Google gets more local with "City Tours"... Looks like they are refining walking navigation...

Google gets more local with "City Tours"... Looks like they are refining walking navigation...

Google LatLong: Plan a trip in one click:

Monday, December 28, 2009 at 1:55 PM

Why should trip planning be any more complicated than opening your browser and entering the name of your favourite city? Six months ago we launched City Tours on Google Labs with the goal of making vacation planning as easy as searching the web. After all, Google knows the top sights in many cities around the world and we've been providing directions on Google Maps for years, so Google Labs seemed to be the perfect way to test out a combination of these two capabilities, with our computing power thrown in to sift through the thousands of possibilities."

Googles Nexus One Phone Specs: From Engadget

Googles Nexus One Phone Specs: From Engadget

Exclusive: Nexus One full specs detailed, invite-only retail sales starting January 5th? -- Engadget

Google Streetview as Art

Google captures life while capturing streets....

http://www.artfagcity.com/2009/08/12/img-mgmt-the-nine-eyes-of-google-street-view/

MapQuest realizes the importance of POI's.

MapQuest realizes the importance of POI's.

from MapQuest's Blog:

Over 700,000 New Business Listings Added To MapQuest.com - MapQuest Blog:

"Now you'll find more than 700,000 new and informative business listings nationwide in popular search categories such as restaurants, hotels, shopping, spas, bars, clubs and more through our partnership with Citysearch. In addition to more listings, you'll also find greater editorial content for each business including restaurant menus, coupons and special offers, business hours, and customer ratings and reviews, so you can search, research, and of course, get a map or directions to get there..."

The Future of Navigation More Connected Consumers, More Features (BizMappers)

The Future of Navigation More Connected Consumers, More Features (BizMappers):

Dec 18, 2009 -

Greater Accessibility of Navigation Technology on Various Platforms

The market for traditional navigation devices continues to grow but even greater growth is expected in smart phones -- handheld devices with navigation features. In 2007, the introduction of the iPhone which made navigation technology available to a broader base of consumers through downloadable applications or 'apps.' That means navigation devices are not just on the dashboard. They are now in the hands of teens and adults, driving their choices from where to stop for services, shop or dine.

We can expect navigation system ownership (of in-vehicle systems, portable systems or navigation-equipped smart phones) to have doubled from 56.4 million households today to more than 110 million households by 2013, meaning 89.5% of US households will then own navigation devices.* Such widespread use of navigation technology creates a major shift in how businesses can best reach current customers and attract new ones..."

Consumer Reports Blog: Consumer Reports GPS navigation chat

Consumer Reports Blog: Consumer Reports GPS navigation chat:

December 15, 2009

Consumer Reports GPS navigation chat


With the holidays nearing closer and only a few more shopping days left, Consumer Reports experts were online Tuesday December 15th at 1 p.m. ET, to discuss portable GPS navigation systems and give advice how to choose the right one.

We recently updated our GPS ratings with the latest models out in the market ranging from basic navigators to traffic-ready models with features such as Bluetooth calling and spoken street names. In addition, we have updated our handheld hiking GPS ratings and reviewed several navigation apps for the iPhone. (See the hiking GPS buying advice.)...

Yahoo! Search Blog - Yahoo enhances search with improved local search results...rch for Local Businesses

Yahoo! Search Blog - Get More Personally Relevant Results When You Search for Local Businesses:

We just made it easier to search for local businesses. Starting today, you can see the Yahoo! local business shortcut when you search for a business, even if you don’t include your location in your query. You can also refine results by neighborhood or nearby city right on the search results page.

We’ve seen in our user studies that, in many cases, users search for a local business without specifying a location but still want to see a Yahoo! Shortcut for that business. Now, they can. For example, if you are in the Palo Alto area and search for “evvia,” Yahoo! Search displays the local shortcut for the restaurant, including address, phone number, and reviews...."

Google updates Place Pages.......

Google updates Place Pages.......

Google LatLong: Go beyond just a few stars: See what makes a business shine:

"Go beyond just a few stars: See what makes a business shine
Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 1:35 PM

Today, we launched a new feature to rank and show distinguishing aspects for businesses on their Place Pages. By taking a look at a Place Page, you can quickly get a better sense of what people are saying about a business and view relevant snippets about each specific aspect (say, the price, the service, or the infamous deep dish pizza) from all over the web. You can then dive deeper by going to the source and reading the full reviews. The new color-coded bars will give you a simple numeric overview of the how the business rates on each feature."

Map Quest playing catch-up w/ Street-Level Imagery

Map Quest playing catch-up w/ Street-Level Imagery

Street-Level Imagery Comes To MapQuest.com as "360 View" - MapQuest Blog:

"Street-Level Imagery Comes To MapQuest.com as '360 View'
Posted Dec 11th 2009 5:50AM by Jarrod Krug
Filed under: Features and Improvements
With 2009 quickly coming to a close, we at MapQuest have a few more tricks up our sleeve before we all ring-in the New Year. One surprise that we are particularly excited about is our new '360 View'. That's right, street-level imagery has come to MapQuest.com, just in time for the holidays!

What is 360 View?
As the name implies, 360� view provides fantastic panoramic views (360� horizontally and 160� vertically) of any given image within the 360 View coverage area (initially 30 cities and 15 13 suburbs across the United States with more to come). We have studied our industry, gleaning tidbits here and there, and polled our customer base in creating a simple, easy-to-use interface that fits seamlessly into the MapQuest mapping experience you have come to know and understand. Best of all, MapQuest 360 View 'just works' without requiring any non-standard 3rd party player downloads."

