA, announces slew of upgrades / partnerships
Quite frankly, we're still recovering from Garmin's onslaught of GPS navigation systems at CES, but just as those last mental wounds were healing, along comes the outfit to drop yet another bomb. This time, Garmin's taking CTIA hostage and announcing a veritable smorgasbord of application upgrades and partnerships. Up first is an upgrade to Garmin Mobile, which promises to bring a new interface and Google Local search to a variety of BlackBerry, Symbian and WinMo handsets. Continuing on, we're also hearing that Garmin GPS owners can "now send locations found on Google Maps" and MapQuest, select Samsung handset owners can grab hold of Mobile Navigator and Garmin Mobile now plays nice with nTelos' lineup of BREW-enabled devices. Thirsty for more? Fantastic -- you'll be bubbling over once you get done perusing the links below.[Thanks, Allory]Read - Garmin Mobile On BlackBerry, Symbian and Windows Mobile Read - Garmin Teams with Google MapsRead - MapQuest and Garmin Announce a PartnershipRead - Garmin Provides Navigator for Samsung Mobile PhonesRead - Garmin Mobile for BlackBerry Available from Centennial WirelessRead - Garmin Mobile Turns nTelos Phones into GPS NavigatorsRead - Garmin's Fleet Management Interface Network Grows
Google Maps for mobile gets native on UIQ
There you go, now all you UIQ3 types can finally raise your mobiles and celebrate a bit of native love by way of Google Maps for mobile designed specifically for your devices. For those that don't know -- or don't care -- the native app will likely be able to take advantage of your device's touchscreen, full screen mode, and will support My Location. Sure, we know that Palm, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Symbian S60, and iPhone have had this for just about forever in mobile terms -- since months is this biz is like years in others. Though, we feel that the UIQers left out in the cold deserve their day in the sun. So, go forth, install, and get properly oriented Google-style.
Lorebook entry spotlights fire-master Glin, father of Gimli
A new Lord of the Rings Online Lorebook entry is up and focuses on a character this time around. Glóin is a Dwarven fire-maker who traveled with Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, however he is also featured in the later the Lord of the Rings trilogy as well -- lets not forget he's also the father of Gimli. In LotRO, he can be found holding down his fort against the Dourhands in the Misty Mountains. The reason for his presence there is to clear out the Dourhands so that the passage through the mountains would be safe. Although such work really has no end, which is why many quests await players who travel to the fortress.This new Lorebook entry not only gives us a google map location of Glóin, but it also breaks down the quests that he's involved with -- which is incredibly cool.
TUAW Responds: iPhone LoJack
Way back, one of our readers begged for an iPhone LoJack solution. He wanted his iPhone to "call home" regularly in case of loss or, let's be more realistic, theft. Over the past week, I finally had a chance to give this request some time, and I put together findme. It's a command-line program that returns the location of the cell phone tower nearest to your iPhone. When run, it tells you the tower id, plus its latitude and longitude courtesy of Google Maps. Still, how to get the location report to a place you can get it... but nobody else can... and without receiving a zillion SMSes? For this part of the puzzle, enter Twitter. Twitter dev Britt Selvitelle helped walk me through the setup for a private account that allows your iPhone to phone home but keeps the location data relatively secure. To do this, create a new Twitter account just for your iPhone (it will need its own unique email address, separate from your main account, so have one handy). Open the Settings panel, and look for the "Protect My Updates" checkbox. It's towards the bottom of the page, just above the Save button. Check this and click Save. With protected updates, only the Twitter users you approve will see the updates for this iPhone-only account (just you? you + spouse? spouse, kids, and "special friends?" Up to you).Update: I've put an updated version of findme (findme-better) into the TUAW folder on my site. Please let me know if this works better for location for you. To use, just copy to your iPhone (you may have to use Firefox if you get errors after downloading with Safari), rename to "findme" and replace the original findme.
iPhone January update, coming soon to an iTunes near you
I don't know about you all, but considering I'm not in the market for a pricey, tiny notebook, and I don't need yet another thing hooked up to my TV, the best news I heard at the Keynote today was about this iPhone "January update" (does that mean there'll be one every month?) coming soon to your iTunes. Included in the free update to iPhone users: An updated Maps that will actually find your location automatically by triangulating cell towers (we saw this a while ago), and give you the option to add a pin to the map Web Clips, cutouts of web pages that you can attach to an icon sitting right there on the homescreen. A customizable homescreen and dock (just hold an icon to get them wiggling, and then move them around as you please), and up to nine homescreen pages total The update will also add chapter navigation for iPhone video, and subtitle/audio options as well. And though the readers in our IRC channel weren't very impressed with this one, the iPhone will now feature multiple SMS sending. Very awesome update for the iPhone, completely free and available on download in iTunes right now (!), and definitely an update that will set the stage for all the third party applications we're supposed to see next month. Bring on the SDK!
Come discover High King's Crossing in Middle-earth
So you say you like rivers, but even more than rivers you love big, tall statues? Well that's good, because Lord of the Rings Online just added High King's Crossing as a new point of interest for any travelers looking to explore. The three massive statues that guard the crossing of Baranduin river are very ancient ruins (as are most ruins in Middle Earth) that were created in honor of the kings of old. Abandoned after the fall of the North-kingdom and the fading of the Dúnedain of the North, it is now being preserved by the Rangers.Feel free to follow the link if you'd like to read through the lore in full, it's worth a minute of your time if you like anything Tolkien. Aside from the nice injection of lore for anyone who enjoys that sort of stuff, the page also has a great integration of the Google maps application. The first thing you might find yourself doing after reading through the lore entry is to wander around the interactive map -- at least if you're anything like us.
