PhotoSphere
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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's setting Photo Spheres and Street View images free from Maps
It looks like soon enough we'll be seeing Street View pictures and those spiffy Photo Spheres making their way from Google Maps and onto our favorite websites. How's that, pray tell? An update to Mountain View's Maps Embed API (targeted at web developers) is setting those images free, naturally. The search giant says that this previously was an omission from the last API release, and that it was spotted by a Developers blog reader. Google also says there won't be any usage restrictions on the embeds either, so hopefully we'll get more 360 degree panoramas in various places sooner rather than later. If and when the average Joe will get this access, however, remains to be seen.
Google's panoramic Photo Sphere Camera app reaches the iPhone
Google's all-encompassing Photo Spheres are no longer limited to Android users and those comfy with photo stitching software -- the internet giant has just released a Photo Sphere Camera app for the iPhone-toting crowd. As before, it lets you create 360-degree panoramas just by spinning around in place. You can both share the resulting masterworks with others (including the Google Maps community) and check out others' spheres in the Views hub. It's overkill if you're perfectly content with alternative panoramic apps or plain old landscape shots, but it's hard to object to having one more way to liven up your vacation photos. Swing by the App Store to check out Photo Sphere for yourself.
Google now lets you comment on Photo Spheres
Google's Photo Spheres can sometimes be a marvel to behold, but it's not always easy to let the photographer know about it; if you stumble across a picture in the Views portal, for instance, you may be stuck. Or rather, you were stuck. Google has just added commenting and +1s to Views, making it easy to praise someone's immersive landscape shot or offer some constructive criticism. The addition probably won't turn the image hub into a hotbed of activity. However, it might get you to revisit some of these 360-degree panoramas well after the novelty has worn off -- including your own. [Image credit: Colby Brown]
Google's new camera app brings Photo Sphere and Lens Blur to Android devices
While Google has continued to toss new features into the camera app shipped on its Nexus devices, many Android phones replace it with something else. But just as we revealed a few weeks ago, now it's available in the Play Store, ready to run on any phone or tablet using Android 4.4 KitKat. Beyond bits like Photo Sphere that we've seen before, Google is filling in the blanks on its new "Lens Blur" option. Meant to emphasize the subject while blurring the background for an impressive depth of field effect, it uses algorithms to simulate the large camera lens and aperture your phone or tablet doesn't actually have. Taking the photo requires an upward sweep to capture multiple images, used to estimate the depth of objects for a 3D map that lets the software re-render the photo later and blur specific items based on where it thinks they are. Google's Research Blog has more details on how it's all done, including the Lytro-like ability to change which object is in focus after you take the shot.
Ricoh Theta enables 360-degree photo uploads to Google+ and Maps
Folks who shelled out $400 for Ricoh's quirky Theta camera can now show off their 360-degree masterpieces to a larger audience. Circle-loving shutterbugs just got the option to upload their images to Google+ and Google Maps via the camera's companion apps for Android, iOS, Windows 7/8 and Mac. While users have been able to upload to Twitter, Tumblr and Facebook for quite some time, it's only now that the firm has made the apps compatible with Photo Sphere. As a nice plus, dedicated sphere photographers can string multiple 360-degree pictures together to create Street Views, though they'd probably look too trippy to help out a lost tourist.
Google launches Views hub to showcase Photo Spheres and panoramas in Google Maps
As slick as Android's Photo Spheres can be, they're typically hard to find unless someone posts them for you. Google is making that discovery almost trivial by launching Views, its new Google Maps section for Photo Spheres and panoramas. The page both streamlines importing photos from Google+ and simplifies tracking them down by their author, location or popularity. Google also includes its Street View galleries, giving explorers fast access to professional tours alongside the usual amateur photography. Not many of us can contribute to Views when Photo Sphere only works with a few of the latest Android devices, but everyone can at least see what they're missing at the source link.
