Microsoft just made a key hire that could help it re-energize its online mapping services. Raj Shah, who was previously heading up Google’s worldwide maps operations as the Engineering Director for Maps, will join Microsoft’s Online Services Division, where he will likely work on Bing Maps and its related products. Microsoft confirmed to us that Shah is indeed joining Microsoft, but declined to… → Read More
Google unveiled its completely redesigned Google Maps product on the web at I/O 2013, and at a panel dedicated to the new Maps experience, Maps User Experience Design Lead Jonah Jones and Engineering Director for Maps on the web Yatin Chawathe took us through what went into creating Maps and the engineering effort behind the considerable change seems prodigious. → Read More
One of the most interesting product demos on display at Google I/O this year was a virtual sky-diving simulation built using eight separate computers running Chrome, along with a Kinect-like motion sensor made by ASUS called the Xtion Pro. The Maps Dive experiment was created by Portland-based independent digital agency Instrument. → Read More
Google took the lid off of its new version of Maps at I/O 2013 today, which is a dramatic redesign of the long-standing navigation and place-finding software across all platforms. We got a chance to go hands-on with the new Maps, which is still a beta product, with access only given out to a few select users so far. In the video above, you check it out in action as a Google rep gives us a… → Read More
At its I/O developer conference, Google today announced a new Maps API for mobile developers, updates to Maps for Android and iOS and a completely refreshed Google Maps experience on the desktop. After the main keynote, however, Google also announced a major visual refresh for sites that use its Google Maps API. → Read More
Google’s bound to pull back the curtain on some goodies at its annual I/O conference next week (though it’s being characteristically quiet about the whole thing), but could a redesigned version of Google Maps be one of them? That’s what the folks at the (completely unofficial) Google Operating System blog hint at — they’ve come into possession of a pair of screenshots that supposedly depict… → Read More
A new front has opened in the smartphone war, and for the first time in many years, Apple is both outnumbered and outgunned.
I’m not talking about the phones themselves. iOS is still better than Android, although the gap has narrowed. The next iPhone will doubtless be the best phone in the world when it’s released, as ever. It won’t be as customizable – no Swype, no Facebook Home – but those… → Read More
This hasn’t been a great year for Foursquare. “Check-ins are no longer what they used to be,” as Ingrid Lunden observed last month. There seems to be a general consensus that “Foursquare keeps resembling Yelp more and more…” but that comparison isn’t necessarily flattering, especially since there’s little doubt that Yelp has much greater public mindshare.
Then former Square COO and current… → Read More
For years now, Google has offered its Google Maps Engine to enterprises that want to visualize their custom geospacial data. Starting today, anybody will be able to use a subset of this functionality, thanks to the launch of Google Maps Engine Lite (beta). This new tool, Google says, will allow any mapping enthusiast to “create and share robust custom maps using this powerful, easy-to-use… → Read More
One of the things that’s frustrating about Apple’s Maps is that you don’t get the integrated transit information that’s the lifeblood of living in a place like New York City or San Francisco. Google Maps has always had that information integrated into the product, which is a huge help for people who live in those metropolitan areas. The difficulty for Google is to keep up… → Read More
Winter is almost over, but that isn’t stopping Google from expanding its list of ski runs on Google Maps. Just over a month after its last update, Google today announced that it has added trail maps for another 100 resorts in the U.S. and Canada to Google Maps. Today’s update includes a number of major resorts, including Oregon’s Mt. Hood Meadows and Timberline Lodge resorts, as… → Read More
Google has been doing a lot to make Google Maps more about exploring the world, including places few will ever be able to see with their own eyes. Today, the company announced that it has added more locations to Maps, including Street View-style access to some of the highest peaks in the world. → Read More
Microsoft and Google are currently involved in a patent lawsuit in Germany that could, according to FOSS Patents’ Florian Mueller and a number of German reports, lead to an outright ban of Google Maps in the country. Microsoft’s EP0845124 patent in Europe is for a “computer system for identifying local resources and method therefor” and was issued in 1996. The issue was… → Read More
Google Maps for iPhone received its first significant update today, with new features that are designed to improve in-app search, making it easier to find relevant place information. Google Maps now lets you search your Google Contacts within the app, meaning if you use Google as your primary address book you’ll now be able to call up addresses even if they’re not stored locally on your phone, and… → Read More
The football season may be over, but with 202 days to go before the next NFL game kicks off again, Google today announced that it has brought its Street View cameras into the Indianapolis Colts’ Lucas Oil Stadium. The new 360 degree imagery, Google Maps product manager Evan Rapoport writes, is “another example of how we’re working hard (and having fun!) building the most comprehensive, accurate… → Read More
Nintendo just announced that Google Maps with Street View is now available for Wii U systems in North America. So you now have the ability to wander around Martha’s Vineyard if you don’t have access to your tablet, computer, or phone — or pretty much any other Internet-connected device. → Read More
A while ago, Google took its Street View cameras to the slopes and started documenting ski runs at a few select resorts. Today, Google is expanding its mapping options for skiers by adding 38 new run and lifts maps to Google Maps, including its apps for Android and iPhone. These include well-known ski resorts like Squaw Valley, Big Sky and Whistler Blackcomb. → Read More
Google Maps just won Best Mobile App at the Crunchies 2012 and Daniel Graff, Google’s director of Google Maps for mobile talked to our own Colleen Taylor after accepting the award. In the interview, Graff noted that it was a unique opportunity for him and his team to start from scratch. Looking ahead, Graff stressed that the next frontier for maps will be about personalization. → Read More
After getting the boot as the default mapping application on iOS devices with the introduction of iOS 6, Google Maps returned to the App Store in December with a new look, new features, and it quickly won back user mindshare and massive adoption. And today, it won something else, too: the Crunchie for the Best Mobile Application.
