maps - 5/6 - Android Police - Android News, Apps, Games, Phones, Tablets

Jul

[Updated x2] Google Maps Updated To Version 5.7, Brings Public Transit Navigation, Downloadable Maps, Other Improvements

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, News

A new update for Google Maps was released today and brings some impressive new functionality. Artem put it well (although perhaps not exactly eloquently): "it's #$%^ing amazing... Google keeps blowing minds." In a nutshell, Transit Navigation (as it's officially dubbed) brings exactly what you'd expect - it helps you navigate public transport. In their words:

Transit Navigation (Beta)
Google Maps Navigation (Beta) currently provides over 12 billion miles of GPS-guided driving and walking directions per year. Now, GPS turn-by-turn (or in this case, stop-by-stop) navigation is available for public transit directions in 400+ cities around the globe with Transit Navigation.

Transit Navigation uses GPS to determine your current location along your route and alerts you when it’s time to get off or make a transfer.

Mar

New Google Navigation For Android Utilizes Traffic For Routing

Posted by Will Shanklin in Applications, News

A feature that has been long-awaited by some Android users has now been added to one of the most practical (and free) apps out there. Google has just announced on their mobile blog that their Android Navigation feature (part of the Google Maps app) is now incorporating current traffic information into the routing that it predicts for you.

A "fastest route" that only lands you in a traffic jam doesn't do you much good and this update attempts to remedy that with more of what Google likes the most: data. This from Google's mobile blog regarding the update:

"Before today, Navigation would choose whichever route was fastest, without taking current traffic conditions into account.

Mar

Google Maps Updated to 5.2 - More Foursquare-esque Features Added

Posted by Will Shanklin in Applications, News

Google Maps for Android was updated to version 5.2 today, and the influence of mobile check-in services is becoming more and more apparent with the addition of four social location features.

While v5.1 added Latitude check-in functionality, Maps v5.2 brings the ability to post reviews of places to Twitter. Additionally, Google Latitude friends can now be pinged, beckoning them to check-in where you would like them to be (they will then receive a 'request'). In case you need a little inspiration for your next destination, the update also lets you search for a place to check-in from Latitude. Finally, Maps v5.2 allows you to explore hotspots in your area.

Feb

Nokia Finally Announces Strategic Partnership With Microsoft Over Windows Phone OS; Android Towers Over Both

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Android OS, News

After many weeks of speculations, Nokia and Microsoft finally announced minutes ago that the 2 companies are entering a strategic partnership "to build a new global mobile ecosystem."

Nokia has been struggling to keep up with the exploding smartphone market in the past years, and it was clear that something needed to be done.

MeeGo, Nokia's latest bet at replacing its aging Symbian system with a new, open sourced, Linux-based OS, has been in development since 2010, but no phones running this OS have been released by the company yet.

In an effort to regain market share, Nokia had to pick - either join forces with Android, a giant growing at incredible speeds, or side with the newcomer - Windows Phone 7 from Microsoft, a company Nokia can trust (their current CEO, Stephen Elop, spent almost 3 years as a Microsoft VP of BizDev).

Feb

Google Body For Honeycomb Official - It's The 'Google Maps Of Human Anatomy'

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Google, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2

As part of today's Honeycomb- and "Android ecosystem"-event, Google demoed Renderscript - a new 3D graphics library in Android. And part of their demo? A new application called Google Body, aka the "Google Maps of human anatomy."

It looks like it'll be a pretty cool way to explore the human body - just like Maps, you can strip away layers (i.e. skin, bones, etc.), rotate it in 3D, and search for body parts before having them highlighted in the app. Sweet - I can already hear the sound of science teachers across the nation screaming for joy.

Dec

OTA Update Fixes Bugs, Brings Latest Version Of Maps To Samsung Nexus S

Posted by Jaroslav Stekl in Gingerbread 2.3, Google, News, Nexus S (Crespo/Soju), Samsung

The Nexus S may have just been released, and it may be running the latest version of Android - but Samsung and Google aren't holding back on software updates. Instead, the two have teamed up to release the first OTA update for the device, which contains "important bug fixes" as well as the latest version of Google Maps. Don't feel like waiting for the update to hit your device? The file is already available to download from Google's servers, so after this, you can simply flash it as you would any other ZIP file:

After the file is downloaded, rename it to "update.zip".

Dec

Google Maps Update Bringing 3D Buildings, Offline Caching "In A Matter Of Days"

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Applications, News

After Andy Rubin showed off a Honeycomb-running Motorola tablet, he proceeded to demo the latest version of Google Maps. The update promises a 3D viewing mode, compass orientation, and offline caching of maps. But, perhaps best of all, Rubin claimed that "it'll be on cellphones in a matter of days."

The biggest change is the ability to render 3D buildings at the street level. Because it will render vectors instead of tiles, maps will supposedly load several times faster, no matter how fast your connection is. Vectors are also easier to store than tiles, which will allow offline caching of maps, even entire cities.

Nov

Google Maps For Android v4.7 Adds Support For The New Google Hotpot Recommendation Engine, Guns Straight For Yelp

Posted by Nate Kimmey in Applications, News

Unveiled earlier today, Google's new service, called Hotpot, promises to recommend places to you based on an extremely simple rating system that allows scoring and ranking establishments from one to five stars. Additionally, you can rate individual characteristics, such as food, service, and atomsphere, as you can see below. Hotpot's release was accompanied by a simultaneous refresh of the Google Maps Android app (version 4.7), which brought along the fairly significant addition of Hotpot to the Places component of the app.

^{I'm far too generous}

Hotpot itself is accessible on any computer, but you'll obviously find rating and discovering places far more convenient while on the go.

Sep

Amazing Ingenuity: TAT's "Horizon" Concept Blends 2D With 3D In Maps And Contacts [Must-See Videos]

Posted by T. Carter Ross in News, Videos

Even with Street View, it can be hard to orient yourself in a strange area with a smartphone-based map. The Astonishing Tribe (TAT), an absolutely genius group of UI designers, wants to jazz things up by letting users shift dynamically from a flat object, like a map or a list of contacts, to a 3D one, which can be overlaid with additional information.

Horizon 2D-3D Maps

By allowing the user to seamlessly transition from a two-dimensional display to a three-dimensional one and back, TAT aims to make it easier to comfortably maintain a sense of space and orientation. At the heart of it all lies TAT Cascades, a UI framework for the production of advanced user interfaces.

Sep

HTC Sense Will Support Map Pre-Caching In Its Latest Upgrade

Posted by Brad Ganley in Applications, Desire HD (Ace), HTC, News, Videos

Yesterday, Engadget got some hands-on time with the brand new HTC Sense upgrade that will debut on the Desire HD and the Desire Z. It will support all kinds of crazy stuff we've been waiting for like remote wiping, phone location, and backing up to and restoring data from HTCSense.com. Another cool feature is map pre-caching, which means that the phone will have pre-loaded maps on it.

The end result is a much more responsive map experience, allowing you to zoom in and out and pan around with "no waiting". It also means that you don’t need a data connection to get around, a notable foible of the otherwise excellent Google Maps.