Hasta La Gadget!

Public transportation carries millions upon millions of people to and from their destinations every day, so it makes sense that Google is wanting to bump up its public transit options in Google Maps. Case in point: the company just released live transit information for New York City and Salt Lake City, while adding service alerts in Washington DC.

Public transit users will be able to check live departure times for seven subway lines in New York City, as well as buses and trams in Salt Lake City in the great state of Utah. In Washington DC, Metro riders will now be able to receive service alerts that include delays, construction work, and any other situations that could make you late for work.

Google is making more and more strides with its mass transit features, while Apple’s own map solution doesn’t seem to be wanting to go anywhere when it comes to public transportation. In any case, Google says that mass transit information is available in approximately 800 cities around the world, including more than 25 countries.

Google says their mass transit coverage covers around 100 million miles of public transit trips every day — that’s a lot of subways, busses, and trams to keep track of. With New York City having the busiest subway system in the US, it’s actually about time that Google brought its live transit feature to the Big Apple.

Google brings live transit data to New York and Salt Lake City is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

This will be awesome and also deeply unsanitary. New York City has hired a company called Control Group to install 90 47-inch touchscreen subway maps around the city. It looks like real life world-of-tomorrow type stuff. More »

A helicopter flyover of a crowded urban city can make for an awesome and dramatic establishing shot in a film. But an expensive one, too, making them impractical for most amateur filmmakers. Or so we assumed until we saw the fantastic flyover footage Paul Wex was able to create using Nokia’s Here mapping service, and a hell of a lot of patience. More »

It seems that Google isn’t quite done shaking things up yet. After Andy Rubin stepped down as Android’s head and Google Reader getting the ax, it’s reported that the company is breaking up its maps and commerce businesses, with the SVP of Geo and Commerce at Google, Jeff Huber stepping down to join the Google X team instead.

According to the Wall Street Journal, an unnamed source said that Google’s maps division will now be a part of Google’s search unit, while commerce will join the company’s advertising division. Huber will be stepping down for his current and will join Google X, the division that’s responsible for Google Glass and the company’s self-driving car technology.

There are not a lot of details at the moment, but it’s said that the change was announced internally yesterday around the same time that it was announced that Andy Rubin would be leaving Android. Google has declined to comment on the situation, but if it turns out to be true, we should be seeing an official announcement sometime soon.

This report comes just days after long-time Android chief Andy Rubin stepped down from the division in order to take on a separate role. Android’s new chief will be Sundar Pichai, who is the current head of Chrome OS and the Chrome web browser, which means we could see a merging of the new platforms at some point.

[via Wall Street Journal]

Google breaking up maps and commerce business, SVP joins Google X is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Indoor navigation isn’t a new concept, but it often requires wireless signals or custom infrastructure, neither of which are entirely reliable. Cambridge Consultants has come up with an as-yet-unnamed technology that purports to solve the issue by utilizing low-power sensors along with a custom formula that don’t require an existing framework. According to the Cambridge, UK-based company, all you need are its special Bayesian algorithm and run-of-the-mill smartphone components like accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers to do the job. It has already built a concept chipset (seen above) that could be embedded in existing devices — you can either map your location directly on it or send that info off to a remote system. The firm says the technology will be useful for firefighters and hospital workers, though we wouldn’t complain if it’s implemented in trade shows either. For more information on the tech, check the press release after the break.

Filed under: Cellphones, GPS

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Source: Cambridge Consultants