Google Street View

Google just announced a few updates rolling out to the new Google Maps desktop app today. Users will now be able to highlight StreetView imagery, user-uploaded photos, and PhotoSpheres on the map by clicking a new pegman icon in the lower right corner of their screen (pictured above). StreetView imagery will be highlighted in light blue, Photo Spheres as darker blue circles, and indoor imagery as yellow circles.

In addition, the update brings a touch of Google Earth over to the Maps desktop app with new bird’s-eye view 3D Earth Tours for all WebGL-enabled browsers.

Explore beautiful, 3D imagery of buildings and terrain for thousands of locations from above with Earth Tours available right in your browser.* Wherever you see the Earth Tour icon, you can click, sit back, and get a virtual tour from a soaring angle. Dive into Boston or circle the Alps.

Google is also rolling out a new preview UI for directions. Now, when viewing individual steps for directions you’ll see StreetView imagery on each step where available, allowing you to get a better sense of your surroundings for an upcoming turn or exit. Google also notes that it has integrated real time traffic incident reports from its Waze acquisition like it recently did in its mobile Google Maps apps.

The new Google Maps desktop app is rolling out to all that opted into the new Google Maps preview today and to everyone else in teh coming weeks. Google also just released a video preview for the new Google Maps desktop experience that shows off some of the new features in today’s update:
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The HMS Ocelot, a 50-year-old British submarine has the distinct honor of being the first submersible to be offered up on Google’s street view. The Register reports the company mapped-out the control room, sleeping quarters and even some of the torpedo tubes, which are obviously out of service. There’s also a tour of the dockyard which launched the submarine and a set of 20  images of the exterior of the boat. I mean, this is a freaking submarine on Google street view, does it really get any better? Well, I suppose you might get more of a kick out of the Large Hadron Collider if you’re into that sort of thing, but for me, it’s a freaking submarine!

You can view the whole collection of images here.

Google’s ever-expanding set of virtual tours now include a boat trip down the River Thames in London, allowing many of London’s most famous sights to be seen from a new perspective, reports the Telegraph.

Ed Parsons, Geospatial technologist at Google UK, said: “The river also offers some of the most scenic and iconic views of London from arguably the best vantage points the city has to offer, and we are thrilled to be able to work with the PLA so that users from around the world can experience the Thames through Street View.” 
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An abandoned dog spotted outside an abandoned building in LA on Google Street View has been rescued after a local rescue centre was alerted, reports UK newspaper Metro.

Jennifer Velasquez contacted the Los Angeles-based group Hope For Paws and told them where she had seen the dog. Luckily the lost-looking canine had not moved from outside the abandoned building – where Hope For Paws’ employee Eldad Hagar found her … 
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Google’s expanded Street View program today added coverage of a range of zoos and animal parks in North America, South America, Canada, Mexico, China, Germany, Spain, France, Belgium and the UK. This includes the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding in China, home to more than 30 percent of the world’s Giant Pandas, reports the Google Maps blog.

If you enjoy watching wildlife, but find yourself stuck in the urban jungle, never fear. You can now use Google Maps and Street View to preview the must-see spots at zoos around the world before heading there in person, or take a virtual trip to some of the most famous zoos and animal parks, right from your living room.

The development adds to a diverse range of fascinating Street View tours offered by Google in recent times … 
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Google announced today on its Google Maps blog that it’s finally tapping into the talent and technology it picked up with its acquisition of Waze back in June to integrate real time incident reports from Waze into Google Maps. The new integration means that when Waze users report incidents for everything from accidents to road closures, Google Maps users on both iOS and Android will now be able to benefit:

Users of Google Maps for Mobile will now benefit from real time incident reports from Waze users. This means when Wazers report accidents, construction, road closures and more on Waze, the updates will also appear on the Google Maps app for Android and iOS.

The features will initially be limited to users in certain locations, including: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Switzerland, UK and the US. In addition, as Google first hinted back in June, the company will also be integrating Google Search into the Waze apps on iOS and Android, while the Waze Map Editor now has access to Google Street View imagery:
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Sadly, there are no more secrets left to reveal here. We’d already seen the Best Buy circular and inventory system and we knew the specs which include Android 4.3 and $230-$270 price tag for 16GB and 32GB. But now you can, well, buy them. People should start getting them before the end of the month. Unless they come sooner.

16GB: $229 | 32GB: $259

Here’s Best buy’s spec list:

Enjoy your media on the go with this Google Nexus 7 tablet, which features a 7″ 10-finger capacitive touch screen with IPS technology that simplifies navigation and delivers vibrant images. Wi-Fi makes it easy to surf the Web.

