Hasta La Gadget!

According to Bernhard Seefeld, product management director at Google Maps, “this is the most significant overhaul of Maps since it launched in 2005.” We sat down with both Seefeld as well as Jonah Jones — lead designer of Google Maps — following a marathon keynote to kick off Google I/O. Their slice of the event centered around the desktop refresh of Google Maps, but there’s actually a lot more to be excited about than what was announced today. Essentially, the preview that I/O attendees were granted access to is the first instance of Maps for desktop using vectors instead of tiles. In lay terms, that’s a far sexier rendering engine, and users of the mobile Maps products will already be familiar with how it feels. Seefeld affirmed that the new desktop Maps is slightly quicker to load, but you’ll want a WebGL-supporting browser to take advantage of the bells and whistles. (In our tests, the Maps experience was far superior in Chrome compared to Firefox.)

We toyed around with the new layout for a bit, and overall, it looks and feels better. Refreshing, you could say. The search box is now entirely more useful, popping up intelligent cards beneath places you search for. You’ll have glanceable access to operating hours, surrounding traffic and recommended places — that’s not new, it’s just surfaced in a more sensible way now. There’s also dedicated shortcuts to directions and starring. Visually, it looks a lot nicer, the zooms are a little cleaner, and the search box is a tad more useful. Street View is accessed via the search box now, and there’s a toggle on the right side that overlays Google Earth data and (impressively) shows it from varying degrees of tilt. The magic really begins after you sign in with your Google account. If you’ve starred or rated a restaurant using Google Maps or Google+, for example, it’ll automatically populate recommended eateries that your friends have rated highly. If, of course, your friends are using Google+.

Filed under: GPS, Software, Google

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Source: Google Maps preview

Google Glass Explorers looking for turn-by-turn directions and text messages to be displayed from the device must pair the wearable with an Android smartphone, and a companion app. But that could soon change, according to a TechCrunch report. When writer Frederic Lardinois went to pick up his Glass yesterday afternoon, a Google rep explained that the headset will soon be able to display directions and text messages within the device — in other words, you won’t need a smartphone to act as the middleman. You will, of course, still need to source your web connection through another device, unless there’s a WiFi hotspot around, but this new method will at very least enable a bit more functionality for iPhone users. It’s unclear whether Glass will also still need to pull GPS data from a synced handset, so don’t make any plans to ditch your smartphone just yet.

Filed under: Displays, GPS, Wearables, Wireless, Google

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Source: TechCrunch

Telenav has long been a purveyor of navigation apps for phones, browsers, and cars, but today the company’s revealed Scout for Cars: Built In to bring those platforms together. It’s an in-dash system that provides both the form factor and UX optimized for autos and all the features of the Scout for Phones app. It works using Bluetooth to connect to iOS, Android, or Windows Phone devices to sync your info and let you access the mobile app’s current map info. It also borrows your phone’s data connection, which gives users access to voice control and search and discovery features, plus real-time weather and traffic updates using the in-dash touchscreen.

Scout for Cars: Built In can also seamlessly hand off navigation duties to the phone when you exit your car — a convenient feature for folks as directionally challenged on foot as they are behind the wheel. And, if you’re worried about getting lost should you forget to bring your phone, fear not, for Scout for Cars: Built In uses your handset to provide a better experience, but it’s not dependent upon it, so it still gets you where you need to go on its own. The system is currently available to automakers right now, so the system should be finding its way into dealerships sometime soon.

Filed under: GPS, Transportation

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Before satellites, getting from A to B without radio signals involved cumbersome inertial systems found only on advanced civilian and military aircraft. Those are still the best backup for GPS, and working with the University of Michigan, DARPA has found a way to reduce the once fridge-sized units to half the width of your fingernail. The chips contain everything needed for precise navigation including an accurate master clock, a three-axis gyroscope and three accelerometers, all contained in three hair-width layers. If it gets out of the lab, it would give soldiers another option in the event of an enemy GPS attack or when they’re in a tunnel, and might even guide you to that Macy’s restroom if it ever hits civilian form.

Filed under: GPS, Science

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Via: Gizmag

Source: DARPA

Japanese users of Apple Maps are facing challenges if they want to use the mapping service from Apple. This week Apple updated its map service and some of the changes behind the scenes fixed a handful of problems Japanese users faced. One of the big changes to the service has been with pronunciation.

Changes to the pronunciation used during turn-by-turn navigation were made. The updated app also alerts drivers to toll roads and has improved labels for points of interest. Labels for other important locations such as subways, freeways, and hospitals were also improved.

Reports indicate that some important locations within Japan were upgraded with 3-D building renderings, such as landmarks like Tokyo station and Tokyo Tower. Freeways are now also marked in green making them stand out from other roadways. Apple has made a particularly big deal about the updates to its map service.

However, Apple’s maps service has been harshly criticized by users all around the world with some, the maps outright dangerous. Maps launch on Apple devices along with iOS 6 back in September. Early on Apple Maps were so bad that many users opted for alternatives such as the new Google Maps app.

[via CNET]

Apple Maps gets update for Japan is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
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