Dead Zones on Google Maps

There are a number of Google Maps based apps tracking where you can receive good cell phone coverage (see Sensorly, OpenSignalMaps, Root Metrics). The Dead Cell Zones Map however is taking a slightly different approach by plotting locations where there are problems in cell phone coverage.

Using the Dead Zones Map you can view which cell phone providers have poor coverage in your location. You can even help improve the effectiveness of the map by adding any dead zones that you know about to the map.

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A Mobile Friendly Directions App

Mobile Place Maps is a mobile friendly directions map creation tool.

The tool can be used to quickly get directions on your mobile phone. It can also be used by businesses and other venues to provide a link to a mobile friendly map showing the directions to their business from the nearest subway or train station.

The tool automatically detects your current location, so all you have to do is enter your destination. After you have entered a destination the tool will create driving, cycling or walking directions for your journey. The route of your journey is displayed on a Google Map and step-by-step directions are displayed beneath the map.

Once you have created a directions map with the tool you are also given a weblink. It is therefore possible to share your directions map with friends or create a link on a website to your directions map.

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Building Outlines in More Cities

Google have today added 3D buildings to Google Maps in more cities around the world. The new cities include London, Paris, Barcelona, Stockholm, Singapore, Lisbon, Boulder, and 11 major cities in South Africa.

In Google Maps the 3D buildings look pretty cool but they really only come to life on Google Maps for mobile. On Google Maps for mobile you can rotate, tilt, and zoom in and out on the buildings.

My guess is that at some point soon Google will look to implement the rotate and tilt views in Google Maps for the desktop.

The rotating buildings obviously make more sense on mobile maps where the orientation of the map can rotate to reflect your view. However this would be a great feature to be able to access via the Google Maps API. I could see this being a popular tool with many map developers.

Via: Google LatLong

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Finding Hiking Trails with Google Maps

TrailHeadFinder

TrailHeadFinder, the hiking trail directory, has released a mobile version of its Google Map of trails and campgrounds.

Using the application from your phone it is possible to find the nearest trails and camping grounds to your nearest location.

The difficulty of trails are indicated by the colour of the map marker on the map. Red markers indicate strenuous trails, yellow markers show intermediate trails and green markers show that the trail is fairly easy.

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Walking Directions for Android

Google Maps for mobile 4.5 on Android has launched with Walking Navigation, a GPS navigation system for walkers.

To use Walking Navigation choose the 'Walking' option from the Navigation icon in the updated Google Maps. Walking Navigation has a few changes that help when you’re on your feet. Whilst you are walking your phone will vibrate when you need to make a turn.



The map rotates with you as you turn the phone so you can use it like a virtual compass with satellite imagery to look ahead or help pick out landmarks along the way.

Street View Update
There is also an update to Street View in Google Maps for Android. Google have added some smart new navigation aids to move around whilst in Street View. You can quickly navigate Street View by dragging Pegman from the corner and highlighting where you want to go with a lightly shaded 'pancake' on roads or a rectangle on buildings. Let go of the screen when highlighting the front of a building, and you’ll fly there and turn to face it.



To use Walking Navigation and the new Street View navigation aides you need to visit the Android Market and update Google Maps and Street View on Google Maps.

Via: Walk this way - Official Google Mobile Blog

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Real Time Google Maps Collaboration

Multi-User Google Maps Collaboration

The next time someone phones you and tells you that they are lost and they don't know how to get to you then just point them to this Android application. The application allows users to simultaneously open and work on the same Google Map. It is a great tool for two or more people to share directions in real-time.

To collaborate on a Google Map a user just has to start their own map room and send a link to whomever they want to work with. Once two or more people are logged into the room users can use 'whiteboard' tools to draw on the map or add text. Whenever one of the room members interacts with the map all the other users will see the action in real time on their phone screens.

The application comes with built in camera support so it is possible to video conference your map sharing as well. If you haven't got an Android mobile phone don't worry as the application is also available from your desktop. If you haven't got any friends you also don't have to worry as you can test the application by just opening it up in two separate browser windows.

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Grindr - A Gay Location Based Service

Grindr

Grindr is a location based service for gay men. It is available for the iPhone and the Blackberry.

The application uses your current location to instantly connect you with other gay men in your area. When you launch Grindr you will be shown local guys (the closest appear first) and you can choose to view pictures, stats and their location on Google Maps.

Men who appear with a green dot are currently online and ready to chat. Those shown with a yellow star is a favorite and will always appear in your Grindr application.