PRODUCT FEATURES

• Android 4.3 Jelly Bean operating system Along with a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro 8064 processor with a 2MB L2 cache and 1.5GHz processor speed allows you to stay connected and productive on the go.
• Built-in 802.11a/b/g/n wireless LAN Connect to the Internet without wires.
• 2GB DDR3LM memory For multitasking power.
• 7″ LCD high-definition 10-finger capacitive touch screen With IPS technology, 300 cd/m² brightness, 178° viewing angles and 1920 x 1200 resolution offers easy operation and provides crystal-clear visuals.
• Scratch-resistant glass helps guard the display against damage. Antifingerprint technology minimizes smudging for enhanced clarity.
• 16GB on-board flash memory Offers plenty of space for your music, movies, photos, apps and more.
• Adreno 320 graphics For lush images with precise detail.
• 5.0MP rear-facing and 1.2MP front-facing webcams Make it easy to video chat with loved ones.
• Micro USB 2.0 port with SlimPort For fast digital video, audio and data transfer.
• Bluetooth 4.0 Easily link with other Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as a mobile phone or MP3 player.
• Weighs only 11.2 oz. and measures just 0.3″ thin For lightweight portability. Sensors include G-sensor, ambient light, Ecompass, gyroscope and proximity.
• Preloaded apps Include Google Search by Voice 2.1, Gmail, Google Talk, Google Maps, Google Street View, YouTube, Android Market and more.

Here’s the gallery from Best Buy:

Best Buy

It is showing up also at PC connection

Also, Droid-Life notes that it’s at Sam’s Club too.
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On the same day that Google updated all its mapping products, it also demonstrated the gentle art of making a really cool piece of new technology appear deathly dull.

Today we’re announcing a new way for developers to visualize and interact with data hosted in Maps Engine: DynamicMapsEngineLayer. This class performs client-side rendering of vector data, allowing the developer to dynamically restyle the vector layer in response to user interactions like hover and click.

Sure, the blog entry is aimed at software developers, so can be forgiven its language, but the example they use to promote the feature seems more suited to a dusty geography textbook than an illustration of something that could really transform the way we use Google Maps. What it actually means is that you can mouse-over a map to really quickly and easily explore anything from tourist info to property ownership. Read on for more …

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Google updated its Google Earth app for iOS and Android today with a few new features including a revamped interface that includes the left side panel it has been bringing to lots of its mobile apps.

Also new in version 7.1.1 of Earth is Google’s Street View feature, as well as improved directions and search with the ability to “visualize transit, walk, bike and drive directions in 3D while update search result list will let you browse search results quickly.” Google also announced that it is now making Google Earth available in over 100 countries worldwide:

Also with this release, we’re making Google Earth for mobile available in more than 100 countries worldwide, so you can start their virtual journey in Google Earth from almost anywhere on Earth. To unleash your inner explorer, check out your local Google Play store or iTunes to download the latest version of Earth for Android and iOS.

Version 7.1.1 of Google Earth is available on the App Store and Google Play now. 
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Google Street View is famous for the mapping cars, but the company also uses Trekker backpacks (seen on video here) and panoramic cameras to reach less-accessible areas of the world and to take us inside buildings. The latest building to see some Google Trekker love is the world’s tallest skyscraper, the 2,722-foot tall Burj Khalifa in Dubai …
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Google’s run-ins with the law in Europe have not gone unnoticed. Earlier this week, the company was ordered to fix its privacy issues in France to avoid facing fines, and now a UK regulator is ordering the company to delete all remaining Street View data within 35 days to avoid facing criminal charges, the ICO reports. Should Google find any further data, then it must inform the ICO immediately.

Today’s enforcement notice strengthens the action already taken by our office, placing a legal requirement on Google to delete the remaining payload data identified last year within the next 35 days and immediately inform the ICO if any further disks are found. Failure to abide by the notice will be considered as contempt of court, which is a criminal offense.

Back in 2010, Google had reached an agreement with the IOC over the WiFi data its Street View cars had accidentally collected. Earlier this year, however, Google stated that had not deleted all the data the first time around, which the IOC was not pleased with. Should Google fail to delete the remaining data within the given time period, it will be hit with a criminal offense. 
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Someone at Teehan+Lax may have grown up reading Dr. Seuss as they’ve just created a web service called Hyperlapse, allowing you to create a high-speed Street View animation of any Google Maps route.

http://vimeo.com/63653873

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Google rolled out the official YouTube app for Wii U in November, allowing users to browse channels and categories from the GamePad and view the video in 1080p on their TVs. Today, as previously announced, Google is rolling out its new Google Maps and Street View solution for Wii U owners with the Wii Street U app available now on the Wii U eShop. The app allows users to view street view and 360 degree content and easily navigate Google Maps using the Wii U GamePad:

With Wii Street Utm powered by Google, you can step into Google Street View with an immersive experience that will make you feel like you’re actually there! View a 360 degree Google Maps Street View of locations all over the world using the Wii Utm GamePad controller’s motion controls. Jumping to a location is easy—just use the GamePad touch screen to type in an address or location and start exploring, or instantly travel to over 70 fascinating, hand-picked locations around the globe.

A video of the app in action is below:
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While still taking its sweet time building a Maps app for iOS, Google is making sure to take care of its own business today by launching the biggest update ever for Street View.

Street View is a five-year-old feature in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides panoramic views of many streets in the world, and its latest update adds over 250,000 miles of roads from around the globe. Google’s Street View team elaborated on the service’s expansion in a post on the official Lat Long blog:

We’re increasing Street View coverage in Macau, Singapore, Sweden, the U.S., Thailand, Taiwan, Italy, Great Britain, Denmark, Norway and Canada. And we’re launching special collections in South Africa, Japan, Spain, France, Brazil and Mexico, among others.

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