Hasta La Gadget!

Why look at static images when you can get a more 3D view of the urban scene? Google’s Maps for Mobile 5 just got previewed on stage by Andy Rubin at D: Dive Into Mobile — with a prototype Motorola Honeycomb tablet, no less! The biggest visual change is dynamic map drawing: vectors instead of flat images that scale without render hiccups and will show the buildings fleshed out for over 100 cities — we gotta say, it looks great. Even more fun is that you can now use two fingers to tilt and rotate around the map (in addition to moving and pinch-to-zoom, of course). We’ve been told it’s a much snappier experience, and the storage for these vectors is much smaller than the current images, which brings us to… offline caching. Maps will keep on file the locations that you go to (and search) most often, and it’ll be able to reroute while offline in Navigation. You’ll still need a connection for altering the route altogether — sorry, subway-hoppers — but once you go, even if you stray, you’ll still be rerouted back on track.

Most modern Android phones from the original Droid onward should be able to enjoy most if not all the new features, depending on hardware capabilities (3D rendering) and “distinct multitouch” hardware support — the Nexus One, interestingly enough, supports vector maps but not the rotate functionality because it lacks the latter multitouch requirements. Google sent us a list of devices that support 100 percent of 5.0’s features, which you can find after the break. The update is due out in the “coming days,” according to Rubin. Great way to kick off Nexus S’ launch, then.

Continue reading Google Maps for Mobile 5 unveiled, adds dynamic map drawing and offline mode

Google Maps for Mobile 5 unveiled, adds dynamic map drawing and offline mode originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 22:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google’s Andy Rubin brought more than just a Nexus S in his bag of goodies tonight. On stage at D: Dive Into Mobile, the man has brought with him a prototype Android tablet from Motorola. It’s got video chat, an NVIDIA processor, a “dual core 3D processor,” and… oh yeah, it runs Honeycomb, not Gingerbread. Little else is known — Rubin immediately turned his attention to a new release of Google Maps — but we wouldn’t be surprised if we were looking at Stingray, a tablet rumored for a launch on Verizon shortly. Is it seven inches? Ten? We honestly don’t know — but our gut tells us on the bigger side of the spectrum, which would line up with rumblings that the Stingray would in fact be a full ten inches diagonally. Feast your eyes on our pics below!

Updated: Video after the break!

Continue reading Motorola Android tablet prototype makes a cameo at D: Dive Into Mobile running Honeycomb

Motorola Android tablet prototype makes a cameo at D: Dive Into Mobile running Honeycomb originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 22:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Stay tuned… there’s some serious Nexus S / Android action about to occur.

Continue reading Google’s Andy Rubin live from D: Dive Into Mobile

Google’s Andy Rubin live from D: Dive Into Mobile originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 21:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What can HTML5 do for you? Quite a lot, as it happens. A chap by the name of Franz Enzenhofer has put together a real-time effects mixer for a fan-made Tron trailer, which combines HTML5 with a dash of JavaScript and a sprinkling of CSS to demonstrate the awesome potency of open web standards. You can recolor, reposition, rotate, stretch, or skew the video, all while it plays. We’ve got the unaltered trailer, made earlier this year as a sort of homage to the 1982 picture, for you after the break, but you’ll want to hit the source link to start post-processing it with the finest browser-based video editor yet.

Continue reading HTML5 prettifies fan-made Tron trailer… in real time! (video)

HTML5 prettifies fan-made Tron trailer… in real time! (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 06 Dec 2010 20:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo created this 30 second TV commercial for the launch of More With Google, a series of videos promoting Google’s services for Japanese consumers.

Directed by Kosai Sekine and featuring girls and much cuteness, the commercial showcases the Image Search functions. The idea is that using Image Search is like holding your own private fashion show because you can sort by color and similar images. The ladies seem to have a whale of a time so clearly they are using a different browser to me!

Google has been on a massive drive to increase its control of the local market, still dominated by Yahoo Japan! On top of free wifi services offered at airports and coffee shops, the campaigns have been manifested in a wealth of TV commercials and train advertising highlighting its useful functions, though this ad in particular is mainly emphasizing the fun aspects of the search engine.

Perhaps this is one reason why Google Japan is apparently the number one company most people aged 25 to 34 want to work for?

Other examples from the More With Google series include Chrome Music Mixer, where you can play 4 YouTube music videos simultaneously for new audio experiences.