The Inquisitr » google maps

Google Maps Navigation Gets Back Ported To Android 1.6

James Allen Johnson — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:05:20 +0000

Technology companies typically need to move forward in order to stay ahead of the competition, however in the case of Google Maps Navigation for Google Android, the search giant actually moved in the opposite direction, back porting their program for use on the Android 1.6 Mobile OS.

The move, which was announced on Monday brings Google Maps Navigation to such popular devices as the myTouch 3G and T-mobile G1, providing a wider audience to the companies free navigation software.

The move could also help extend the “life expectancy” of the T-Mobile G1, the worlds first Android Smartphone, a move that shows the true scaling functionality of the companies open source mobile operating system.

Android 1.6 users can immediately download the program from the Android Marketplace

Google’s challenge to mapmaker exclusivity is a good thing

Steven Hodson — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:22:09 +0000

A lot of folks might give Google flack over its 800 pound gorilla status whenever it enters into a new arena, myself included, but there are times where the company’s stature does do some good. Such as case is Google’s decision to start using its own accumulated mapping data for the back end of Google Maps. Up until this point it had been using the data provided by Tele Atlas and Navteq before that to populate their Maps data points.

In his post announcing the change Frederic Lardinois at ReadWriteWeb discusses the reasons why Google made the change

The question, of course, is why Google plans to make its own maps now. For one, chances are that Google is currently paying Tele Atlas a lot of money for using its maps. Mapping services are notoriously protective of how their data can be used, which is one of the reasons Apple can’t offer turn-by-turn directions in the built-in mapping application on the iPhone, for example. Google probably wants to be free to do whatever it wants to do with its maps without having to worry about licensing issues.

By providing its own maps and an API for others to use these maps, Google could potentially become a major competitor to Tele Atlas and Navteq now and if Google continues to make these maps easily available to developers without cumbersome licensing restrictions, it could bring radical change to the mapping business.

For much too long niche businesses like Tele Atlas have been able to charge exorbitant amounts of money for their services only because the competition in their field was so narrow. Regardless of how companies in niche businesses might like to claim that because their potential area of business is so small and so much work goes into providing their service they need to charge the high fees that they do.

Unfortunately this kind of action has a negative impact on innovation because of the high cost of building interesting and useful accessory services. By Google stepping into the map making business the way that they are they have removed that barrier which can only lead to innovative uses of that data.

If I were Tele Atlas or Nokia’s Navteq division I’d be doing some serious reconsideration of fees and data access because Google has once again changed the game in another industry.

Tell the World where You Had Sex – IJustMadeLove.com

Dennis Bjørn Petersen — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:39:46 +0000

The new website lets you tell the World when, where and in which position you just had sexual intercourse. The Polish company SharQ sp. z o.o. based IJustMadeLove.com on Google Maps. You start out overlooking the world. In some countries the rabbits, which indicates where someone just had sex, are bigger in some countries than other. If you hover your mouse above a rabbit, a counter shows how many just “reported in” within the last hour, day, week or month.

This very useful site also lets you zoom in on a specific rabbit or spot, so you can see which kind of carnal relation he or she just enjoyed. The five graphical representations of positions should cover the basics and all you have to do is tick the right box or boxes. You can also add a comment and tell us if it was indoor or outdoor.

Some users might find the 20 minutes update prevention a bit annoying, but the site is over capacitated, so I guess thats fair enough.

Currently 11,165 users has shared their moment of passion with 5 in Iran, 2 in Saudia Arabia and 10 in the North Atlantic Ocean (!?)

Cool idea, it just sucks that it is based on murder

Steven Hodson — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 03:01:42 +0000

Google Map mash-ups, there’s all kinds of them. Some are mundane while others can be really interesting. In the latter would fall this mashup from The New York Times where they mash together a map of the five boroughs of New York and add in all the murders that happened in them.

The map includes all the murders that have happened between 2003 and up until 2009. Each of the blue dots you see on that is where a murder took place. When you hover the mouse over one of the blue dots a few details about the murder will be displayed.

You can zoom right in street map level as well

Now this is a rather cool idea and an interesting way to check out potential neighborhoods you might want to move to – just in case you know.

Google Maps Suggests Kayaking Across the Pacific Ocean

Paul Short — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:22:31 +0000

When getting directions to go from New York to Japan, Google suggests making your way across America to Washington state and then Kayaking across the Pacific ocean, with a brief stop and short portage across one of the Hawaiian islands along the way.

Here’s a screenshot showing #25. Kayak across the Pacific Ocean:

And here’s a screenshot from Google Maps suggesting stopping in Hawaii when you Kayak across the Pacific, a wise move if you ask me.

Google loves putting odd little things like this in their services for users to find and back in 2007 the guys over at Ghacks.net found that in the suggested directions for going from Berlin to Fort Knox, it suggested Swimming across the Atlantic Ocean.

Google Maps Gaining on MapQuest

JR — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:28:53 +0000

Google Maps is creeping closer to MapQuest in traffic, some newly released analysis suggests.

Hitwise found Google Maps actually caught up with MapQuest for a short time in late December. MapQuest somehow regained its momentum, though, and has reasserted its lead somewhat since then. Still, the race is growing increasingly close.

As of last week, MapQuest had 11 percent more traffic than Google Maps, according to Hitwise’s data.

Interestingly (but perhaps not surprisingly), Google Maps is dominating when it comes to specific location-based search terms. Nearly two-thirds of Google Maps’ traffic comes from Google Search, the data indicates. Google Maps received visits from 72,074 unique search terms, compared to only 11,466 for MapQuest.

