If you’ve upgraded to iOS 6, you’re probably—quite literally—lost. But the staff at Hackney Wick underground station in London have found a solution: iOS 6 users might be best off reverting to a good ol’ fashioned paper map. [Ben Mathis via Pocket-lint] More »
Though it might look a lot like your typical circuit board on first glance, this board designed by Yuri Suzuki actually hides the London Underground Map in plain sight. As you look closer, you’ll see all the resistors and components matching up to re-create the London Tube. More »
Just last week, Nokia’s augmented reality app known as City Lens broke free of its beta shackles, but its developers are hardly sitting on their laurels as they help prepare the company’s Windows Phone 8 handsets for store shelves. New to the Lumia 920 and Lumia 820, Nokia has announced a refined version of City Lens replete with 3D icons and the ability to disable suggestions that aren’t within the line of sight. Also on deck, users will be able to query their surroundings more quickly by pinning categories to the home screen and storing favorite searches. As one final addition, Nokia will be introducing the ability to use City Lens in both portrait and landscape orientation. Unfortunately, the company hasn’t committed to these new features for the Windows Phone 7.5 version of its app. For a quick peek of what’s next, just hop the break for a video teaser from Nokia.
Continue reading Nokia reveals new City Lens augmented reality app for Windows Phone 8 lineup
Filed under: Cellphones, GPS, Software, Mobile
Nokia reveals new City Lens augmented reality app for Windows Phone 8 lineup originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 11 Sep 2012 02:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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They say you should never learn how the sausage gets made, but we’re willing to make an exception for Google Maps. Talking to The Atlantic, Google has revealed just how much the human element figures into all that collected satellite imagery and road data. Many pieces of terrain information are tested and modified against what Google calls Ground Truth: actual driving, alternate sources and sign photos automatically extracted from Street View runs. Google isn’t just making the occasional correction, either. Mapping a country can take hundreds of staff plugging away at the company’s Atlas tool, even before we get a crack with Google Map Maker. The combination of man and machine helps explain why Google Maps is one of the most accurate sources of location information on Earth — although the firm does have some catching up to do in space.
Filed under: GPS, Internet, Alt
Google Maps creation put under the microscope, reveals a human touch originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Sep 2012 05:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
With just a day to go, Nokia has pushed out another brief teaser, this time pointing towards more map-based contextual functionality. It looks like whatever the company’s got up its sleeves, alongside any new Lumia hardware, should include some map-based social network chops and City Lens features — not much of a shocker given that the latter has just shed its beta status.
Update: Nokia’s throw out another video — which reveals that its good-looking star does manage to find those shoes. Phew. We’ve added it after the break.
Continue reading Nokia invites you to stay tuned, offers augmented reality teaser (updated)
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Nokia invites you to stay tuned, offers augmented reality teaser (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 04 Sep 2012 03:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
It looks like Nokia’s strategy to become the go-to company for location-based services is gaining traction, as anonymous sources of Reuters suggest that Amazon will tap the Finnish company to provide mapping data for its upcoming tablet. The report contends that location-aware features will be core to Amazon’s Kindle Fire successor, which is widely expected to debut on September 6th. If true, the move represents a continuation of Amazon’s desire to create an ecosystem that’s far removed from Google own content offerings. On the plus side, it brings the possibility that some excellent offline navigation capabilities may be in the pipeline. Whatever the case may be, we’re sure to know the truth very shortly.
Filed under: GPS, Tablets, Software
Amazon reportedly licenses Nokia mapping technologies for Kindle Fire successor originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 30 Aug 2012 21:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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The FCC has been providing regular updates on the progress of broadband rollout in the United States for some time now, but it’s gone a bit further with for its latest Broadband Progress Report. It’s now also released in a new web-based interactive map that that lets you zoom in on broadband availability county-by-county to get a better picture of all that data, with details on things like population, income and access to different types of broadband provided for each area. In case you missed it, the report itself found that 19 million Americans lack access to any sort of fixed broadband service, and that a further 100 million haven’t subscribed to a broadband service even in areas where it is available. You can find an embedded version of the map after the break, or a larger version at the source link below.
Continue reading FCC releases interactive map for latest Broadband Progress Report
Filed under: Networking, Internet
FCC releases interactive map for latest Broadband Progress Report originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Aug 2012 20:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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For a country that dominates the Latin American landscape, Brazil hasn’t had much of a presence in Google Street View outside of major cities like Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo. A fresh update to Street View coverage has just gone live that fleshes out the the more far-flung corners of the map. It’s now possible to see what it’s like on the ground in much of the southern tip of the country as well as the northern coastline. Further north, Mexicans get their own treat: Google is now providing the panoramic views for ancient ruins such as Chichen Itza and Teotihuacan, just in case you’d rather not try to blend in with all the other tourists. The widened reach is undoubtedly no match for booking a flight and visiting in person, but it will save you the trouble of brushing up on your Portugese or ancient Mayan.
Filed under: Internet
Google Street View expands to cover swaths of Brazil and Mexican ruins, won’t substitute for a vacation originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Aug 2012 13:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
This beautiful Game of Thrones version of Risk was created by Fay Helfer. The detail is amazing and the set comes complete with pyrography artwork and a detailed, carved map of Westeros. It was made as a commission for Matt B, who is now the envy of the interwebs.
The surface of the board and the case are apparently made from wood that was hand carved and burned. Westeros was already a beautiful 2D map, but this this game is even more lovely and blows that out of the water. There are also fabric pouches included in the box which hold the game pieces.
If only I had the extra money, I would commission one for myself. You did a great job Fay.
[via W.I.C. via Nerd Approved]
When you punch into Google, why is California so… Google autocomplete will show you liberal, broke, anti-gun and expensive. For New York? Great, populated, expensive and big. Alabama? So racist, so good, so good at football and so obese. This is the United States of America, according to Google autocomplete. More »
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