Hasta La Gadget!

Nokia revealed their new mapping service dubbed HERE, which is aiming to take on the likes of Google and Microsoft, both of which have respectable mapping services. Nokia’s HERE is essentially just a rebrand of their current mapping solution, but it now includes more features and improved maps and 3D views.

The company launched an iOS app of HERE Maps, and they even partnered with Mozilla to bring integrated HERE maps to the Firefox OS. The mobile web version of HERE on the Firefox OS is expected to be released sometime next year. Nokia also demonstrated an Android app and announced plans for a HERE SDK for Android coming in early 2013.

To improve the mapping service even more, Nokia acquired 3D mapping company earthmine to bring advanced 3D imagery to HERE in order to take on Google’s Street View service. earthmine has been around since 2006, so the company’s expertise and experience will no doubt help Nokia achieve its goals of a better map service.

You can start using the new service now, since Nokia has launched the website HERE.net. Zooming in and moving around can be a little rough at times, but Nokia seems to be committed to wanting to improve the service over the next couple of years in order to make it a true contender against Google Maps and Bing Maps.

Nokia unveils HERE mapping service to take on Google Maps is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Google Maps can be said to be one of the more comprehensive mapping apps to date regardless of platform, and works best on a computer with the inclusion of Street View that allows you to check out panoramic views of different places worldwide, ranging from the Swiss Alps to the Amazon to Antarctica, in addition to a slew of urban cities, university campuses, ancient ruins and ski resorts among others. This time around, the Google Maps team decided to make Street View more complete by traversing the Grand Canyon with Trekker, the backpack camera which is able to capture 360-degree images.

The Trekker is operator controlled using an Android-powered smartphone, where it will automatically snap photos as one walks, allowing one to gather high-quality imagery from places which can only be accessed by foot. Expect images from the South Rim at Grand Canyon National Park to be up for public viewing in due time.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google brings panoramic imagery to Street View for Antarctica, Google improves Street View in California, brings panoramic views to five national parks,

Google has taken to the Grand Canyon with unwieldy backpacks to gather Street View photography, continuing its expansion of Google Maps and cocking a further snook at Apple’s upstart iOS rival app. The Street View team is sporting Trekker backpacks, Google writes, complete with bulbous 360-degree cameras that can gather imagery from all angles simultaneously.

Trekker is controlled via an Android smartphone but is generally autonomous, snapping shots as the wearer wanders around. Although Google’s Street View photography cars have become a more frequent sighting on roads – Google added 250,000 more miles of coverage earlier this month, for instance – the backpack system is slower but allows for terrain not usually accessible to be recorded.

According to Google, sections of the South Rim – including the ridge, Bright Angel Trail, South Kaibab Trail, and other locations – are all being mapped out. It’s not clear how many Trekker cameras the team has taken with it, though there are at least three being used.

Photography from the excursion will be added “soon” Google says, and of course even with Apple replacing Google Maps on iOS with its own Apple Maps, users of iPhones, iPads, and other iOS hardware will be able to access Street View in the browser. While you’re waiting, you could always take a Street View tour through one of Google’s data centers, where all that photography will soon be residing.

Google Street View maps the Grand Canyon with camera-backpacks is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Ever wonder how Google can make such grandiose claims for the sheer amount of Street View imagery it collects? Here’s how. Google’s Masrur Odinaev has posted a snapshot of a central mapping car parking lot that shows dozens of the camera-equipped Subaru Imprezas amassed ahead of future runs. While it already represents more Street View cars in one place than anyone outside of Google would normally ever see, what’s most impressive is remembering that this addresses just a portion of the entire vehicle mix — aside from the local cars you don’t see in the photo, there are extra units worldwide providing street-level coverage alongside tricycles and underwater expeditions. Odinaev’s look reminds us just how much effort is needed to make Street View a common feature — and that there are are legions of Google staffers whose low-profile work goes a long way towards making our navigation easier.

Filed under: GPS, Transportation, Internet, Google

Visualized: Google Street View car fleet gets ready to conquer (and map) the world originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Oct 2012 02:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google’s Maps is certainly going great guns, regardless of the platform it is on, and the latest update to the Street View feature is the biggest and most comprehensive to date, doubling the number of special collections while updating more than 250,000 miles of roads worldwide. Not only that, Street View coverage is being increased by the – well, I’m all out of adjectives here, but a whole lot in countries such as Macau, Singapore, Sweden, the U.S., Thailand, Taiwan, Italy, Great Britain, Denmark, Norway and Canada. Not only that, countries such as South Africa, Japan, Spain, France, Brazil and Mexico among others will be receiving a special collection of sorts.

You can now explore new places directly in Google Maps, and the places include parks, city centers, castles and tourist attractions including the Catherine Palace and Ferapontov monastery in Russia, the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taiwan, or Stanley Park in Vancouver. Heck, why not traipse through Singapore’s Fort Canning Park without having to leave home, and not subjecting yourself to the hot and sweltering weather?

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Google Street View imagery to arrive on Mobile Safari in a fortnight?, Google Street View checks out the Kennedy Space Center,