If you’re carrying a smartphone or driving a modern car, you’re a potential probe, and Nokia would love to unlock your location for its HERE Maps services. The company already has its own gathering programs in place yet, for all its gigabytes of daily data, Nokia’s HERE 3D mapping car is only one part of […]
Google may give away software like Google Maps for iOS and Android free, but it has to make its money somewhere, and so the company announced today that the location apps will now support AdWords advertising. The updated app for iPhone, iPad, and Android now injects localized adverts at the bottom of the screen, based […]
Google has launched Google City Experts, a new program aiming to take on Yelp and other local review sites by promising perks and praise for those regularly writing up their experiences at restaurants, theaters, and other locations around select cities. The scheme, which ties together Google Maps and Google+, promises “Local Insiders” access to an […]
Google is experimenting with a “hyper-local news card” for Google Now that flags up location-specific information, such as nearby store promotions, social activities, or breaking news. The new card, currently in internal testing as Google works on the overall “Explore” experience, was confirmed by VP of search and assist at the company, Johanna Wright. Speaking
Google has revealed new Android and iPhone apps for Zagat, along with a redesigned website, hoping to address critics’ complaints that it has left the restaurant review service to stagnate since acquiring it in late 2011. The new apps now have restaurant news and videos integrated, and Google has dropped the registration and fees, making the ratings accessible to all.
Zagat now offers curated lists for locations, to help cut through the surfeit of choice and break down selections like the spiciest restaurants in New York City, the best San Francisco restaurants to try when everyone else is out of town, and the places to pick when you’re dining on an expense account in London’s Canary Wharf. They’re linked into Google’s existing search and map browsing, of course.
So far, nine cities – Austin, Boston, Chigaco, LA, NYC, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. in the US, and London in Europe – are supported with the new content. However, Google says it expects to expand to fifty locations worldwide.
Google “New Zagat” overview:
That will eventually include not only restaurants and nightlife, but hotels, recommended shops, and other points of interest. In the meantime, though, you may find that a city previously supported is now no longer included; Google says it will “soon make our existing ratings and reviews” available on the main site.
The new features and apps are a much-anticipated change to Zagat, which has been generally under-capitalized on since Google acquired it in October 2011. Then, the $151m deal was described as a way for the search company to bolster its review portfolio, though beyond Google+ Local integration there was little sign of product development.
Now, you’ll need a Google+ account to access the updated functionality, but there’s no subscription fee. Meanwhile, Google+ Local is being axed on August 7, meaning the dedicated Zagat app will be pushed to the fore.
Zagat rebooted as Google drops fees and revamps apps is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apple has been known to acquire small startup companies every now and then, and well they’re usually nothing to write home about, this one is particular interesting. The Cupertino-based company has acquired Locationary, a location data company that relies on crowd-sourced information for real-time data.
While Apple has declined to comment on the acquisition and what it plans to do with the new resources, it’s no doubt that the buyout will go towards improving Apple Maps, which experienced a dismal launch when it was released alongside iOS 6 last year. The company is continuing to make improvements, but it seems they’re wanting to add a bit more to it.
It’s possible that the Locationary acquisition may be the chance for Apple to put control of the Maps app into the users hands. Seeing as how Locationary is like a Wikipedia for local business listings, Apple could rely on its users to input points-of-interests and other landmarks to keep their maps up to date.
Apple could also make their Maps app a bit more like Waze, with crowd-sourced traffic information that Apple users could submit. Of course, this method isn’t entirely foolproof, but it’s treated Waze well, and it gives you a real-time look at travel information as you drive. Apple hasn’t been to open to the crowd-sourcing trend, so the likelihood of something like this happening seems pretty low. However, Apple has never been without surprises, so a crowd-sourced Apple Maps could be in the works in some way, but we’ll ultimately have to wait and see what happens.
SOURCE: AllThingsD
Apple acquires Locationary for crowd-sourced Maps improvement is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Google’s Alfred local recommendations app is to be shut down within days, the company has quietly confirmed to users, with users only having until the end of play today to extract their data. The notification of the July 19 shut-down was flagged up in the Alfred app itself, TechCrunch reports, and comes around 18 months after Google acquired the app as part of its Clever Sense buy in December 2011.
Alfred was part of an attempt to curate local places of interest – whether restaurants, bars, clubs, or cafes – based on places the user had previously visited. The app used Clever Sense’s homegrown recommendations engine, which integrated machine-learning and artificial intelligence to improve its suggestions over time.
However, Alfred also had bigger ambitions, at least at the time of Google’s acquisition. Deal recommendations were the most obvious cash-generator, similar to services like Groupon, along with plans to broaden the range of services that could be suggested, to include general local entertainment and more.
At the time, Google was seen as being keen to integrate Alfred’s AI into Android services, and indeed the presumed goal was to bake Alfred into Google Now – then unannounced, and known by its “Majel” codename.