Location Marketing in the Information Age

By Patrick@BizMappers.com, Dec. 7, 2009.

How is your business mapped in a potential customer's search on Google or Bing? How about when that customer searches on an iPhone or GPS device?

The answer is becoming more critical every day to the success of restaurants, retail outlets and any other business that serves customers at a physical location. Business owners need to review the way their businesses are listed online, correct any omissions or errors and provide a full and properly organized profile of contact information, hours and other relevant details to the databases that feed these devices. A missing, incomplete or incorrect listing will cost you customers...

Continue Reading

GPS systems and garage door openers convenient for break-ins -- NaviGadget

GPS systems and garage door openers convenient for break-ins -- NaviGadget:

"Two men in Michigan and Ohio just got caught stealing GPS navigation systems and remote garage door openers to break-in victims’ homes.

They would mostly target movie theater and restaurant parking lots, break into vehicles, and then use the ‘home’ address in the navigation system to go to their home and break-in without any difficultly using the garage door opener."

Thanks NaviGadget for the heads up.

Official Google Blog: Explore a whole new way to window shop, with Google and your mobile phone

Official Google Blog: Explore a whole new way to window shop, with Google and your mobile phone

Explore a whole new way to window shop, with Google and your mobile phone

12/07/2009 06:00:00 AM

What if you could decide where to shop, eat or hang out, with a little help from local Google users?

It might take you a while to ask them all, so to make it easier we've launched a new effort to send window decals to over 100,000 local businesses in the U.S. that have been the most sought out and researched on Google.com and Google Maps. We're calling these businesses the "Favorite Places on Google" and you'll now start to find them in over 9,000 towns and cities, in all 50 states. You can also explore a sample of the Favorite Places in 20 of the largest U.S. cities at google.com/favoriteplaces. Each window decal has a unique bar code,known as a QR code that you can scan with any of hundreds of mobile devices — including iPhone, Android-powered phones, BlackBerry and more — to take you directly to that business's Place Page on your mobile phone. With your mobile phone and these new decals, you can easily go up to a storefront and immediately find reviews, get a coupon if the business is offering one or star a business as a place you want to remember for the future. Soon, you'll be able to leave a review on the mobile page as well, just like on your desktop.

What's nearby? Official Google Mobile Blog: Mobile Search for a New Era: Voice, Location and Sight

Official Google Mobile Blog: Mobile Search for a New Era: Voice, Location and Sight

Search by Location
Search by Voice
Search by Sight

Read More...

Bing Maps Beta: The Good and the Bad - PC World

Bing Maps Beta: The Good and the Bad - PC World:

Jared Newman
Dec 3, 2009 10:48 am
It's tempting to compare Bing Maps Beta, Microsoft's revamped mapping service, to Google Maps. And the two services do have plenty of common features. But once you start exploring Bing Maps Beta, you'll find lots of features that Google Maps doesn't have, so let's examine those features on their own merits...."

Thanks PC World

PublicEarth: "5 million POIs at launch" from GPS Bus. News

From GPS Business News:
PublicEarth: "5 million POIs at launch":

Global explorer Duncan McCall created PublicEarth after years of traveling the world, sharing information with fellow travelers on paper maps, while trying to avoid difficult border crossings and, occasionally, landmine fields. Self-described as the 'Wiki of Places', PublicEarth was launched two weeks ago with mission to offer a comprehensive database of detailed long-tail information..." (more)

Thanks GPS Business News

From PocketGPSWorld.com ~ Have iPhone will travel iPhone Navigation Apps compared

From PocketGPSWorld.com :
Have iPhone will travel iPhone Navigation Apps compared: "Applications Compared ... used the latest versions of the applications from the AppStore available as of October 15th 2009. Some of these have been updated since then, so check our website for current details. The Apps looked at were:

CoPilot 8.0.0.417
G-Map 1.3.1
Navigon US 1.2
NavNGo iGo 8.4.2.96110
Sygic Mobile Maps 7.71
TomTom 1.0 (8.150)
Reliability

The main question needed to answer was: 'Is the iPhone a competent device for navigation'."....

Thanks PocketGPSWorld.com

From the Official Google Mobile Blog: Keep your starred items in sync with Google Maps

Official Google Mobile Blog: Keep your starred items in sync with Google Maps:

Wednesday, December 2, 2009 7:50 AM

Google Maps for mobile has long allowed you to add stars on a map to mark your favorite places. You may have noticed a few months ago that Google Maps for desktop browsers introduced the ability to star places as well. Unfortunately, there was no way to keep these starred places in sync with Google Maps on your phone. With today's release of Google Maps for mobile 3.3 on Windows Mobile and Symbian phones, you'll now be able to keep the starred places on your phone and on your computer completely synchronized."...

Google Maps Streetview has competition: Bing - Bing Maps Adds Streetside, Enhanced Bird’s Eye, Photosynth and More - Bing Maps Blog - Bing Community

Google Maps Streetview has competition:

Bing - Bing Maps Adds Streetside, Enhanced Bird’s Eye, Photosynth and More - Bing Maps Blog - Bing Community:

...Streetside photography in Bing Maps...

... two new map modes – Streetside and Enhanced Bird’s Eye."...