The runner-up was Evernote, which also had an amazing year. But… → Read More
When Google announced a new project it called Trekker last October, it sounded like a far-reaching and futuristic 20% type undertaking. Today, that project has come through with some of the most detailed and amazing interactive imagery of the Grand Canyon, as promised, showing off Google’s vision for how the world can be catalogued and detailed for everyone’s daily tasks and travels. → Read More
Nokia’s rebranded HERE mapping service has snagged another car-maker — signing Toyota Motor Europe to use Nokia Local Search for Automotive for its Touch & Go in-car navigation and infotainment systems. As well as digital maps, Nokia’s service will bring community-generated content to the in-car systems — including “millions” of ratings, reviews and images. → Read More
Google Maps is not only a strong product, it’s a strong platform. With its Map Maker tool, people from around the world can participate in making Google’s maps more detailed, accurate and up-to-date. This is exactly what happened for North Korea’s maps, Google announced today. Google’s Senior Product Manager of Map Maker, Jayanth Mysore, discussed what went into these new… → Read More
Rejoice, Windows Phone users: your daylong Google Maps crisis will soon be over.
After causing quite a kerfuffle the other day by effectively blocking Windows Phone users from accessing Google Maps in-browser, Google has released a statement (obtained by The Next Web) clarifying its rationale and promising that it would soon fix the issue. → Read More
Roamz, a local search startup for web and mobile, is today showing off one of the first implementations of the new Google Maps iOS SDK in its new iPad app, due out after the holidays. The Maps iOS SDK, which was released at the time of the Google Maps iOS app launch earlier this month, allows mobile developers who use maps inside their apps to use Google Maps instead of Apple’s implementation. → Read More
A while back, Google started bringing its Street View technology indoors under the name Google Business Photos. These images, however, were often hard to find and somewhat buried on Google’s local listings and Google Maps. Starting today, Google is bringing these images right to its search results pages by highlighting them on the business listings it now often displays in the right sidebar next… → Read More
Just in case you haven’t heard enough about the Google Maps for iOS app in the past few months, we decided to take the new app into the Fly or Die studios to figure out whether Google’s navigational offering is worth its salt.
As usual, John and I disagree over a couple of key points, but we both agree that Google Maps is an excellent upgrade to the old Google Maps, and it still has a leg up… → Read More
According to Google’s Jeff Huber, Google Maps for iOS is a runaway success, having seen more than 10 million downloads in just 48 hours after its launch.
This is a pretty huge number, and it’s rare that a company as large as Google would share such numbers. The app stands atop the free app leaderboard on Apple’s App Store, clearly suggesting that the people have spoken. They prefer Google’s… → Read More
For all her faults, Siri is a useful companion. Sometimes. But she defaults to Apple Maps. Thankfully it’s rather simple to trick Siri into giving you directions with Google Maps instead. No jailbreak required.
As shown in the video above, instead of saying, “Take me to the nearest Best Buy,” tell Siri “Take me to the nearest Best Buy via transit.” Those two little extra words prompts Siri to… → Read More
Apple is getting embarrassed right now as Google’s new iOS Maps app shoots to the top of the charts. But there is one upside to the beatdown. After three months of holding out to avoid Apple Maps, many people are now upgrading to iOS 6 or an iPhone 5. Last night I watched several people learn of the existence of Google Maps for iOS, and the first thing they did was update their phone’s firmware. → Read More
To go along with its brand-new, built-from-scratch iOS Maps app, Google has released a new SDK that will allow developers to utilize its service within their own apps. The key is that the SDK allows access to a URL scheme that lets you call up the app from anywhere you like within your own. Say you have a contact management app. If you surface a person’s address, you could choose to launch… → Read More
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