However, in the intervening period it’s hard to see what benefits Google has taken from Clever Sense’s technology, at least on the face of things. The Alfred app has languished without an update for more than a year, and according to TechCrunch’s digging the team looks to have gradually shifted from its initial position at Google Places, to other areas of Google.
It’s not the only location-based service that Google has given its marching orders. Earlier this week, the company confirmed that Latitude, which allowed friends and family to share their locations with each other, had only a month to live. Instead, the check-in and location-sharing feature is being baked into Google+.
Google Alfred killed in latest location-services cull is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Google may have a new version of Google Maps to be excited about, but it’s also goodbye to some old features along the way, with the search giant announcing plans to retire Latitude and hopefully shift users to Google+ instead. Latitude has a month left to live and is in fact completely absent from the new version of Google Maps, but users won’t be able to avoid the shutdown by bypassing the upgrade since Google is axing server-side support – and Latitude friends lists – too. Meanwhile, offline mapping for Google Maps has been buried away as a bizarre “Easter egg” in the newest version.
Whereas before, Google Maps supported easy offline caching of a section of a map through the settings, now that option has been removed. Instead, Google says, offline support is being treated as a non-official feature in v.7 for Android; according to Abby DeBellis, Google Maps community manager, you’ll need to turn it on in a different, hidden way.
You can “pre-load an area of the map you need offline simply by going to that area in the app and typing “OK Maps” in the search box (or speaking “OK Maps” into your Android device)” DeBellis says. “That area will then be pre-loaded to your device cache and accessible when you don’t have a connection. Just return to that area of the map, and it will be available to you.”
It’s unclear why Google opted to remove the more readily-accessed support for offline caching, though a general reluctance to see users turn off data might be one reason. Having a persistent data connection means Google can serve up more promotional offers, for instance, which are now embedded right into the map itself.
For Latitude, meanwhile, it’s an attempt to shift users of the location-tracking service to Google+. Location sharing is supported in the Google+ Android app now, and will be enabled in the iOS app soon, Google says; any Latitude widgets you’re using will stop showing your location as of August 9.
“We’ll delete your list of friends on Latitude. You won’t be able to see or manage friends. Any existing friends will no longer see your location in Google Maps for mobile on Android, Latitude for iPhone, the public badge, the iGoogle Gadget, and the Latitude website at maps.google.com/latitude, if you continue to use these products” Google
More concerning, perhaps, if you’ve made good use of Latitude so far, is the fact that Google won’t be allowing any of the friend data built up in the service to be exported. If you’ve had Location History enabled then you’ll at least be able to suck out the list of places you’ve been using Google Takeout.
Third-party apps and services that currently use the Latitude API will lose access to users’ location too, though they’ll be allowed to keep their databases of positioning data.
Google kills Latitude and buries Google Maps offline is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Google has acquired crowdsourced-mapping company Waze in a $1.1bn deal, according to insiders familiar with the negotiations, with the well-rumored agreement potentially being confirmed sometime today. Whispers of the imminent deal resurfaced over the weekend, but according to Bloomberg‘s source, the talks have been finalized, though could still flounder on regulatory approval. Assuming it does,
Wikipedia has launched its first location-based feature for mobile readers, Wikipedia Nearby, which pulls up articles related to your current position. Described as the learning equivalent of services like Yelp, which show nearby coffee shops and entertainment, Wikipedia Nearby sifts through historic sites, parks, museums, and other points of interest, and also allows the reader to add to them while on the move.
Integration with the mobile device’s camera means Wikipedia Nearby users can snap a shot of the location and add that to the record, helping the open encyclopedia to add to its collection of imagery. Uploads are automatically classified with a free use license.
Wikipedia Nearby also works on the regular, desktop version of the site, though it might be less useful that way than on your phone. However, the Wikipedia Foundation believes that it could be a good first step to encouraging new editors, prompting them with a familiar topic that they could enhance with local knowledge.
“Along with the goal of bringing awareness of the surrounding areas to our existing readers, we hope that this simple tool can attract new editors to these articles, whether it is to update the information on the exhibits in a local museum, or simply to add a photo of a nearby park that is in severe need of a properly licensed lead image” Wikipedia Foundation
The new feature builds on existing location data that was already being added to Wikipedia’s many entries, though which until now had gone unused by any specific services. That includes theaters, religious buildings, points of natural beauty, and even famous or notorious restaurants and cafes.
Of course, something like Wikipedia Nearby will be even more useful when wearables like Google Glass grow in prevalence, augmented the real-world view of the wearer’s surroundings with snippets of historical and contextual data. So far, location-based services have focused more on transactions and entertainment, but there’s a huge space for more educational information to be added in.
[Thanks Toby!]
Wikipedia Nearby flags close-by curiosities on your smartphone is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
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