Here’s a nice little addition to
Google Maps — current weather conditions. The feature is live now on the site, accessible by clicking the weather layer on the upper right hand corner of a map. Selecting the feature will overlay conditions culled from Weather.com, anywhere in the world. The results include the temperature and icons for the sun, rain, clouds and the moon, when that part of the world goes dark. Also new is cloud coverage from the US Naval Research Lab. Video of new feature after the break for those who like pi
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Are you driving to get somewhere, or are you driving to
drive? That’s the fundamental question behind
BMW‘s Ultimate Drive — a new
app that allows iPhone and Android users to share and rate their most enjoyable routes. With this arrow in your smartphone’s quiver, you can create and upload your favorite paths using Google Maps, while evaluating other user submissions based on traffic, scenery and that ever-elusive thrill factor. As
CNET points out, the app won’t let you upload maps from your computer, nor does it allow for Yelp-style ratings of locations along the way, though those features may only be an update away. Check out the source links to download the free app and enjoy the journey. Full PR after the break.
Continue reading BMW’s Ultimate Drive app lets you share your favorite routes, crowdsources day tripping
BMW’s Ultimate Drive app lets you share your favorite routes, crowdsources day tripping originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Aug 2011 15:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The next time you head out for a leisurely Sunday drive along the a
utobahn, you might wanna take a minute to consult Google Maps’
live traffic feature, now available in Germany and 12 other nations across Europe. Announced earlier this week, the new addition offers regularly updated coverage of all highways and major thoroughfares in countries like Spain, the Netherlands and Switzerland, while bringing more detailed street-level data to users in the UK. Europe’s road warriors will also be able to use a legend to learn about traffic patterns at specific times or days of the week, making it even easier for you to micro-manage your summer getaway to the Swiss Alps. Learning how to fit all your luggage into the back of a Twingo, however, is another matter altogether.
Google Maps brings live traffic coverage to 13 European countries, makes work weeks even shorter originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 10:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Good news, jetsetters — those of you relying on Google Maps Navigation will now find it even harder to wean yourself off of it. Not like we’d ever recommend that, though. The navigators in Mountain View have just updated Google Maps for Android to v5.7, and while it’s just a point update in terms of numbers, there’s a healthy chunk of new material here. For starters, there’s the addition of added Transit Navigation (Beta), which brings GPS turn-by-turn (or in this case, stop-by-stop) navigation to public transit systems in 400+ cities worldwide. It’ll tap into your GPS module to determine your current location, and then alert you when it’s time to get off or make a transfer — downright invaluable in a place where you don’t speak the language. After starting your trip with Transit Navigation, you can switch to another app or holster your mobile altogether, as an alert will still pop up in the notification bar (as well as a vibration) when the next stop is coming up. Google doesn’t say specifically, but it sure sounds as if it caches things before you head into the tunnel, nixing that whole “underground service” problem.
Moving right along, users will also find improved directional services for driving / walking as well as a streamlined direction acquisition system within a Place page. There’s also a couple of new improvements in search suggestions, with the addition of category icons and auto-insertion of places you got directions to into Places. Finally, the addition of the Photo viewer for Place pages should help you better visualize what you’re about to walk (or drive, we guess) into. Head on down to the Market link below if you’re down to try something fresh, but make sure you’re rocking an Android 2.1+ device. Wouldn’t want to crush your dreams, G1 owners.
Continue reading Google Maps 5.7 for Android brings Transit Navigation beta, updated access to directions
Google Maps 5.7 for Android brings Transit Navigation beta, updated access to directions originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jul 2011 13:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Brooklynites on their way to the latest Reggie Watts show have long had
real-time bus-tracking information, but public-transit aficionados in six other cities now have one less reason for BK envy. With the latest version of
Google Maps, even the least cool citizens of Boston, Portland, Ore., San Diego, San Francisco, Madrid and Turin can see not just when their bus or train is scheduled to arrive, but when it actually will. Selecting a stop on the map displays “live departure times” and service alerts, thanks to Google’s data-sharing partnerships with city transit operators. That won’t always guarantee fewer delays or less waiting, but will help riders budget their time, and maybe find those precious seconds necessary to post more Tumblr pictures of “ironic” Hitler-kittens.
Live transit updates in Google Maps help you plan your romantic bus-catching sprint originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Jun 2011 01:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Dutch tech site All About Phones claims that Google Maps Navigation will get a true offline mode later this summer. In December the Android app received an update that cached routes and the surrounding areas, but without a data connection you still couldn’t enter a new destination. A source inside the Dutch telco industry said that Goog would removing the requirement for coverage — an obvious next step for the nav tool, especially with Ovi Maps bringing its turn-by-turn prowess to WP7. The move is also bound to be another thorn in the side of standalone GPS makers like Garmin and TomTom. After all, it’s tough to compete with free.
Google Maps Navigation to go offline this summer? Garmin and TomTom on notice originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:26:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Type “Liberty City” into Google Maps and it whisks you to some place east of Wichita, Kansas. Yup, Wichita, for Pete’s sake. No self-respecting Grand Theft Auto fan can stand for an omission like that, and thankfully now they don’t have to. Those hardcore Niko-lovers at gta4.net have not only recreated the real fictional Liberty City using the Google Maps API, they’ve even cobbled together 80,000 screenshots to provide full-blown Street View too. Man, we haven’t seen this much Gay Tony passion since the Trashmaster. Oh, wait a minute — apparently this so-called Street View leaves out a couple of ramps that gta4.net considered to be “not very interesting.” Hush, and you call yourselves fans?
GTA’s Liberty City recreated in Google Street View, reveals your nearest Ammu-Nation originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 May 2011 19:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Last month we asked for a “funny pages” display in Google’s next release of Maps that shows a thick dotted line depicting where we’ve traveled, but it appears the folks at El Goog had a different agenda in mind for version 5.5. This time around, we see a few redesigns as well as some streamlined Latitude features. First, check-ins and ratings have now been added to the Places page, giving you one extra point of access; you also now have the option of changing your home or work address within your Latitude Location History, in case you ever move or just like to roam from place to place. Last but not least, Google Maps 5.5 for Android also offers reorganized transit station pages that now list off upcoming departures, transit lines serving that particular station, and links to other stops nearby. Though not a substantial upgrade from previous versions, it’s still impressive that Google pushed it out less than a month after 5.4. The new update is available as a free download in the Android Market.
Google Maps 5.5 for Android cops more Latitude, tweaks Places and transit pages originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 May 2011 16:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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