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China Sets July 2011 License Deadline For Google Maps

Date: 2010.11.29 | Category: Google Maps | Response: Comments

The government of China has set a July 2011 deadline for Google and other mapping services to obtain a license from China’s State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping.

The license is a part of a new regulation requiring all online mapping service providers to register with the bureau for approval.

China has said that companies that don’t comply with the new policies will be publically listed by the end of March next year. Any companies that fail to comply with the policies and obtain the license before July 1st 2011 will risk legal action.

The government said that the new polices laid down by the bureau will help in upholding the nation’s interests by plugging security leaks and enhancing the level of accuracy in the mapping of the Chinese borders.

A Google representative said in a statement to Computer World that “We are examining the regulations to understand their impact on our maps products in China.”

Originally published on ITProPortal.com
Google Maps Co-founder Quits To Join Facebook

Date: 2010.11.01 | Category: Google Maps | Response: Comments

Google Maps co-founder Lars Rasmussen has left the search giant to join Facebook.

Sydney-based Rasmussen also helped in the development of Google Wave, which was later shut down after it failed to take-off.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Rasmussen, who has quit Google after six years of working for them, left after receiving a “compelling personal pitch” made by Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

“It feels to me that Facebook may be a sort of once-in-a-decade type of company,” Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen, who resigned from Google on Friday, will move to San Francisco where he has been invited by the company to “come hang out with us for a while and we’ll see what happens”.

“Lars made great contributions to Google in innovative products like Google Maps and Google Wave. He was also instrumental in starting engineering in the Google Sydney office. We wish him all the best,” Google Australia’s engineering director Alan Noble said.

Originally published on ITProPortal.com
Google Sued By Skyhook Over Business Deals

Date: 2010.09.16 | Category: Google Maps | Response: Comments

Google has been sued by location-based technology maker Skyhook Wireless.

Skyhook has accused Google of patent infringement and interfering with its business contracts with Motorola and Samsung.

According to the patent infringement lawsuit, which was filed in a Massachusetts federal court, Google has infringed on four patents belonging to Skyhook, all related to location-based services.

Skyhook has asked for an undisclosed amount in damages and requested the court to stop Google from infringing on Skyhook patents.

The other lawsuit, which is filed in Suffolk County, accuses Google of using its influence over Motorola and Samsung to stop them from doing business with the company.

According to the lawsuit, Skyhook had made a deal with Motorola, in which the smartphone maker would use Skyhook’s location-based services technology on its Android based phones.

Skyhook claims that Google convinced Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha that Skyhook’s technology will not be compatible with the Android OS and contained identifiable user information.

The company alleges that Google used the same tactics to discourage Samsung from also doing business with Skyhook.

Originally published on ITProPortal.com
Google Adds Walking Directions To Maps For Android

Date: 2010.09.10 | Category: Google Maps, Google Search | Response: Comments

Google has updated its Google Maps for Android application to include the beta version of the Walking Navigation tool.

According to Google, the Walking Navigation tool will allow mobile users to receive walking directions for known pedestrian pathways.

The tool can be selected from the Navigation icon on the top left corner of the screen.

The Walking Navigation tool comes with some tweaks. The phone will vibrate when users need to make a turn and they can also turn off voice guidance and receive satellite view by default.

The map is also designed to turn as users rotate the mobile.

Google has warned that Google Maps may not be updated with recent information and has asked users to walk with their eyes open and pay attention to road signs in order to avoid any incidents.

The company has also introduced the smart navigation feature to Street View, allowing users to fly to the street of their choice by simply swiping a finger on the screen, and a new Google Maps search bar with enhanced search options.

Originally published on ITProPortal.com
Google Adds Walking Directions To Maps For Android

Date: 2010.09.10 | Category: Google Maps, Google Search | Response: Comments

Google has updated its Google Maps for Android application to include the beta version of the Walking Navigation tool.

According to Google, the Walking Navigation tool will allow mobile users to receive walking directions for known pedestrian pathways.

The tool can be selected from the Navigation icon on the top left corner of the screen.

The Walking Navigation tool comes with some tweaks. The phone will vibrate when users need to make a turn and they can also turn off voice guidance and receive satellite view by default.

The map is also designed to turn as users rotate the mobile.

Google has warned that Google Maps may not be updated with recent information and has asked users to walk with their eyes open and pay attention to road signs in order to avoid any incidents.

The company has also introduced the smart navigation feature to Street View, allowing users to fly to the street of their choice by simply swiping a finger on the screen, and a new Google Maps search bar with enhanced search options.

Originally published on ITProPortal.com
Google Adds Cyling Information To Google Maps

Date: 2010.03.10 | Category: Google Maps | Response: Comments

Google has added cycling details to its popular Google maps online services to help those that use their bikes to move around.

A new “bicycling” layer has been added to Google Maps but it seems that the http://maps.google.com/maps?hq=http://maps.google.com/help/maps/directions/biking/mapplet.kml&ie=UTF8&ll=37.687624,-122.319717&spn=0.346132,0.727158&z=11&lci=bike&dirflg=b&f=d&utm_campaign=en&utm_medium=van&utm_source=en-van-na-us-gns-bd service is limited to the US for the time being with no dates set its availability outside the US.

This comes on top of existing direction services that show routes for walking, public transit and traveling by car as well as a (useful) one that calculates the safest route by avoiding all traffic.

Shannon Guymon, the product manager for Google Maps explained that Google “wanted to include as much bike trail data as possible, provide efficient routes, allow riders to customize their trip, make use of bike lanes, calculate rider-friendly routes that avoid big hills and customize the look of the map for cycling to encourage folks to hop on their bikes. So that’s exactly what we’ve done.”

Only 150 American cities – and around 12,000 miles of bicycle trail data – have been included in the first version of the service with more to come and it is likely that the service will be available on mobile platforms – including Android and others – later this year.

There’s also a “biking directions” gadget that allows users to put the useful tools on their own websites to allow visitors to cycle to a particular location or find cycling routes in the area plus Google has also started a contest called “Share your ride” where users will be encouraged to Tweet and win a new bike using the hastag #bikewithgoogle.

Originally published on ITProPortal.com
Google Patents Location-based Advertising

Date: 2010.03.04 | Category: Google Maps | Response: Comments

US-based tech website Venturebeat has reported that search engine giant Google has secured an important patent related to location based mobile advertisement technology, which was applied back in 2004, in an attempt to enforce its domination over the online advertisement market.

According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office document, the patent awarded to Google will help the company in ‘Determining and/or using location information in an ad system.’

With the number of users accessing the web from their handheld devices is expected to rise this year, technology observers have predicted that the mobile online advertisement market will rise exponentially over the next few years.

However, the news of Google acquiring this patent will be a major concern for competitors who look to over throw Google with online mobile advertising platforms of their own including Cupertino based Apple, which recently acquired mobile ad network Quattro Wireless in an attempt to carve a niche for itself in the lucrative market.

Interestingly, the patent acquired by Google has some far-ranging implications which will make it impossible for competitors to enter the market, including location based ad targeting and modifying ads as per the users’ location.

Originally published on ITProPortal.com