Hopefully iPhone owners have gotten used to Apple Maps by now because it’s likely going to be the only mapping solution available through CarPlay. Apple just released a preview page for its forthcoming iOS vehicle integration. Called CarPlay, the system brings the iPhone’s core functionally to cars. Connect an iPhone 5 or later device through a Lightning cable, and the car’s… Read More
Nintendo just announced that Google Maps with Street View is now available for Wii U systems in North America. So you now have the ability to wander around Martha’s Vineyard if you don’t have access to your tablet, computer, or phone — or pretty much any other Internet-connected device.
The Wii U’s implementation is rather clever. As Darrell explained previously, the Wii U’s GamePad lets users pan around various locations while the satellite imagery is shown on the television. While it’s most certainly a novelty, it can provide an escape from a lowly apartment in Scranton.
The app launched in Japan last week and Nintendo announced its U.S. availability today on the ever-entertaining Nintendo Direct videocast. No word on the special Panorama View app that Nintendo originally revealed at E3. This novel app that will use 360-degree videos rather than static imagery was originally slated for a Spring 2013 release.
Find the free app on the eShop right now.
While I’ve managed to resist the call of the Wii U so far, neat tricks with the GamePad like the newly-announced Google Maps app Street View integration have me sorely tempted. Nintendo announced today that Google Maps will be arriving on the Wii U gaming console in early 2013, delivering a unique Street View mode for the GamePad touchscreen controller that allows users to pan around various locations as they view satellite map imagery on their television.
Initially, I might have questioned the need for a mapping app on a home gaming console, which tend to be stationary, but the ability to take essentially walking tours from the comfort of your living room in a way that’s much more immersive than just panning around on a computer screen or mobile device makes this very interesting. Japan’s Wii U owners will be able to grab the Google Maps app beginning in January, where it will be available free at least through March.
Nintendo also discussed a special Panorama View app, which will feature 360-degree videos, not just static imagery, that users can pan around using the GamePad. This app was originally unveiled at E3, and will arrive in Spring 2013 in Japan. U.S. releases of both features are expected to follow their Japanese introductions.
Google Maps gets more awesome by the day. Earlier this week, the service started rolling out stunning underwater imagery- if you will, a seaview mode. Now Google took to the Google Maps blog to announces the inclusion of more high resolution images including a major build-out of 45-degree images.
This update brings a lot of new data to the mapping service. Google Maps and Earth now features 17 cities and 112 countries and regions with high-resolution aerial and satellite imagery. In addition, 51 cities can now be viewed in a 45-degree mode including 37 cities in the US and 14 abroad (full list below). It’s never been easier to burn a little time and escape from your cubical to a far away land.
Google constantly rolls out updates to its services but it seems this week has featured more news than usual. Perhaps Google is attempting to cash in on all the positive publicity it’s receiving thanks to the inferior Apple Maps.
Google Maps is currently riding high on the wake of the Apple Maps fiasco. In fact Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a formal apology for Maps, suggesting Google Maps and Bing Maps as alternatives until Apple sorts things out.
Below is the full list of cities featuring high-resolution and 45-degree imagery. Go ahead. Find your house.
Cities with new high resolution 45° imagery:
United States: Ames, IA; Anderson, IN; Billings, MT; Bloomington, IL; Carmel Valley, CA; Cedar Rapids, IA; Coeur d’Alene, ID; Corvallis, OR; Danville, IL; Dayton, OH; Detroit, MI; Dubuque, IA; Elizabethtown, KY; Enid, OK; Florence, SC; Grand Forks, ND; Great Falls, MT; Gulfport, MS; Hartford, CT; Kankakee, IL; Kenosha, WI; Lafayette, IN; Lancaster, CA; Lansing, MI; Lewiston, ID; Los Banos, CA; Madison, WI; Medford, OR; Michigan City, IN; Olympia, WA; Pocatello, ID; Sheboygan, WI; Sioux City, IA; Sioux Falls, SD; South Bend, IN; Terre Haute, IN; Utica, NY.
International: Angers, France; Clermont-Ferrand, France; Coimbra, Portugal; Dijon, France; Grenoble, France; Livorno, Italy; Lyon, France; Newcastle, United Kingdom; Oberhausen, Germany; Palermo, Italy; Pisa, Italy; Toulouse, France; Troyes, France; Winnipeg, Canada.
Areas with new high resolution aerial updates:
Florence OR, Kellogg ID, Casper WY, North Platte NE, Concordia KS, Alva OK, Austin TX, Nevada MO, Chilicothe MO, Toulouse FR, Clermont-Ferrand FR, Angers FR, Nantes FR, Troyes FR, Lille FR, Thun CH, Lucca IT
Areas new high resolution satellite updates:
Canada, United States, Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Antarctica, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Zambia, Angola, Malawi, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Benin, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Mali, The Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania, Western Sahara, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Turkey, Iran, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Lithuania, Finland, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzebekistan, Turkmenistan, China, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, The Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand
Thanks to a partnership with The Catlin Seaview Survey, Google Maps now displays StreetView-ish images of the Great Barrier Reef and popular underwater spots around Hawaii and the Philippines. Clear your calendar. Forward your emails. It’s time for an undersea adventure.
As Google explained in a blog post today you can now use Google Maps to swim with a turtle, follow a manta ray or lose yourself watching the sun set over a reef. You can go diving in Maui’s Molokini crater or join snorkelers in Oahu’s Hanauma Bay. And of course all this is possible without swim lessons or sunscreen, thanks to the magic of Google Maps.
The video below shows how the amazing imagery was captured. Using a special one-off camera called the SVII, divers for The Catlin Seaview Survey swam at 4 kilometers an hour to capture the stunning footage.
Right now the imagery is very limited. Outside of the links above, it’s rather difficult to find an area to go swimming. Seaview spots are marked with an orange circle that’s only revealed when the Street View icon is dragged onto the map. Even then, these spots only show up when the map is zoomed in nearly all the way. It seems Google announced this service a bit prematurely.
Google pulled the announcement post shortly after it went live but later reposted everything. Several of the outbound links — to maps.google.com/ocean and The Catlin Seaview Survey — did not resolve at the time of this article’s posting.
But the data is still in the maps right now. You can still leave your cubicle behind and explore ancient boulder coral at Apo Island within a Philippines marine reserve. Who needs a vacation when you have Google Maps?
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
