January 26, 2012
Now checking for official emergency alerts is easier than ever before. Google is combining data from the US National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration and the National Weather Service with Maps to provide location-based emergency information through Google Maps. Alerts will appear when users search for specific locations and emergencies.
December 1, 2011
Google Maps for mobile is 6 years old (happy birthday!). To celebrate the occasion, Google launched Google Maps 6.0 for Android. The updated version of the app includes the much-anticipated indoor maps (a feature which has been available on Bing Maps for several months now), along with some other small goodies that are aimed at a better user experience.
November 18, 2011
With online maps it’s not only about directions anymore. Even Google Maps hasn’t been able to satisfy a lot of people. You can see them displaying their (free) wares on the Chrome Web Store and telling Google Maps engineers what the online mapping application is missing.
November 15, 2011
Google Maps for Android recently received a minor update, which is available on the Android market. The most important new feature added in this update is “live events”. The concept is as it sounds. Now, in supported cities, you’ll be able to find events that are happening or will be happening – such as concerts and plays – near your location using Google Maps and your smartphone’s GPS.
October 31, 2011
Google Maps has powerful uses apart from helping us not lose our way. But even if you are an intrepid explorer, there are chances that you wouldn’t get to see some of the crazier places on our big blue planet. Some of them might not be travel spots in that sense, but simply strange oddities dotted around the globe. Switch on Google Maps and its Satellite View to catch some of them.
October 29, 2011
Users of Google Maps’ API will soon have to start paying for usage. The general price will be $4 per 1,000 map loads, but there are some allowances and ways to lower costs. A “map load” is counted when a user opens a page which contains the Maps API. The number of times the user clicks on the map, uses the map or the exact usage of the map, doesn’t matter for pricing purposes.
August 31, 2011
Do you know you can find anything on a map these days? Columbus might have disagreed, but aren’t maps made for that very purpose? Well, I was talking more along the lines of finding offbeat things like CIA secret prisons to free beer (ok nix that last one…it’s more in my imagination!). But thanks to the Google Maps API and innovative minds, we have a glut of mashups detailing everything on a map.
August 22, 2011
Come rain or sunshine, Google has brought a little more visual clarity to its online weather app. With Google Maps you can now instantly see weather conditions on top of the map. Whether you’re traveling across the state, the country or the world, Google Maps will let you know if you need an umbrella, summer dress attire, or snow boots for your final destination.
July 7, 2011
Google has updated the Google Maps app for Android, unveiling version 5.7. This latest incarnation adds Transit Navigation, a new feature that promises to make untangling the web of bus routes found in many major metro areas easier. A transit route feature was already a part of the Google Maps app, but only provided route information.
June 29, 2011
Google Street View is a feature both on Google Maps and Google Earth that brings you panoramic 360 degree views from many locations around the world. It started from the United States and now embraces all the continents (even Antarctica). Google Street View has also given rise to a motley of websites and apps – some fun, some really useful. Let’s check out six of them.
