News

• Google offers gripping view of Japanese devastation via Street View

  The cataclysmic damage caused by the 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan in March has been powerfully captured through 360-degree panoramic photography at Google Street View.

• Google Maps provides street view-look at store interiors

  Google Maps is moving you off the street and inside local businesses with a new feature called Business Photos that shows you 360-degree images of store interiors using Street View technology. Business Photos lets you peek inside select stores in 10 U.S. cities and surrounding areas including Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York and Washington, D.C. The new feature is also available in Australia, France, Japan, New Zealand and the U.K.

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  Why your business should be on Google Places

  Google has been very apologetic about the fact that open businesses are being incorrectly reported as closed on Google Places. It's incredibly easy to report business as closed on the service, and Google has promised on its blog to fix the problem. Let's back things up for a second and look at the Google Places service.

• CEDA wraps up WA state mapping project

  The WA Committee for the Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) has completed its project to map the state’s development, after wrapping up 12 forum sessions for its Inventing the Future project.

• Google quietly pulls flawed travel times from Maps

  Google has removed a service that predicted travel times with traffic from the browser-based version of Google Maps.

• Osama Bin Laden's hideout gets Google Maps treatment

  Google Maps fans have been in full satire mode writing reviews for what might be the site where American forces killed Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Shortly after President Obama spoke to the nation on Sunday, people scoured Google's satellite imagery and came up with what may very well be the hideout where the al-Qaeda leader was staying. The purported Bin Laden site on Google Maps looks like a large estate surrounded by large security walls, similar to the description of the compound showing up in news reports.

• Google Map Maker launches in the US

  Google Map Maker was released almost three years ago, allowing users in 183 countries to modify the online maps we've become reliant upon. Now Google has extended the reach of Map Maker to include the United States and added new features such as street-level perspective on places with Street View imagery, editable points of interest, and powerful search options that can see small details like railroad tracks.

• Google Android vs. Apple iOS: Feature war heats up

  The Android versus iOS platform war is heating up. Just one day after Apple announced its new in-app subscription model, Google responded with a similar scheme. Google may soon launch its long-expected music service to compete with iTunes, and Apple may be trying to horn in on mobile social products such as Google Buzz with a revamped Mobile Me.

• Apple's plans: Mapping apps

  Apple may be looking to release its own mapping and navigation software with future products, according to a few new job listings on its website.

• Apple's plans: Mapping apps

  Apple may be looking to release its own mapping and navigation software with future products, according to a few new job listings on its website.

• Google Maps update deals another blow to GPS

  As Google Maps for Android becomes more powerful, buying a standalone GPS device becomes harder to justify.

• Google street view gets grisly

  Google sure does capture a ton of interesting stuff when it sends Street View cars around the world. Sometimes its 360-degree cameras pick up a disturbing image or two.

• Google Maps

  When I say that Google Maps for Android is one of the most useful programs ever offered on any platform, you might think I'm exaggerating. But I'm completely serious, and what's more, I'm confident that once you begin to unlock its potential you will agree with me.

• Why Apple bought Poly9 (and what Is Poly9?)

  Apple has bought Poly9, a Quebec-based online mapping company, and has relocated most of the firm's employees to Apple's Silicon Valley offices, according to a report by French-Canadian news site Cyberpresse. PCWorld was unable to reach either Apple or Poly9 officials to confirm the report, which suggests that Apple plans to develop its own in-house mapping software for its popular mobile devices, including the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.

• Nokia to offer navigation tools for free

  A new version of Nokia's mapping service Ovi Maps will include turn-by-turn voice guidance for walking and driving navigation for free, Nokia said on Thursday.