Also See

• GayBarMaps
• ClubFly - Gay bar and club finder for the US
• GayScout - the international gay travel guide
• Seattle Gay Bars and Clubs - Google Maps Guide to gay Seattle

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LBS for Close Friends and Family Only

Neer

With so many popular location based services already established and with last week's launch of Facebook Places it is going to be increasingly hard for any new entrants to grab a slice of the location pie. To do so a start-up will have to offer something new and unique. Neer does!

I suspect that there are many potential users of location based services who have been put off signing up to the established players because of privacy concerns. There are lots of people who just don't want to share their location with the whole population. Neer is targeting those users by allowing them to set up their own private location sharing networks.

Neer lets users share their location with small, select groups of friends and family. It also allows users to select the places where friends can see their location. Neer uses Google Maps to help users define these shareable locations.

The application is available now for Android phones and an iPhone app is on the way.

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Find Mall & Airport Maps via Google Maps

Point Inside

Screenshot shows Inside Maps website not the app itself

Have you ever been frustrated that Google Maps doesn't have indoor maps for shopping malls and airports? If so then you need to download (for free) Inside Maps for your iPhone or Android phone.

When you open Inside Maps on your mobile phone you are presented with a Google Map with markers showing the Inside Maps available for malls and airports near your current location. If you select one of the markers you can then download the Inside Map for the chosen mall or airport.

All the maps are produced by Inside Maps themselves and are interactive and searchable.


Via: CNET
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Augmented Reality Instant Messaging

TagWhat

The last thing the world needs is another location sharing mobile application. However Tagwhat does have a unique selling point. TagWhat isn't just another location sharing application, it is an augmented reality location sharing application.

If you download the Android or iPhone TagWhat application you can then use your mobile phone to share your location with the rest of the world. Your message can then be viewed by other TagWhat mobile users in augmented reality in their phone screens.

As well as appearing in augmented reality your message will appear on the TagWhat real-time animated map of location check-ins. The TagWhat home page features a prominent Google Map that animates through the latest messages sent by TagWhat members.

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Trains Added to Google Maps for Android

Google Maps for Android version 4.3 has added new features to help you quickly choose the right place to grab dinner, catch the next train, and find friends to add in Latitude.

Public transit station pages have been given a boost with Google Maps for Android 4.3. Now if you select a transit station icon on Google Maps you will find a handy list of the next departure times for trains, subway trains, and / or buses.



The new version of Google Maps also makes it easy for you to add friends to Google Latitude. At the bottom of your Google Latitude friends list you will now find a link to add more friends from your contacts list.

Google have also made it easier for Android users to get reviews of places. Instead of taking you straight to full reviews of places, with Google Maps for Android 4.3 you will now see color-coded review bars giving you an overview of what people think about the location. If you tap one of the review bars you can get more details like the actual review snippets.

Hat-tip: Mapperz Via: Official Google Mobile Blog

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Background Location Sharing on the iPhone

Loopt

Loopt has announced today that it will this week enable 'background location sharing' on its iPhone app thanks to new multi-tasking features in the Apple’s iOS 4. This means that users will be able to have Loopt running in the background and share their location with selected friends without having to specifically check in.

Loopt uses Google Maps to show you the real-time location of your friends. Loopt may also come with the option to share your location only at set times. The Loopt blog says "users choose which friends to include on the background location sharing updates, and how long to keep the location sharing turned on".

I take this to mean that Loopt will now have some form of time control. So you can select to share your location with different people only at select times of the day. For example, you could opt to share your location with your colleagues only during office hours.

The new 'background location sharing' means that Loopt can now push notifications to your iPhone when you have friends nearby, without you having to 'check-in'. It should also lead to a revolution in how location is shared in other iPhone applications.

Just wait for the thousands of companies releasing applications that will ping you when you are passing one of their stores. You may not want them but you can bet they are coming.

Via: ReadWriteWeb

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Watch the World Cup Mobile Layer

Watch the World Cup
Google have created a World Cup layer for Google Maps for mobile that can help you find a bar or restaurant that is showing World Cup games.



You can view the "Watch the World Cup" layer by:

1. Opening Google Maps on your phone.


2. Opening the Maps menu and go to Layers > More Layers > "Watch the World Cup."

Once you have opened the layer you can find bars, pubs and other venues that are showing World Cup games near you.

