mapping

Gmail updates for iOS

If the next Gmail message you receive on your iPhone launches YouTube or Google Maps, don't be alarmed. The Internet giant enhanced its official Gmail app for iPhone and iPad today, adding two small but appreciated features for heavy users of the Web-based mail service.

First, the default behavior for opening YouTube, Google Maps, or Web links has changed. Now, when you click on any of those kinds of links, Gmail will spawn the respective native YouTube, Google Maps, or Google Chrome app for iOS to handle it. Formerly, such links were instead handled by the relatively inelegant built-in … Read more

'Google Palestine' label stirs both sides of Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Google has swapped in the word "Palestine" for "Palestinian Territories" on its search site for the area, prompting comments from both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The word appears directly beneath the Google logo and above the search field on the site's home page, www.google.ps, and the change follows a vote by the United Nations' General Assembly late last year to grant Palestine the status of "non-member observer state."

"We're changing the name 'Palestinian Territories' to 'Palestine' across our products," Google spokesman Nathan Tyler told the BBC on … Read more

Google, Nike, Jawbone and the fight to win wearable computing

When wireless headset company Jawbone announced plans Tuesday to buy wearable sensor maker BodyMedia for what a source said was more than $100 million, it may well have marked a turning point for wearable computing.

The technology, which includes everything from Google Glass eyewear to heart-rate monitors to sensors that slip into running shoes, has come of age. It's moving past the niche gizmos that only appeal to geeks and gearheads.

As a real business materializes around the technology, a battle is brewing among companies that want to put themselves at the heart of it, and profit from its … Read more

Google Sky Map for Android 1.6.4 Review

Amateur stargazers rejoice! Google's state-of-the-art mapping service has taken pictures of the entire night sky for you to view on your smartphone or tablet. Google Sky Map is an awesome learning tool for anyone who wants to learn about constellations, stars, or any of the wonders that are hiding in our night sky.

To make the most of this app, you'll need to let it access your phone's GPS. It plots your data on a map so it can transmit the exact view of the stars you'll see when you hold your phone or tablet skywards. … Read more

Secret way to zoom in closer on Google Maps

In an effort to debunk a supposed Google Maps murder scene, Reddit user "xythrowawayy" shared a simple trick to zoom in closer than Google Maps allows. Google lets you zoom in only so far, but if you make a small tweak to a URL for a given location, you may be able to zoom in a level or two closer. Here's how it works:

First, find a spot on Google Maps and zoom in as far as the "+" button above the magnification slider on the left edge of the map allows. Be sure to stop … Read more

Google still wants Apple to use its maps, Eric Schmidt says

The Apple Maps fiasco may have died down, but Google still wants its mapping program to be default on iOS, said Google Chairman Eric Schmidt.

Schmidt, speaking today during an AllThingsD mobile conference, declined to say why Apple decided to go with its own mapping system rather than working with Google as it had in the past. But he said his company is still pushing Apple to use Google Maps as the primary navigation tool on iOS.

"We would still really like them to use our maps," Schmidt said. "It would be easy for them to take … Read more

Microsoft updates Windows 8 News, Maps, other apps

Microsoft has updated its various Bing apps for Windows 8 in a move designed to make them quicker to use and easier to customize.

The News app now lets you manage the different news categories that appear in the app. You can add or remove categories for world news, technology, politics, business, and entertainment, and sort the order in which they appear. You can also add a particular news source or RSS feed to your featured sources and to the Windows Start screen so that you can more quickly access their stories.

The News app's app bar has also … Read more

OzoneMap 0.5.4 Review

If you're sensitive to outdoor weather conditions, this app could literally be a lifesaver. OzoneMap maps hazardous ozone levels so you can anticipate dangerous weather before you're stuck in it. If this app worked in all cities and states, it'd be a must-have app for anyone with weak lungs or allergies. Since it's limited to a really small area, you probably won't be able to use it.

This mapping app uses Google Maps and data from ozone monitors in Houston, so it only gives data for the Houston region. For that area, you can see … Read more

Google Map Maker arrives in U.K.

Google has brought its Map Maker tool to the United Kingdom, letting ordinary people contribute mapping data to the widely used Google Maps service.

The company announced the move today on its Lat-Long blog and at an event at the famed World War II code-breaking site of Bletchley Park.

That means the public could help endow online maps with the same level of detail that's in the superb Ordnance Survey maps -- which seemingly document every footpath, Roman road, and hamlet in Old Blighty.

Google Maps has become a major force in modern computing as Google combines information on … Read more