The reason? MapQuest, it seems, gets the majority of its search traffic from searches for its own name (or variations on it). People search for “mapquest” or “mapquest driving directions.” Google Maps, having the advantage of being more integrated into Google Search, gets more varied and location-specific references rather than just people looking for the service in general.

Google Street View gets a very nice overhaul

Duncan Riley — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 00:16:01 +0000

Google has released a major overhaul for Google Street View, delivering new functionality that makes the service easier and more friendly to use.

The new Street View revolves around “Pegman” a Clippy like character that users can drag and drop anywhere to view Street View. Better still, users can hold Pegman over a location for a second to see a preview of what the Street View image looks like before deciding on the full shot.

Street View also goes big screen with an inset map, allowing for better viewing of images, and quicker switching, per the screenshot above.

Directions are now offered in Street View for the first time: users can plot where they want to go, and walk through the route visual on Street View.

The changes aren’t perhaps amazing, but they are very nice. Video demo follows:

Google Maps gets contextual text advertising

Duncan Riley — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 02:57:22 +0000

Google has quietly added contextual based text advertising to Google Maps.

The ads appear at the base of the map after a search. CNet explains:

Some searches, such as those for taxi, restaurant, or hotel, show a blue-background text ad along the bottom of the Google Maps page. Given that anyone at the site is using a map, this is an opportunity for Google to employ a strong geographic influence in its ad targeting algorithm, and in general, the better targeted an ad is, the more effective and costly it is.

The ads would appear to be limited only by geographic availability and match, with Google currently unable to serve ads against every search entered, in every location. However, Google has switched on the ads globally, as the shot above of a Melbourne, Australia shows, they’re being shown anywhere there’s an ad match.

MapQuest Fights Back with Local Features

JR — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 15:28:08 +0000

MapQuest is fighting to gain ground in its market with the launch of some new information integration features.

Through a partnership with Yelp, a four-year-old startup in Silicon Valley, the company will start putting local business reviews within its mapping results today, as CNET points out. MapQuest will also begin offering sports information via parent company AOL’s sports service and is additionally beginning to focus more on mobile apps. So far, a BlackBerry app is on the market, and an iPhone-friendly mapping feature is expected to go live any day. The updated MapQuest site also switches to a new, less banner-centric ad format, CNET says.

The changes come amidst recent reports of the service “stagnating” compared to Google’s Google Maps offering. Cowen and Co. analysts said both MapQuest and Yahoo Maps “do not have the resources to keep pace and are forced to aggressively monetize a declining franchise in the maps segment,” particularly in the growing realm of mobile map usage.

Agree? Click on your mapping service of choice below and let’s see how Inquisitr readers compare with the analysts’ opinions.

Yelp

Google Maps shows Missile over Utah

Duncan Riley — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 04:53:17 +0000

Interesting Google Maps discoveries are a dime a dozen, but a missile in flight is a rare find. The shot below shows a missile in flight over Utah near the town of Circleville (direct link on Google Maps here)

It’s hard to be sure from the shot, but the Missile appears to be an AIM-9 Sidewinder used by the US Air Force. It’s also a considerable distance from the Utah Test and Training Range, so it would appear to be out of place.

What is Google Hiding in Holland?

Duncan Riley — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 09:07:01 +0000

Google blurring out high security sites in Google Maps isn’t new, but photoshopping such sites poorly is definitely new.

This location is Holland has a bad case of Photoshop Blues, complete with 2007 Google remnants on the copy:

Photoshop Disasters suggests it’s an Alien Landing site. What ever it is, it needed to be covered up fast and without due care and attention.

(via Chris Nixon on FriendFeed)

Confirmed: Google Testing “Walking Directions” Feature

JR — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:56:04 +0000

Google is testing a new “walking directions” feature for its Google Maps utility, The Inquisitr has confirmed.

Several users had noticed the feature pop up unannounced in their Google Maps configuration over the past days. With a notice explaining “walking directions are in beta” and advising you to “use caution when walking in unfamiliar areas,” the new tab offers foot-friendly directions for limited cities — but it won’t show up for everyone.

“We’re constantly experimenting with new features,” a Google spokesperson told The Inquisitr. “A random portion of users may see [the] walking directions experiment in Google Maps.”

So far, the testing has been confirmed for parts of New York City. Google could not elaborate on what other cities may be included or when a wider rollout could occur.

Google Maps Get User Input

JR — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:55:22 +0000

Google is making its Maps utility a bit more Wikipedia-like.

The G-Team has unveiled a new Google Maps feature called MapMaker. Once logged in, you can actually edit any existing Google Maps result — at least, if you’re looking up locations in Iceland.

The feature is currently limited to maps showing areas in the following countries: Cyprus, Iceland, Pakistan, Vietnam, Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Jamaica, Netherlands Antilles, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago. Engineers say those nations could most benefit from user contributions to boost their online map data.

Users can add and edit anything from roads to parks and businesses. Google says the changes are immediately updated in the system.

Google Releases New Mobile Maps Update

JR — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:21:34 +0000

Google is going mobile with public transportation information.

The company has just announced the launch of transit directions in its Google Maps for mobile utility. The system will let you look up bus, train, and other public transit routes and schedules from your cell phone. It integrates the data into the standard Google Map platform.

So far, support is available only for BlackBerry phones and other models with Java support. Data is in place for about 50 cities, including Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, and Vancouver.