Hasta La Gadget!

There’s more than a few unkind words to be said about Apple’s decision to boot out Google Maps and use their own, hobbled version instead. Didn’t someone just get fired over this? That being said, I wonder if Bilbo Baggins had used an iPhone 5 and iOS 6 Maps, would he have gotten completely lost? The guys over at Bullz-Eye wondered the same, and came up with this approximation of what his journey might have looked like.

Just like many people, I’m pretty sure that he might have gotten lost using iOS 6 Maps, going many days out of the way on his trek to Lonely Mountain. Unfortunately, Google Maps hasn’t yet released their anticipated iOS app yet, so unless Bilbo has an Android phone, he’s out of luck for now.

It does make you think about when was the last time you pulled out a paper map. Smartphone and car GPS maps are way more convenient to use, and even if you get lost, you can find your way back pretty quickly. Unless it happens to be one of these places.

[via Bullz-Eye]

Crossfader has developed Version 1.4 of AR-MAPS, an iPhone app that supports augmented reality (AR) on maps. AR is one of visualization solutions. This map application represents the ground on the bottom half of the screen, showing a map there. On the top half, it shows a video, with AR tags attached to destinations on it. This makes navigation easier to visualize.
“AR-MAPS supports the iPhone. On the iPhone 5 (recommended models are iPhone 4S/5), you can choose between standard maps and …

Everyone knows that Google prides itself on mapping accuracy. If you hadn’t checked beyond the base maps in the past few years, though, you’d have thought the terrain was charted in the “here be dragons” era — it’s been as flat as a board. Take a second look today. Google has overhauled Google Maps worldwide to show hills, deserts and lush zones by default, as well as label the geographical features that hadn’t previously been identifiable in a sea of white. The map overhaul isn’t so nuanced enough as to remind us how steep the hills can be in San Francisco, but it will remind us that Gobi refers to more than just a chipset.

Filed under: GPS, Internet, Google

Google Maps adds natural terrain by default outside of satellite views, reminds us the world isn’t flat originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 26 Oct 2012 17:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The fine, well labeled lines of Google Maps may show a clean layout of your neighborhood, but without buildings, it looks too much like a two-dimensional spread of undeveloped tract housing. Google’s finally filling in the gaps, outlining 25 million building footprints in cities all across the United States. Residents of Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Houston, Detroit and other cities can now see the familiar outlines of their local stomping ground on the services’ mobile and desktop maps. Most of these buildings were algorithmically generated from aerial photographs,locals can pen in their own content by using Google Map Maker to add new buildings or tag their favorite local eatery. The tweak sounds minor, but it certainly makes the standard map’s criss-cross of roads look more familiar. Check out the official Google Lat Long blog below for more details.

Filed under: Software, Google

Google draws 25 million new building footprints in Maps, shapes up your neighborhood originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Oct 2012 08:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google has been significantly expanding its Maps offerings for a long time. When the service first started one of the only things you could do was get directions to places you wanted to go. Over time, Google expanded offerings with Street View showing you exactly what the roads in the area you were looking at were like.

Google also started venturing inside businesses along the routes to give you interior views of shops and restaurants. Google has announced the launch of its first ever underwater views thanks to a partnership with The Caitlin Seaview Survey.

Google is now offering images of underwater beauty in spots including Hawaii, The Great Barrier Reef, and the Philippines.

Imagery is limited right now and rather difficult to spot. Areas where you can view underwater sights are marked with an orange circle on Google’s normal maps. That orange circle shows up when you’re almost fully zoomed in. But if you want to dive right in without looking for a needle in a haystack, head on over to maps.google.com/ocean.

I think this is a really cool update and I hope Google expands the available underwater views.

[via TechCrunch]