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The World Cup Location Based Service

FIFA World Cup Snag Wars

Forget about becoming the mayor of your local Starbucks and start grabbing territory for your favourite football team. FIFA World Cup Snag Wars, is a location based game for the iPhone. Using the Snag Wars app players can 'snag' and flag locations for their favourite World Cup teams.

Using the application players can snag their home, their local sports centre, football pitch or any other location. Each snagged location will then display the flag of their chosen football team.

Currently Australia are in the lead with 109 snagged territories, with Brazil in second place with 70 flags. The on-line website of Snag Wars also features a Google Map that animates through the locations of the latest snagged locations.

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Track Your Kids With Google Maps

ZenTracker

ZenTracker can track your child's location in real-time and send you messages if your child leaves a designated safe area. This child tracking application is built on top of the Google Maps and Google Latitude API's.

To keep track of your children your child's smartphone needs to be able to run Google Latitude. Google Latitude then keeps track of your child's location. ZenTracker regularly requests your child's geolocation from Google's servers. ZenTracker then checks the smartphone location against user-defined rules and sends you a notification if the location matches a specific rule, for example, your child has left a defined safe location.

Using ZenTracker users can define safe perimeters, such as the home or their school, so if a child leaves these areas a message will be sent to the parent.

Via: TechCrunch

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One Degree of Separation on Google Maps

Plyce

Plyce is the latest entrant into the location-based social network market. It is a market that is currently dominated by the likes of Foursquare, Brightkite and Gowalla.

Plyce uses Google Maps for many of its featured networking options. With Plyce you can find where your friends currently are and see which of your friends are around your current location directly from the in-built Google Map.

Plyce also lets you check for friends you have in common on Facebook with people around your location. So if someone in your immediate vicinity is friends with one of your friends they will show up on your map.

This one degree of separation feature could just be Plyce's unique selling point and certainly could prove to be a great networking tool.

Plyce also lets you check into and save your favourite places, gives you badges and has a weekly ranking table of users.

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Google Open Sources My Tracks

My Tracks

Google have open sourced the code of their Android live tracking app My Tracks.

My Tracks enables you to record GPS tracks from your mobile phone and view live statistics – such as time, speed, distance, and elevation – while hiking, biking, running or participating in other outdoor activities. Once recorded, you can then view your track on Google Maps (Google have a number of samples of maps created with My Tracks here).

So if you are planning to build a real-time tracking application for the Android market then a good place to start could be the My Tracks source code.

Via: cnet

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Your Google Maps Mission is ...

SCVNGR

Despite having never heard of vowels, SCAVNGR is actually a pretty cool new challenger to Foursquare and Gowalla.

One of the reasons that location-sharing mobile phone applications have become so popular in the last couple of years is that they have successfully turned location sharing into a game. It seems that a lot of people are actually very keen to become the mayor of their local Starbucks.

So one way to beat the successful incumbents in the location-sharing game may be to crank up the game element. Enter SCVNGR.

SCAVNGR, like other location-sharing applications, awards you points for checking into locations but you can also gain points for completing missions set by other users. The mission could be to take a photo, solve a riddle, scan a QR code or complete some other challenge. Succeed in your mission and you will earn extra points.

And we all know what points mean - prizes badges.

Currently SCVNGR is only available in the United States but there are plans to expand to other countries soon.


Via: ReadWriteWeb

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Google Maps Navigation Now in the UK

Engadget are reporting that Google Maps Navigation for Android phones is now available in the UK.



Google Maps Navigation has everything you would expect to find in a GPS navigation system, like 3D views, turn-by-turn voice guidance and automatic rerouting. Until now the service had only been available in America but Engadget reports that it is now also available in the UK.

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Celebrity Stalking with Google Maps

iPap

With the rise of smart phones the ability of individuals to share locations has risen dramatically. You would have thought therefore that celebrity tracking with Google Maps would have been a huge growth area over the last couple of years.

However Gawker Stalker seems to have given up on including a map on its site and Jaunted's Vancouver Celebrity Map and Toronto Celebrity Map don't seem to have been updated for a few years.

Celebrity stalkers will therefore be pleased to see the release of iPap. iPap is a celebrity spotting network for the mobile location sharing age.

Now if you spot a celebrity when you are out and about you can whip out your phone and go to ipap.me to report the celeb's location. The iPap home page features a Google Map where you can browse the latest celebrity sightings,

To make things more fun iPap also rewards celeb spotters with points. You get 100pts for every iPap you make and the site displays the weekly and all time time celebrity spotters.

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