Hasta La Gadget!

iPhone users may find some relief with the recent announcement of the free Nokia HERE Maps for iPhone. This version of Nokia HERE Maps is based on HTML5, which may raise a red flag for those who prefer native applications for performance reasons, but Nokia’s live demonstration looked pretty good – better than using Google Maps in web mode, which we tried during a recent overseas trip.

This version of Nokia Maps features everything that Windows Phone users are already familiar with, including the public transportation data that is still missing from Apple Maps. The design of the maps themselves is arguably not as nice as Apple’s or Google’s, but this is a case where functionality may ultimately trump “pretty”, that’s really up to each user to decide but at the very least, it’s a nice option to have.

Nokia Maps has been submitted to the App Store and it is pending approval from Apple. It’s free, so there’s really no downside in trying it. Keep an eye on the Apple store for this one, we know that we’ll take it for a spin when it is available.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Nokia HERE Maps SDK lands on Android in Q1 2013, Nokia Maps gets Groupon deals,

Google wants you to think locally with its new Map Maker update featuring neighborhoods and an Activity Stream to track mapping changes. The site now launches into My Neighborhood mode, suggesting places you’ve rated or searched on Google Maps and allowing you to add and edit your own haunts. From there, a list of your changes (or those of other users) can be viewed in the left-hand pane and filtered by review, date or category. You can also see additions anywhere in your current map view by panning, zooming or searching and even help other users out by reviewing pending edits. If you’re ready to channel your inner cartographer, check the source.

Filed under: Internet, Software, Google

Updated Google Map Maker accents neighborhoods, shows changes in Activity Stream originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Nov 2012 10:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You might remember Google’s unveiling this spring of the Street View Trekker, a seeming cross between a backpack and Van de Graaff generator that lets the mapping team produce 360-degree imagery where even trikes dare not tread. The portable camera ball is just going on its first trip, and Google has chosen the most natural destination for a novice tourist — the Grand Canyon, of course. Staffers with Trekkers are currently walking trails along the South Rim of the canyon to provide both eye-level points of reference for wayward hikers as well as some breathtaking, controllable panoramas for those who can’t (or won’t) make it to Arizona. Once the photos make it to Street View sometime in the undefined near future, it’ll be that much easier to turn down Aunt Matilda’s 3-hour vacation slideshow.

Filed under: GPS, Internet, Google

Google Trekker goes to the Grand Canyon, takes Street View souvenirs back home originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Oct 2012 20:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The ability to see maps in buildings and landscapes in 3D makes following along considerably easier than with just 2D. So researchers at the University of Washington have made generating 3D models of a given location dead simple using custom software and nothing more than a webcam timelapse video of the spot captured on a sunny day. More »

While the hubbub surrounding Apple Maps on iOS 6 has been somewhat sedated, some people who made the move to Google Maps’ web app had been further encouraged by word that it’d be getting Street View imagery soon. And what do you know, barely seven days into the estimated “in two weeks” and here it is. Search for a location (no long press yet), and you’ll spy the familiar icon bottom right. This appears in both Chrome and Safari. While perhaps still not quite as slick as the good old app of yore, a definite panacea for all those iOS toutin’ virtual tourists.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Apple, Google

Street View comes to Google Maps web app on iOS, just like they said it would originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Oct 2012 04:48:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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