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Google Maps Navigation for Android adds real-time traffic re-routing
Google Maps Navigation becomes more of a threat to the traditional in-car GPS business seemingly on a daily basis, and they're taking another stab at it today with the addition of traffic re-routing capability in the Android app (which, while technically still in beta, is pretty darn solid) in both North America and Europe. Of course, Maps has had access to traffic information for a long time, so this is a natural progression -- and just as Google uses an interesting combination of sources (including phones) to cull that data, it's employing some smart schemes for re-routing that take into account both current and historical information about your route. The update's available today.
Google Maps routes itself to v5.2, gets hotpot tweets, Latitude 'pings' and better search results
We're still waiting for someone to one-up Google Maps Navigation, but until that fateful day shines down upon us, it looks as if we'll have to once again point our attention to El Goog. Google Maps has just been updated to version 5.2, with three main additions to focus on. For one, the new edition allows users to tweet their reviews of places and share recommendations with Hotpot friends. Next up, there's Latitude pinging, which enables you to send a quick message to a nearby Latitude friend rather than having to use a text or call; they'll receive an Android notification from you asking them to check in at a place, and when they check in using your request, you'll get a notification right back so you know which place to go to meet up with them. Finally, a new 'Search More Places' button has been added under the standard list of places to check in at, which ought to prove helpful in highly congested cities with multiple places stacked atop one another. Hit that Android Market link below to get your update going, and if you're fixing to use that new ping feature, you and your friends will need v5.2 (or higher, if you're reading this in the year 2043).
Google Latitude joins check-in game with Maps 5.1 for Android
We're honestly surprised it took this long, but Google is finally employing a social hook that so many of its peers (Foursquare, Facebook, Yelp, and so on) have long embraced: the location-based check-in. Coming to Google Latitude with today's Maps 5.1 for Android, the company hopes to set itself apart from the competition with features like check-in notifications (disabled by default), automatic check-ins for your most frequent establishments (case-by-case activation), and "check out" that detects when you leave a location. So what's the incentive to use the service? Not much at this point -- no badges, no sharing through third-party services like Twitter (Latitude-only at the moment), no support for simultaneous check-in with other services, no special vendor discounts (Google told us there's nothing to announce yet), and no ability to create a venue like your apartment (Places only). What it does right is a tiered system of special statuses based on check-in frequency -- you can become a regular, VIP, or Guru (Google says it's not definite yet on how many check-ins each status bump will require). iOS Latitude users will be able to see where their Android friends check in, but at this point the option to pimp your specific location is for Google's platform only. If you're a fan of Latitude already, this is probably a no-brainer, but for everyone else, don't expect mayoral coffee discounts just yet. %Gallery-115487%
Visualized: Google's periodic table of APIs
The world of Google APIs and developer tools can be a confusing one, but the company has now at least brought a bit of order to the chaos with its own take on the periodic table of the elements. As you can see above, Android occupies the top spot normally reserved for hydrogen in the actual periodic table, and the remaining APIs and developer products are all grouped into their appropriate categories -- and, of course, linked to their respective websites. Hit up the link below to check out the table in its interactive form.
Mercedes Terminal Mode partnership comes to fruition with internet-connected 2012 C-Class
Last year Nokia made something of a telematics coup, partnering with just about every major European manufacturer and doing everything it could to get its Terminal Mode in-car smartphone integration into more autos. Mercedes was one of those partners and now we're getting a glimpse of the result in the new C-Class. Merc has made some minor exterior updates to the car (not necessarily for the better, in our opinion), but on the inside comes an updated Mercedes COMAND infotainment system that, for the first time, offers full internet access. Using Terminal Mode the car interacts with a smartphone to provide the data, allowing dashboard surfing (while stationary) and the transmission of Google Maps points and directions right to the vehicle. There's also Bluetooth for streaming your tunes through the car's sound system and a USB port in the armrest to keep things charged while you decimate that slab. PR is below if you're looking for more details, or you can just wait for our impressions when we get to Detroit in a few weeks.
Google and NORAD's Santa tracker is another victory for terrorists
Google and NORAD should rethink their annual Santa tracking service. Do we really want the evil doers to know the exact whereabouts of Mr. Claus on Google Maps and Earth from any PC or smartphone? A man so old that he's ineligible for a driver's license in some states yet pilots a 353,000-ton missile around the globe at a rate of about 650 miles per second? For shame.
