Mapping

Maps for iPad hands-on

The Google-powered maps for the iPhone and iPod Touch have been a mainstay of the iPhone OS since its inception. With the iPad, the maps app gets some subtle new features.

More importantly, and perhaps harder to convey in words, is the fact that the screen real estate afforded by the iPad transforms the app from a squinting approximation of a map into a full-fledged map replacement. Holding it in my hands, I couldn't help feeling a little like Dr. Evil, plotting my course for world domination.

There are a few things to know right off the bat. First, all versions of the iPad include an integrated digital compass, which the maps app can use along with Wi-Fi triangulation to approximate your location and orientation.

Also note that you'll need to invest in a 3G-capable model if you really plan on utilizing the iPad as a proper "Where the heck am I?" kind of map. Not only will the 3G-enabled iPad ping nearby cell towers as an additional means to determine your location (along with Wi-Fi signal triangulation), but the hardware on the 3G models includes extra assisted-GPS hardware, providing a true GPS experience that you can't get on the Wi-Fi only iPads.

Technical details aside, what's so special about maps on the iPad? Well, as the hands-on video at CNET TV demonstrates, the map's street view mode feels all the more godlike on a nice, big, capacitive touch screen. With the screen nearly three times the size of the iPhone's, you can literally see the steam coming off a cup of coffee, or in the video's Lombard Street example, you can see an enthusiastic tourist giving the thumb's up. In short, street view is much more impressive on iPad than it is on the iPhone, though no more practical. Contrasted with a comparable laptop screen, iPad's capacitive touch screen makes the experience feel like spinning a digital globe. It's fun. … Read more

Could open source abandon the Google train?

As arguably the world's largest open-source company, Google has a big stake in maintaining its place at the heart of the open-source ecosystem. Recent events, however, suggest that Google can't rest on its laurels if it wants to secure the hearts and minds of open-source developers.

Make no mistake: Google needs those developers. Android, Chrome (and Chrome OS), and other Google initiatives depend upon fostering vibrant open-source communities that can help it to surpass Microsoft and Apple.

Such communities may be ready to cut the Google umbilical cord, however, which should be worrying to Google.

There have been … Read more

Google Street View welcomes me to the U.K.

WINDSOR, U.K.--How opportune.

Just as I arrived as a transplant to England for a spell, Google added tours of 20 National Trust historic sites to Google Maps Street View.

I've long been a proponent of virtual tourism over the Internet, whether for planning an actual visit or just exploring other places virtually, so I'm happy about Google's partnership with the National Trust. The organization takes care of many historic sites in the United Kingdom, including assorted stately homes, the prehistoric stone circle at Avebury, and Lindisfarne Castle, where I was assaulted by territorial terns as a boy.

Google said 20 National Trust sites are now on Street View, and the National Trust said that more are coming, including a personal favorite, the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. The tours let virtual visitors click linearly through the sites--a plodding and limited way to explore compared with roaming freely around the actual sites, but still good enough to be useful. … Read more

Buzz Out Loud Podcast 1149: Secretary of State Clinton plans to free the Internet

We had the pleasure of chatting with Jared Cohen, Senior Adviser to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today. He gave us some more insight into Secretary Clinton's speech about the freedom on the Internet, specifically relating to China. We also clarify that Verizon is not booting people off the Internet--but apparently Cox is. So take all that stuff we wrote yesterday about Verizon and just put Cox in there.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1149

Joining us is Jared Cohen, Senior Advisor to Secretary of State Clinton’… Read more

Gateway to Google

A vast improvement on its BlackBerry predecessor, Google Mobile App is primarily a search app that also serves as a portal to other Google Web apps. It's anchored by a search bar, with a string of icons marching along the top. Click one to download or launch native Google apps like Gmail and maps, or to jump to mobile Web sites for the panoply of Google apps.

Warmly welcomed are autocomplete search suggestions, the capability to scroll through search history, and the capability to edit a misspelled search term and begin a new search. A My Location feature that … Read more

Hands-on with the TomTom Ease

LAS VEGAS--On Wednesday, we told you about TomTom's newest entry-level GPS device, the TomTom Ease, and now we have up-close photos of the device from the show floor. We still weren't able to coax a final price out of TomTom's reps, but we were able to confirm that the Ease will be priced in the $100 to $120 range.

After an admittedly quick poke through the Ease's menus and interface, we've concluded that TomTom's interface simplifications don't appear to extend too deeply into the menu structure. The new home screen is nice and … Read more

Ease into navigation with TomTom's new entry-level GPS

LAS VEGAS--TomTom is attempting to lower the learning curve for the entry-level GPS buyer with its new Ease line of GPS navigation devices. The Ease is remarkably similar to the TomTom Start, which debuted in European markets last year, and may well be the same device but with North American maps.

For users unfamiliar with the Start, the Ease is a smallish device, built around a 3.5-inch color touch screen with either a black or white chassis. TomTom's EasyPort mount is recessed into the back of the device, resulting in a flat profile with none of the suction … Read more

Navteq touts 3D laser mapping technology

Navteq has begun collecting data to construct detailed 3D models and maps of the United States, the digital-mapping specialist said Wednesday.

The Nokia subsidiary has begun outfitting its data collection vehicles with a system called Navteq True. One big part is a lidar (light detection and ranging) system that uses lasers to construct 3D maps of the world out of a sea of data points. The company boasts that its True system uses 64 rotating lidar lasers, captures 1.5 million 3D data points per second from features as far as 150 meters away and works even when the data … Read more

Now you can play Foursquare anywhere

Attention, suburbanites: You, too, can be the mayor of your local Home Depot.

That's because New York-based mobile location-sharing service Foursquare has made a subtle but big improvement. It's no longer restricted to a list of a few dozen cities in North America and Europe, which means that people anywhere in the world can use their mobile phones to "check in" through the service. (Foursquare currently has applications for the iPhone, Palm Pre, and Google Android, as well as a BlackBerry app in development and a mobile Web site.) The new feature is considered to currently … Read more