Kindle easter eggs: Google Maps cell-based location, picture viewer, and more
Apparently, Amazon's wondrous e-book reader, the Kindle, has more than meets the eye -- not unlike some fictional, alien, robotic characters which shall not be named. Users of the device have been plumbing its depths, and have uncovered a handful of easter eggs which will make current owners extra happy, and might push potential buyers over the edge. Amongst the hidden features are access to Google Maps coupled with CDMA-based location-finding, which also allows you to quickly locate nearby gas stations and restaurants (as well as your own custom searches). In addition to the GMaps integration, the Kindle also comes equipped with a hidden picture viewer and slideshow functionality, the ability to snap a screenshot, a clock quick-look, plus everyone's favorite time-wasting game: Minesweeper. Hit the read link to learn all about the unrevealed guts of the innocent little reader.[Via interface]
iPhoneSender sends addresses to the iPhone's Google Maps
Even I can see that this one is a little lazy, but hey, maybe someone out there will be looking for a way to more easily send street addresses to their iPhone without actually typing them in. What? That's you? Well then, pardner, you're in luck-- give iPhoneSender a look.It is a Safari bookmarklet and/or Firefox extension that, when it spots a street address on a web page, will let you right click the address, ask for an email, and then send that address, in convenient Google maps format, directly to your iPhone. It's all of the iPhone's Google maps functionality, without any of the actual address-typing that usually requires.Lazy? Perhaps. But I can see a sliver of a demand there-- what if you're rushing out the door to the pizza place, but didn't remember to print out the directions and don't have enough time to write the address down to punch in later? Like many things in life, you might not realize how necessary this little extension is until you actually have to use it.Thanks, Matt L!
TomTom, Google Maps team up for web-to-GPS interaction
It looks like TomTom users looking for a little additional help with directions could now have the fix they've been searching for, as TomTom announced today that it's teamed up with Google in an attempt to bridge the divide between Google Maps and its array of GPS devices. To that extent, you're now apparently able to search for businesses on Google Maps and send all the necessary information straight to your TomTom GPS, albeit with TomTom's Home software acting as a mediator. That's, of course, decidedly less exciting than some of the Google Maps-to-GPS interaction we've seen in other parts of the world, but a welcome addition nonetheless.[Via CNNMoney]
Google gas pumps: the savior of lost men
Soon, you will never have to admit that you're lost and suffer the humiliation of asking for directions. Google is expected to announce a partnership today with Gilbarco Veeder-Root, to include Google's mapping service on 3,500 Internet enabled gasoline pumps across the US. The maps will be available on the pump's small screen giving motorists the ability to scroll through local landmarks, hotels, restaurants, and hospitals to the bemusement of the guy waiting behind you. The pump will even print directions. The service is said to be ad-free but will offer coupons -- that sounds a lot like advertising to us. Look for the gPumps to arrive courtesy of that Encore S rig pictured above.
Google's mobile plans to be unveiled soon
For now it's not much more than a plan to announce a plan within the next few weeks, but since it involves Google and cellphone networks, we'll take it. The Wall Street Journal has the news that Google will announce its mobile offerings within the next two weeks, which could take the form of hardware, software packages, or -- most likely -- an open platform for phones that third party developers can build on. Interaction is the key word here: Google's platform won't involve locking down features, rather, it'll open them up so that they work together. How exactly the company will execute this plan will be revealed within the immediate future: although with most phone manufacturers already subcontracting development of their phone's software platforms, it doesn't sound like it should be too difficult a job to muscle in.[Thanks, Harry; via MarketWatch. Image credit]
Google Maps gets cozy with N95's internal GPS
Google Maps is good -- some might say great, actually -- but one of the biggest beefs from the get-go was its inability to use GPS receivers, and when it finally "supported" them, many didn't work. Symbian-Guru had obviously been circling the Google Maps camp like a hawk (as have many N95 owners), waiting for the day that the Nokia superphone's integrated GPS would work. Don't get us wrong, Nokia Maps is a fine application, but Google Maps has a certain mystique about it (traffic and satellite imagery, perhaps?) that make it worthwhile, too. Anyhoo, there's a native version of Google Maps for the N95 available immediately, featuring the aforementioned GPS support plus a direct save-to-contacts feature that's sure to see some heavy use. Grab it now![Via Symbian-Guru]
iPhone 101: Bookmark travel destinations
I did some traveling this summer (with two toddlers, so don't be envious). Certain that I'd need to conduct a search or two, I bookmarked my destinations on my iPhone, and you can do the same. Just follow the steps: Launch Google Maps. Enter the zip code of your destination city. Once it has been found, create a bookmark. Repeat for each stop you'll make. Now, when you're jonesing for a venti iced green tea latte in a strange place, simply launch Maps, click Bookmarks and then your location. You'll be sippin' in no time.
iPhone 101: Zooming in and out of maps
In the iPhone Google Maps application, it's pretty obvious how to zoom into maps. You double tap the screen. The map readjusts, zooming further in. So how do you zoom out? Sure you can pinch your way back but there's a far easier way. Use a single multi-touch tap instead. That is, tap with two finger at once. Separate your fingers so it's clear that you're making two contact points and...tap. Google Maps obediently zooms back out, one zoom stage for each multi-touch tap. Give it a try. It's a great tool to bring into your Google Maps vocabulary.