Google Maps 5.0 hits Android, includes new 3D map view and offline Navigation
Google's never been afraid to "blow it out" with Google Maps, most famously with its inclusion of Navigation, which knocked the legs out from under a lot of the GPS device and navigation app market. Google Maps 5.0 for Android might seem similarly earth shattering, but it marks a significant change to the basic technology of Google Maps. Most importantly, Google is now using vector graphics for its maps, which are scalable and much lighter weight than the traditional stitched together images used in most Google Maps incarnations. The vectors also enable something else a whole lot sexier: a two finger swipe can "tilt" the map and now you've got a 3D view of the landscape. It's not quite as flashy as Google Earth, but it looks a whole lot more useful. The other thing these low-bandwidth vector maps enables is offline caching of maps, specifically your most frequently visited locations, and entire trips that have been routed in Navigation, including potential reroutes. Anybody with an Android 1.6 or higher device can download 5.0 right now for free, but the 3D and offline features are 2.0+ only.
Google's big week: Nexus S, Honeycomb tablets, Chrome OS laptops, and eBooks to boot
We gotta hand it to Google: if its goal was to own the technology news cycle for 48 hours, mission accomplished. The Mountain View-based company spent the first two days this week laying out pretty much every big announcement it possibly could: a new flagship phone coming next week (the Nexus S), a new Android build (2.3 Gingerbread), a preview of the next Android build (Honeycomb) on a never-before-seen Motorola tablet, the debut of its cloud-based laptop platform (Chrome OS) with hardware, and a giant plunge into the growing e-book market -- and that isn't everything. We've done our best to condense all the days' highlights into something easier to digest, so read on for a recap on all things Google!
Google Maps for Mobile 5 unveiled, adds dynamic map drawing and offline mode
Why look at static images when you can get a more 3D view of the urban scene? Google's Maps for Mobile 5 just got previewed on stage by Andy Rubin at D: Dive Into Mobile -- with a prototype Motorola Honeycomb tablet, no less! The biggest visual change is dynamic map drawing: vectors instead of flat images that scale without render hiccups and will show the buildings fleshed out for over 100 cities -- we gotta say, it looks great. Even more fun is that you can now use two fingers to tilt and rotate around the map (in addition to moving and pinch-to-zoom, of course). We've been told it's a much snappier experience, and the storage for these vectors is much smaller than the current images, which brings us to... offline caching. Maps will keep on file the locations that you go to (and search) most often, and it'll be able to reroute while offline in Navigation. You'll still need a connection for altering the route altogether -- sorry, subway-hoppers -- but once you go, even if you stray, you'll still be rerouted back on track. Most modern Android phones from the original Droid onward should be able to enjoy most if not all the new features, depending on hardware capabilities (3D rendering) and "distinct multitouch" hardware support -- the Nexus One, interestingly enough, supports vector maps but not the rotate functionality because it lacks the latter multitouch requirements. Google sent us a list of devices that support 100 percent of 5.0's features, which you can find after the break. The update is due out in the "coming days," according to Rubin. Great way to kick off Nexus S' launch, then. %Gallery-109373%
Verizon sucks at Photoshop: confuses the Droid X for an iPhone
Man, Motorola's not going to be pleased about this! The Droid X is justifiably one of Verizon's marquee devices for this holiday season and takes pride of place on the carrier's Cyber Monday offers page, but wait... why does its screen display the iPhone version of Google Maps? Oops! [Thanks, Chris]
Google Maps causes border dispute between Nicaragua and (army-less) Costa Rica
Here's a interesting bizarre one. There's only one highway that connects Costa Rica and Nicaragua (I walked across it, shown above), but you can totally swim from one country to the other if you aren't afraid of circumventing authority. But if you're planning to traverse the San Juan over on the Caribbean side... well, who knows where you'll start and end. It's bruited that the Nicaraguan military recently invaded Costa Rica, lowered a Costa Rican flag and hoisted up a Nicaraguan one. Why? 'Cause Google Maps said so. Seriously. Nicaraguan commander Eden Pastora actually used a slightly inaccurate Google Maps portrayal as justification for invading land that's clearly shown as Costa Rican on official maps of both nations. In fact, this whole mess has grown into quite the debacle, with Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla proclaiming that its northerly neighbor had "forgot where its border is." Moreover, Costa Rica is worried that dredging done by Nicaraguans on the river's edge is both altering the border in Nicaragua's favor and damaging vital flora and fauna in the surrounding area. We're hearing that Organization of American States Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza will soon meet with officials in both nations to get this ironed out peacefully, and considering that Costa Rica hasn't had a military in over three score, we know who's hoping that the guns stay holstered. So much for Pura Vida, huh? [Thanks, Ignacio]
Ripxx ski app for iPhone great for athletes, useless for Epyx Winter Games
We received an interesting email from Ripxx this morning, stating that due to an unprecedented outpouring of comments on our previous post for its sports GPS, the company's gone and developed its very own iPhone app. That's right, instead of planning your ski trips around a piece of dedicated hardware, you can now do it on the same device you use to read Texts From Last Night while sitting on the loo. The Ripxx iPhone Ski App, as it's called, features trail maps from over 200 North American ski resorts, Google Maps integration, the ability to track time, speed, distance, and vertical drop for your various trips down the mountain. Whatever that means. But hey -- it's only five bucks! And it's available now. Video after the break.