Google+ widget lets you embed Photo Spheres on any website
One of the biggest highlights of Android's jump to 4.2 was the addition of Photo Sphere, a 360-degree panoramic shooting mode that pans vertically as well as horizontally. It's a neat trick, but the only way to share it was on Google+ or on a device running Android 4.2 or higher. Now, thanks to a new widget that utilizes the Google+ Platform API, you can embed an interactive 360-degree slideshow on any website you choose -- so long as your photos are stored on G+ and PicasaWeb. If you're willing to play around with a bit of code, have a peek at the source to get started. [Image credit: Colby Brown]
LG flaunts Panorama VR feature on Optimus G Pro (video)
Since creating regular panorama shots is so last year, LG's come up with a new option for its Optimus G Pro. We first heard about Panorama VR camera app during the launch of the 5.5-inch handset, and now the Korean company's just outed a YouTube video showing how it works. It looks very similar, but not identical to Google's latest Photo Sphere update, letting you pan in different directions while photos of the scene are captured and stitched automatically. The software compiles it into a large panorama file that lets you pan and zoom into the scene, exactly like the recent Android 4.2 option. We've reached out to LG to see if there's any relation between the two apps, but more choice is always better anyway, no? Check the video after the break to see it in action.
TourWrist puts a twist on the photo sphere (hands-on video)
You've heard of Instagram, right? Are you familiar with Microsoft's Photosynth and Google's Photo Sphere on Nexus phones and tablets? How about Apple's brilliant continuous-scan panorama mode on iOS devices? Well mash all this up and you get TourWrist, an app / social network for sharing photo spheres. The app started life as a social network for virtual tourism and gained one million users since launching in 2010. Here in Las Vegas, the company just launched the latest version of TourWrist with a focus on capturing photos spheres. Unlike Microsoft's and Google's approach, which stitches 360-degree images from discrete pictures, the app uses continuous-scan like Apple's panorama mode. The resulting photo spheres are truly impressive and look significantly better than the competition, especially when captured in tricky lighting conditions. All 360-degree images can be shared with other TourWrist users, Instagram-style, and with other social networks by linking to an HTML5-compatible viewer. Take a look at our gallery below and peek after the break for our hands-on video and sample photo sphere captured on site.
Android 4.2's Photo Sphere camera takes on iPhone's panorama mode
Android 4.2 is teeming with new features and system improvements, but you can bet that Photo Sphere will be the one that's talked about most amongst consumers. While Android phones on the whole have had panoramic modes for years, Apple's iOS 6 update added even more fuel to that fire. Now, Google's taking things to an entirely new level. With Android 4.2, users can snap pictures in every direction, and the system does the stitching. What you're left with are photos that can be navigated, taking viewers "inside of the scene." Photo Spheres are stored as JPEG files, and all of the information required to view them is embedded as open XML metadata in the image itself. You'll be able to peek 'em on your phone or share them easily through Google+, and perhaps best of all, publish them to Google Maps for the world to see. Head on past the break to see what you've got to look forward to.
Google bumps Android to 4.2, keeps Jelly Bean moniker
Well, it's no Key Lime Pie, but Android 4.2 is certainly a treat in its own right. The latest version of Google's mobile OS makes a number of evolutionary improvements to its already impressive repertoire -- including a new quick settings menu that can be accessed from the notification pull down and support for multiple user profiles. The multiple user support is especially handy for tablets like the new Nexus 10, which are much more likely to be shared, and now offer quick and easy user switching right from the lock screen. If you don't want to share your tablet, just what's on it, the new support for Miracast makes will allow you to wirelessly beam movies, games or anything else to a compatible display. The 10-inch tablet UI has also received a slight tweak, moving closer to the design for phones and the Nexus 7, with centered navigation buttons and the notification area up top. It might seem strange for users used to the Honeycomb-style tablet layout, but the new design is much simpler and provides a consistent experience across devices. Google has also overhauled the photo experience and added Photo Sphere -- a 360-degree panoramic shooting mode that captures everything around you. Obviously, you'll be able to post those shots to Google+, but you'll also be able to add them to Google Maps, basically creating your own personal Street View. Interestingly, Google has also taken a page from Swype's playbook, adding "Gesture Typing" to its keyboard. There's also a new screensaver called Daydream that offers up news, photos and other content when a device is docked or idle. Perhaps the biggest, and creepiest improvements are to Google Now, which can monitor your Gmail for relevant content such as flight numbers. Hotel and restaurant reservations are now presented as cards, as are packages enroute to your humble abode. The service will even remind you of events you've purchased tickets for, essentially making Calendar redundant for a lot of your personal life. For more info check out the source links.
