The Tech News Blog
Google Maps Overhauled With More Personal Results
As expected, Google today unveiled a revamped version of Maps at its I/O developer conference in San Francisco.
The updated Google Maps, a preview of which is rolling out to developers today, makes the search giant's mapping experience more personal. It incorporates the technology that powers Google Now into the Google Maps experience, "so it'll get better and better, the more that you use it," said Bernhard Seefeld, product management director for Google Maps.
The Maps team, Seefeld said, had three goals with the update: creating a separate map for every single user; combining all of Google's mapping services - from satellite imagery to Street View to indoor photos; and making everything simpler and more powerful.
As a result, "we went ahead and rebuilt Google maps from the ground up," he said.
As some recent leaks suggested, the search box and its results are now layered on top of Google Maps. Nameless pins are also replaced with search results labeled directly on a map (below), with a description for top results. Filters allow for search results that incorporate recommendations from friends in case, for example, you want a sushi place that someone you know has visited and liked.
New Version of Google Maps Leaked Online
Later today, Google will kick off its annual Google I/O conference, an event that often offers an sneak peek at the newest projects and experiments the company has in the works. Things got off to an early start last night, however, when what appears to be the next version of Google Maps leaked online.
The launch screens for the new version of Google Maps appeared briefly, but have since been taken down. But Android-focused site Droid Life managed to capture screen shots of the leak before it disappeared. The new Google Maps seems to incorporate data from your Google account to highlight areas and locations that are important to you.
In addition to the automated location curation, the new maps also appears to add Google Flight Search into the traditional Google Maps product, allowing users to easily plan trips directly from the normal Google Maps screen rather than visiting a separate site. Perhaps the most interesting feature, though, is the inclusion of Google Earth as an option. This is a combination many fans of Google Maps have wanted for some time, but up until now the most realistic topographic images offered by Google Maps have been Street View and the satellite viewing option.
Google Maps New Interface?
Is Google gearing up to premiere a new Maps interface at next week's Google I/O?
The unofficial Google Operating System blog reported on Tuesday that the search giant is testing out a new look for Google Maps that sheds the traditional sidebar in favor of floating boxes on top of a full-screen map.
Information like location data, photos, and Zagat reviews look like they will be shifted from the immovable sidebar to a series of cards that hover over the screen, perhaps with the ability to click and drag across the page.
Those informational cards are becoming something of a Google staple, first seen in the Google Now application, and added to the recently revamped Google Play Store Android app, not to mention Google Glass.
Another rumored change includes the ability to refine local search results based on places recommended by top reviews or those in a user's Google+ circles.
Based on the two screenshots published by the blog, the actual map won't change much, but the author pointed out that the update will create a more immersive interface that integrates well with mobile devices.
Google Maps Gets Live Transit Info for NYC, D.C., Salt Lake
Google has updated Maps with real-time transit information for New York, Salt Lake City, and Washington, D.C.
With the upgrade, New York City subway riders can tap into Google News to find out when to expect their next train. Google added live departure times for seven lines; it didn't specify which ones, but a quick look at Google Maps showed information for most major lines.
Click on the N/R/Q line at Union Square, for example, and Google Maps displays the next four estimated departure times for those three lines in a pop-up window. Click the "more info" link for more times, as well as other nearby stations.
Google first added planned service alerts in July for all 468 NYC subway stations labeled on Google Maps. NYC transit directions were added in 2008.
In Salt Lake City, Google added real-time departure information about buses and trams in the region. Click the bus or tram icon on Google Maps for more details.
"With these updates – part of the millions of live transit schedule updates we process every day – you get instant access to the latest information right on Google Maps, making trip planning a cinch," Google said in a blog post.
Google Restoring Access to Maps on Windows Phones
Google said today that it is working to restore access to Google Maps on Windows Phone-based gadgets. The search giant blamed the blackout on a poor maps experience on Microsoft's mobile platform.
The problem cropped up on Friday, when Windows Phone users trying to access the mobile Web-based version of Google Maps found themselves redirected to Google.com on their phones. PCMag's Sascha Segan confirmed the problem on his own HTC 8X.
At the time, Google stayed mum, but the company said today that the redirect was necessary in order to provide the best experience on the mobile version of Internet Explorer.
"We periodically test Google Maps compatibility with mobile browsers to make sure we deliver the best experience for those users," Google said in a statement. "In our last test, IE mobile still did not offer a good maps experience with no ability to pan or zoom and perform basic map functionality."
That's because the mobile version of Google Maps is optimized for browsers running Webkit, which Microsoft does not use.
As a result, Google said that it "chose to continue to redirect IE mobile users to Google.com." That phrasing seemed to suggest that the redirect was in place for longer than the last day or two, and Google confirmed that it was, but did not have an exact date for when it was put in place.
