The Google Maps for Mobile team pushed a new version of their application today, with two hugely awesome features packed inside. They’ve added support for Street View, which allows you to get a pedestrian’s-eye view of any street Google has cruised down with their panoramic-shootin’ super car. It’s a feature that has been around for quite some time on the desktop version, but is mounds more useful on-the-go. The new release also adds walking directions for those of us that count on our kickers to get around. If there’s a sidewalk to walk on, your feet don’t care if a street is one way. As long as you’ve got a compatible handset (BlackBerry, and most Java-enabled phones), you can nab the new release by pointing it at http://m.google.com/maps → Read More
Flickr’d A European Union official has warned Google to play nice with EU privacy laws if and when it launches a European version of Google Maps Street View. The service, which provides street-level photos of certain areas, has generated concern among privacy advocates and home owners. In response, Google will now automatically blur faces of people present in Street View photos. As it relates to the EU, Google will need to respect the union’s myriad privacy laws or face court cases that will ultimately decide the service’s “success or failure.” Of course, Google, for its part, said it has every intention of complying with the laws. Regulation makes the world go ’round. via Drudge Report → Read More
This is definitely one of the funnier things I’ve seen on the entire internet. Hop on over to Google Maps and enjoy a shot-by-shot account of a kid falling off of his bike. It almost seems like the StreetView car scared the hell out of him as it drove by. I hope the kid’s okay and I’d like to thank him for being hilarious. Google StreetView via Switched → Read More
If previous Google Maps Street View complaints have seemed somewhat frivolous and paranoid, this latest one might be enough to change your mind. The Smoking Gun is reporting that a home not far from the Pittsburgh home Nicholas told us about a few days ago has been thoroughly documented in true Street View form. More photos and information after the jump. → Read More
Photos taken for the European version of Google Street Views will soon have people’s faces and license plates pixelated out, like so many innocent non-suspects on your favorite episode of COPS. The same privacy protection may come to the US version as well, although Google has made no formal announcement yet other than to say that it’s "thinking about it." Might as well just do it, Google. Better safe than pantless, am I right? Google Streetview Airbrushing Their European Edition [TechCrunch] → Read More
Hey, look at you Chicago, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, and Tucson! Literally, look at you. You’re on Google Maps’ Street View! Let the peeping begin! Phoenix, Tucson, and certain areas of Chicago contain high resolution images to boot. Also, a cool new feature is "the ability to pan up in most new cities." Peeping jokes aside, Street View is a pretty cool feature especially if you’re looking for a particular building that you’ve never been to before. I just moved to Boston and am eagerly waiting for Google to add my new stomping grounds to the Street View family so I can figure out where the hell I’m going since there aren’t any street signs here. More Street View cities to explore [Google Lat Long Blog] → Read More
It’s a lazy Sunday afternoon and the news is beyond dead, so I thought I’d tinker around with Google Street View in search of some compromising pictures of unsuspecting citizens. What I found was pretty confusing and just a little bit messed up. The picture taken of the Helio store location is at least 6 months old. I was under the impression that pictures taken for Street View were fairly recent, but I was wrong. How long has Google been taking pictures for the hottest feature in maps? Has anyone else noticed any dated pictures when using Street View? → Read More
Street View strikes, again. At 588 44th Avenue in Fog City, CA, an unsuspecting woman was caught with her pants down and now everyone can see what color her thong is. Museum this is not. It’s getting out of control don’t you think? Not that I’m complaining about this particular one, but the next time I head to the Bay I don’t need some freakish Beetle taking a picture of me exiting The Crazy Horse. Street View → Read More
Over at BoingBoing, a concerned reader wrote it to let them know what Google Maps is spying into his living room. Recall that Street View feature I talked about earlier today? Great service, but it turns out you can zoom all the way into someone’s living room window. In this case, enough to make out this chick’s cat. So the big question becomes: where do you draw the line between convenience and privacy? Do you think it’s OK to have this woman’s home peaked into so that you can see what downtown San Francisco looks like? I think so. You can barely make out the cat and as long as the picture isn’t taken at nighttime when you’re partying naked with a handle of rum, then no harm done. Google Maps is spying on my cat, says freaked out BB reader [BoingBoing] → Read More
Just as Microsoft gets done releasing those 3D, photo renditions of major cities on its Live Search Maps, in comes Google to shake the competition up a bit. This new street view Google is offering is only available in parts of NYC, San Francisco, Denver, Las Vegas, and Miami. Of course in time, most major cities and eventually all of the world will be available at street level. The interface looks pretty decent and conveniently offers the ability to zoom in on objects and look all around you. It’s worth mentioning that the streets are labeled and show which direction they run – extremely useful if you’re trying to get a feel for foreign territory. Bust a move over to maps.google.com and give it a spin. Street View Now Available in Google Maps [Gizmodo] → Read More
San Francisco, CA