Android Gingerbread style tweaks revealed by way of new Maps version?
Seems that reaching into the innards of the latest version of Google Maps for Android and changing the API level from 8 (Froyo) to 9 (Gingerbread) changes the UI a bit, as you can see above. What we know today is on the left, and the right side represents the tweaks that we presume will match up with the changes Google has made systemwide in Gingerbread, a build that we now believe will likely be Android 2.3 at retail. Nothing mind-blowing here, it seems -- obviously you can't make much of a single dialog, but given that we're only getting a 0.1 increment in the version number instead of the 0.8 increment we'd expected before, we can imagine that the changelog would be more about refinement than turning the whole world upside down (that's Matias Duarte's job, we're guessing).
Google's Street View goes worldwide, Antarctica and all
Google's Street View still needs to add a lot more data on the lesser traveled roads of the world, but there's no denying that the virtual vacation assistant has evolved quite nicely since launching in May of 2007. Back then, only five US cities were programmed in; today, there are street-level views of locations on every single continent, including Antarctica (shown above, as if you couldn't tell). The additions of Ireland, Brazil and Penguinland allow Google to make the claim, and we couldn't be happier about it. Though, we still aren't canceling our scheduled reader meetup at McMurdo -- details coming soon!
Peek 9 is nine times faster than Pronto, adds PeekMaps, weather, Twitter, and Facebook
It's official. The latest Peek -- dubbed the Peek 9 -- is up and dancing with a full list of features. The hubbub boils down to speed improvements thanks to revamped software that claims to reduce lag and sluggishness experienced when connecting to newly enhanced Peek servers. While the hardware appears unchanged, it's still said to offer better reception and be 9 times faster (hence the name) than the Peek Pronto. The 9 comes pre-loaded with native Twitter and Facebook apps with ActiveSync support tossed in for Exchange. They've also added PeekMaps and weather apps to give you an idea of where you are in Google Maps and what the weather forecast is for that location. Rounding things out is the Streams RSS reader; the ability to view Word, PDF, and spreadsheet attachments; and a new Peektop Apps feature that lets you transform Peek into a "tailor-made mobile productivity machine," whatever that means. Peak 9 is priced at $69.99 or $99.99 plus two months of contract-free service (sorry, no lifetime service offering at the moment). After that, the Peek service will cost you $19.95/mth or as little as $9.95/mth for 24 months. Of course, with the 9's broader communications focus beyond just Twitter or eMail, we really have to wonder why anyone would buy this instead of a much smarter featurephone -- a Nokia C3, for example, can be had in the US unlocked for just $129.%Gallery-102788%
Google Walking Navigation beta and Street View now available for Android
Man, we're starting to think Google should just host an I/O event every month. As the search giant continues to roll out new innovations, today's introduction involves none other than Android. Starting today, folks with Android phones using version 1.6 or greater have a pair of must-downloads to tackle: Walking Navigation (Beta) and Street View smart navigation. The former is bundled into Google Maps for Mobile 4.5, offering pedestrians a more robust routing option when using their own two feet to maneuver from place to place. It's still in beta, obviously, but we're definitely digging the "vibrate to turn" alert and the map's ability to rotate with you as you turn the phone. Street View smart navigation is the same stuff you're used to seeing on a bona fide desktop browser, but tailor made for operation on your smartphone. Finally, the new Google Maps search bar will make it even easier to find places you're in need of finding, and if you need some visual stimulation while your downloads progress, hop on past the break and mash play.