Report: Upgrades to iOS 6 Picking Up Steam
Hold the iPhone—it looks like Apple's approval of a dedicated Google Maps app for iOS has spurred a fairly significant uptick in iOS 6 upgrades after all.
Early returns on iOS 6 adoption rates after last week's introduction of the app suggested that iPhone users weren't in a rush to upgrade. But new research from MoPub paints a different story—the ad server for smartphone application publishers said this week that it's seen 29 percent growth in unique iOS 6 users since last Tuesday, the day before the Google Maps app for iOS was released (see chart below).
The MoPub numbers, based on MoPub Marketplace data, come on the heels of a report issued by mobile ad network Chitika on Monday covering the first 24 hours after the release of the Google Maps app. Chitika only saw a very slight uptick in iOS 6 adoption in that first 24 hours, from 72.77 percent to 72.94 percent.
The newer data indicates that conventional wisdom about some iPhone owners' reluctance to upgrade to Apple's most current mobile operating system was on the money—and lopsidedly centered around a single built-in app, Maps. With iOS 6, Apple replaced the popular Google app as the default Maps app on the iPhone, replacing it with the much-maligned Apple Maps, forcing users to go in search of other mapping apps, or access Google Maps through the browser.
The Apple Maps fiasco was such a black eye for Cupertino that the iPhone maker has reportedly purged several high-ranking executives and engineers specifically for their roles in its inclusion in iOS 6.
Google Maps for iOS Hits Apple App Store
Nearly three months after Apple removed the pre-installed Google Maps from its mobile operating system with iOS 6, the search giant today released a Google Maps app for iOS.
The free app is now available in the App Store and will work with devices running iOS 5.1 and higher, Apple said. At this point, however, it installs the smaller-screened iPhone version on the iPad.
"Get comprehensive, accurate, and easy-to-use maps with built-in Google local search, voice guided turn-by-turn navigation, public transit directions, Street View, and more," Google said.
That's likely a dig at Apple, which replaced Google Maps with its much-maligned Apple Maps. Those with iOS 6, however, quickly discovered that Apple's mapping solution was often inaccurate and buggy. Eventually, Apple's Tim Cook issued an apology, reportedly reshuffled senior staff over the gaffe, and even told users to check out competing products until Cupertino fixed its own mapping app.
Nokia HERE Maps App Launches for iOS
Nokia this week released its new HERE maps app for iOS.
The free app, unveiled last week, provides access to Nokia's new cloud-based map service, which will be available across multiple mobile operating systems.
"People want great maps, and with HERE we can bring together Nokia's location offering to deliver people a better way to explore, discover and share their world," Nokia president and CEO Stephen Elop said last week.
The app comes as Apple is struggling with its own Maps app, which replaced Google Maps in iOS 6. Apple's solution turned up lackluster and sometimes inaccurate results, prompting Apple CEO Tim Cook to issue an apology. Google is reportedly working on its own iOS mapping app, but nothing has been announced.
Report: Google Putting ‘Finishing Touches’ on iOS Maps App
Google is prepping a version of its Maps app for iOS, according to a new report.
Citing a person with "direct knowledge" of the search giant's plans, the Wall Street Journal today reported that Google is "putting the finishing touches" on an iOS Maps app.
The paper did not know when the app would be submitted to Apple. Whether or not Cupertino will approve the app for inclusion in its store, meanwhile, is anyone's guess.
Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but told the Journal that its goal is to make its mapping service available across all devices and platforms.
Apple's Maps app has been a bit of a sore subject at the company lately. It replaced the built-in Google Maps app with iOS 6, but users quickly found that it was largely inaccurate and lacked key features found on Google's app, like Street View.
Report: Developers Warned That Apple Maps App Wasn’t Ready
Several developers said they warned Apple against including the company's own "shockingly bad" in-house Maps application in the new iOS 6 operating system, CNET reported this week.
Apple replaced Google's Maps app with its own for iOS 6, the mobile OS that comes installed on the new iPhone 5 and is being pushed out to owners of older iOS devices as well. Users and reviewers have complained about the deficiencies of the new default iOS 6 Maps app, with criticism reaching such a fever pitch that Apple CEO Tim Cook recently took the unusual step of apologizing and recommending that people install other Maps applications on their iOS devices, including Google's.
Several developers told CNET that they knew something was very wrong with the iOS 6 Maps app as soon as they got a pre-release version in early June. They "filed bug requests, sent e-mails to specific Apple employees, and vented on message boards only other developers and Apple could see," CNET said.
"I posted at least one doomsayer rant after each (developer) beta, and I wasn't alone. The mood amongst the developers seemed to be that the maps were so shockingly bad that reporting individual problems was futile. What was needed wasn't so much an interface for reporting a single point as incorrect, but for selecting an entire region and saying 'all of this—it's wrong,'" CNET quoted one unnamed developer of iOS apps as saying.