Skip to main content

Google Maps adds better directions, suggestions, and 3D Earth rendering

Google today announced a new version of its mobile Maps application and talked about the new things it's doing to fill out Google Maps. At the Google I/O conference Wednesday, Google outlined several improvements to both the desktop and mobile versions of its Maps app and a new user-contribution feature called Map Maker. Map Maker will allow users to add their own data, which Google may then incorporate.
The new version of Google Maps will allow users to zoom in on maps and see 3D renderings of buildings while searching for locations. Users will now be able to see whether their friends have rated places using a new five-point rating scale that will be introduced across all Google Maps incarnations. The partnership with Zagat ratings and reviews will persist into the new version alongside the new five-point ratings.

Google Offers will now be integrated within Maps, offering users discounts from within the app, but at launch it will only be integrated with partner brands. The new Maps will also use live coverage of "incidents from around the world" that will allow users to see news updates in context in real time. Dynamic rerouting in traffic view will help users avoid traffic snafus.


A new Explore feature within Maps will give users an interface to find things to do based on the general activity they're looking for (eating, drinking, sleeping). Explore can pull up nearby highly rated results sorted by category; for instance, within "Play," Maps lists several parks and museums and a section for "popular with tourists."
Brian McClendon, vice president of Maps, noted that Google Maps is composed of four layers of data: base maps, imagery, Street View, and local data. Geocoding photos has changed the mapping experience, McClendon said, and he briefly noted that users will be able to contribute to mapping data. He did not say explicitly how that will be accomplished, but Maps will now include photos inside listed locations like restaurants, which will presumably be user-provided.
Maps will get a design overhaul that removes the usual sidebar present on the Web interface, and all minor streets will now be highlighted. Directions are created on demand when the user chooses a location, and maps can automatically compare driving and public transit options. For public transit, Maps now includes a schedule viewer for train and bus arrival times. Portions of Google Earth have also been integrated into Maps so that users can navigate to famous landmarks and dynamically view 3D renders of them. Users can also tour the insides via user-uploaded photos. When zooming all the way out they can see the Earth in context (with clouds rendered in real time), moving through space with the sun and stars in their current, real-time positions.
Google Maps, which previously existed on iOS as an iPhone-only application, will now be available in iPad format as well. The new Google Maps can be previewed on the desktop today, with the full desktop and mobile versions arriving this summer.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

LG’s first flexible OLED phone due before the year is out

LG plans to launch a flexible OLED smartphone before the end of the year, the company’s VP of mobile has confirmed, though it’s unclear to what extent the work-in-progress handset will actually flex. The OLED panel in question is the handiwork of LG Display according to VP of LG mobile Yoon Bu-hyun, the WSJ  reports, with the proposed device set to launch sometime in Q4. LG Display’s work on flexible OLEDs has been underway for some time, though the company’s efforts have perhaps been overshadowed somewhat by rival Samsung’s YOUM development. Last year, according to a Korea Times report, LG Display was preparing for

Bing Apps for Windows 8 get major updates

Late least year, Microsoft rolled out a half dozen Bing Apps for Windows 8 users, each one focused on a specific category, such as travel and sports. The apps were designed to offer “immersive vertical experiences,” and now, about six months later, a big line of updates for them is being pushed out. Users can grab the updates now by heading into the Windows Store and selecting the updates notification.

Syrian Electronic Army claims credit for CBS Twitter accounts hack

Yesterday, several of CBS ’s Twitter accounts were hacked, including its main account, and its accounts for 60 Minutes, 48 Hours, and CBS Denver. The hackers got into the account and tweeted a series of things relating to President Obama and the United States being in cahoots with Al-Qaeda . The tweets also had links that led users to malware-infested sites. While CBS was able to regain access to its accounts, it was unable to figure out who was behind the attacks, until now. The Syrian Electronic Army , the same group that hacked 3 of the BBC’s Twitter accounts, claimed