Samsung Galaxy S GPS-gate: two problems, not one (and what to do about it)
You may have noticed the update on our Epic 4G review from yesterday where we lauded the fact that Samsung seemed to have fixed the GPS problem plaguing every other Galaxy S flavor released thus far, but it turns out there are actually two distinct issues. One has a fix -- sort of -- while the other is hopefully what we're going to get next month. Here are the two failure modes, based on what we know so far: "Use wireless networks" is now turned off by default, but even with it on, the phone may be slow or unable to determine even a rough location. Originally, we'd believed this was the only problem. Samsung tells us that it's a new Google mandate that Android devices be shipped with the "use wireless networks" option disabled, which means you're relying on traditional GPS alone to determine your location -- a lost cause indoors, in urban canyons, or under dense tree cover. Indeed, we discovered it was turned off on our Captivate, Vibrant, and Epic 4G after fresh hard resets, and there's no indication to the user that it's probably in their best interest to enable it; we're accustomed to being presented with the option during account setup on other Android devices, but it doesn't happen here. After enabling it from settings, we found that both the Captivate and Epic 4G were able to get our location with 1,000 to 1,500-meter accuracy practically immediately in Google Maps, though the Vibrant still never came through; it had the weakest signal of the three, which may have accounted for that (though it never dropped the signal altogether). The regular GPS circuitry and software aren't doing their job. Cell tower triangulation and WiFi location database services like Skyhook only take you so far -- at the end of the day, you still need to tune in to the birds a few thousand miles up to figure out precisely where you are. All Galaxy S models seem to be having trouble turning GPS reception into coordinates, even when the phone is able to see four or more satellites in view (four is the minimum you normally need for a precise, three-dimensional lock). In some cases, resetting the phone apparently helps, but it ceases to work again after a day or two of use. To our knowledge, none of the homebrew fixes out there have been able to solve this part of the problem perfectly and permanently. The Captivate and Vibrant are both affected by this one; we're not sure on the Epic, but we're working to nail it down. What this means for you: for now, simply make sure you have "Use wireless networks" checked in your Galaxy S's settings under the "Location & security" menu. It won't get you the most reliable, precise location you should be entitled to, but it's a start -- and next month's round of firmware updates should hopefully take us the rest of the way. [Thanks, Carl]
Laser backpack creates instant 3D maps, Venkman reminds you to not cross the streams (video)
Total protonic reversal? Small price to pay for an instantaneous 3D scan of a building's interior. That's what the backpack pictured above delivers, a project from UC Berkeley students and faculty Matthew Carlberg, Avideh Zakhor, John Kua, and George Chen. The pack contains a suite of laser scanners and positional sensors that enable it to capture images of building interiors as a fleshy assistant roams their halls. Those images can then be automatically pieced back together to create a 3D representation. We're having visions of instant Doom II WADs but the real boon here could be an extension to Google Maps where you could not only get a Street View but also an interior view. You know, really scope out that little Thai joint before you schlep yourself all the way downtown.
Google Maps for Android updated to 4.4, adds dedicated 'Places' for searching nearby
Ready to suck down your sixth Google Maps for Android update in the past six months? Good. Version 4.4 has just been shoved out into the bright, hopeful world that we call home, with this one bringing about an easier way to find places around you. With the update will come an entirely new logo, as a dedicated 'Places' icon allows users to quickly look up nearby places in a Yelp-esque manner. If you tend to search for similar things regardless of where you are, you can load up your own personalized categories to make finding frequent searches that much easier (think "gas station" or "In N Out"). There's also Place Pages, which now shows the operating hours of listed businesses, compass direction and distance from your location. It's available now for all Android phones using v1.6 or newer, and if you're rocking a BlackBerry, you can expect the Place Page to head your way soon.
Google Maps Send-To-Car feature goes live on Ford SYNC systems
Avid OnStar users received this here functionality a fortnight ago, and BMW owners have been bragging about it for years. But it looks as if the world's other automakers are finally coming around to one of life's undeniable facts: Google Maps is top-notch, and in almost every instance, trumps whatever factory mapping system that any given consumer has overpaid for. Today, drivers of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles in the US enabled with Ford SYNC can send business listings or addresses found on GMaps directly to their cars (from a web browser, naturally). With the new additions, Google's Send-To-Car feature is now active in 19 countries and across 20 brands, but we're guessing that your brand isn't one of them. Or maybe that's just us moping and looking for company.
