Two Sweet Google Maps Developments
I’ve always considered Google Maps the best online mapping software. Irrespective of how you feel about Google jumping onto the AJAX/Web 2.0 bandwagon, it’s hard to argue that the application’s ease of use isn’t unparalleled. Expedia Maps, Map Quest, and Yahoo Maps are all cumbersome. I can’t remember the last time any of those companies released a killer feature… and for at least one of them, mapping is its bread and butter.
It’s no surprise, then, that as those three aforementioned dinosaurs lumber into obscurity, Google keeps releasing features that are not only cutting-edge, but that are also, first and foremost, easy to use.
Example A: Google Maps just released Street View, a feature that will let you see a street level view of nearly any block in five major cities (San Francisco, Las Vegas, Denver, New York, and Miami). Not only that, you can pan 360 degrees around the street and “walk” down the street by clicking on navigation arrows. The system is Flash-based, and you will need version 9 to use Street View. I’m not sure what kind of practical application this will have (maybe to plan walking trips around cities or to see what’s around your hotel?), but it’s nice to see an application for which underlying technology existed years ago (remember Amazon A9’s visual yellow pages?) finally be put to use in a very cool way.
Example B: This may have come out a while back, but I just downloaded the Google Maps application for Windows Mobile 5.0 onto my T-Mobile MDA (HTC Wizard). For the longest time I’ve been lamenting the fact that it was impossible to use Google Maps on any mobile web browser (ordinarily I use Opera Mobile). The Google Maps application changes all that, allowing for use of Google Maps the same way you might on a regular desktop computer, with map scrolling, business searches, turn-by-turn directions, etc. If those features aren’t enough, you can also pair your mobile device with a bluetooth GPS device for GPS tracking. You basically have all the features of even the most advanced TomTom or Garmin GPS devices with a lifetime of free software updates. Thanks Google!
Tags: Ajax, Flash, Google, mobile, web 2.0, Web Applications
May 31st, 2007 at 2:37 pm
If you are wondering about the vehicle used to make the maps:
http://www.boingboing.net/2007/05/31/google_maps_zoom_her.html
and this is pretty good:
http://www.guiabuscadores.com/blog/2007/117/
May 31st, 2007 at 2:38 pm
If you are wondering about the vehicle and camera used to make the 3d maps:
http://www.boingboing.net/2007/05/31/google_maps_zoom_her.html
and this is pretty good:
http://www.guiabuscadores.com/blog/2007/117/
June 4th, 2007 at 7:22 am
How about this one:
Request for Urban Street Sightings: Submit and Vote on the Best Urban Images Captured by New Google Maps Tool
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2007/05/request_for_urb.html