Archive for February, 2009
Norc: competition for Google Street View
27 Feb. 2009 | Author: 
The Google Maps feature “Street View” faces competition in Europe. Norc, a Rumanian undertaking is now offering street views of several middle and east European metropolitan centers.
Whereas Google Maps in Europe has been limited to several towns and landscapes in France, Spain and Italy, Norc offers above all 360º views of eastern European cities, such as Bucharest, Prague, Warsaw and Moscow, and also Vienna. The quality of these photos is certainly favorably comparable the competing product from Mountain View.
Navigation through the photos is really easy- with a click on the red arrow at upper left, the user changes to full screen view, leaving this by using the Escape key. Using the blue arrow, the user chooses the direction to scroll, and using the mouse scroll-wheel, the user can enlarge or reduce the view. One can always see the location of the photo on the map provided and also the direction in which one is currently viewing. Using the map, one can also change one’s standpoint. The map material is derived from the Rumanian Google Maps. According to the report, the project has been underway for approximately 18 months.
Posted in General, Local Search per PC, Local Search, News | 
Tags: 360°-Ansichten, google maps, Norc, Panoramaansichten, Straßenansichten, street view | 
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Android handsets: new local services
There is a new version of Android, Google’s mobile platform, making the use of Google maps easier. Further, the search engine giant has launched “My Tracks”, a new localized service for mobile phones running on this platform.
Android 1.1 has been available since the start of February 2009, as mentioned in by the smartphone platform developer in its blog. This update delivers many improvements and new features, as listed in the release notes. One new function is that for Google Maps, allowing users of local search to display details and ratings for search results generated.
Only a couple of days after this release, Google unveiled a new application “My Tracks” for the G1-mobile phone. With the help of GPS, it tracks the routing of users of the application. How this is implemented is outlined by Dylan Casey in the official Google Blog. Using this application, one can for example, record routes travelled while engaging in sport-activities like cycling, jogging or hiking, and display these for private or public consumption. The app registers also the average speed of the user, distances and altitude. One can export this data via spreadsheets to Google Docs, allowing for a quick overview of training and other stats.
Posted in Local Search on the go, Local Search per Mobile phone, Local Search, News, Local Search Engines, Practical features |
Tags: Android, Android 1.1, Betriebssystem, Bewertungen, Details, G1, Google, google maps, GPS, Handy, My Tracks, Plattform, Smartphone |
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Printed directories continue to be popular
Approximately 90 percent of Germans over the age of 14 use directory media. Despite numerous local internet services, 74 percent of users consult printed editions of telephone and other directories.
Published in a current study of the market research institute Ipsos, commissioned by the Verbandes Deutscher Auskunfts- und Verzeichnismedien (vdav) [en=Association of German Information Directories], in its eighth repeat iteration in November 2008, which surveyed 2,000 people over 14 years of age. In a press release, vdav published the results of the study.
Along with the use of printed media, directory enquiries is also popular – 37 percent of the people surveyed called up when searching for address information. Online directories placed third in popularity – somewhat more than a quarter of respondents, according to vdav, consult the internet when searching for companies, service providers and people.
Posted in Local Search per PC, Local Search on the go, Local Search per Mobile phone, Local Search, Studies, News, Local Search Engines |
Tags: Branchenbuch, Branchenbücher, Branchenverzeichnis, Ipsos, Marktforschungsinstitut, Online-Verzeichnisse, Studie, Telefonauskunft, Telefonbuch, Telefonbücher, Umfrage, VDAV, Verband Deutscher Auskunfts- und Verzeichnismedien, Verzeichnismedien |
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Locate friends with Google Latitude
‘Latitude‘ is the latest Google product to make an appearance. Using this, you can let other people know, in real-time, your current location and discover where the other person is pinpointed.
According to a press release of the search engine giant, the application is targeted at “Google Maps for Mobile” and “iGoogle”. Whereas the iGoogle widget was implemented for the US-version of Google Search for desktops, the mobile versions were not functional here ‘across the pond’. For the new app to work, you need a Google Account and a usable mobile phone on which Google Latitude is installed. [Download here.]
Once installed and configured, you can invite other people to join you in using the service. As soon as the person(s) accepts your invitation, their profile photo appears on a map on your device, showing their current location. With a click on that photo, you can make contact using telephone, e-mail or SMS (according to what the person has configured). And if you want to meet up, you can generate a route description to reach the meeting place. Google locates the person automatically via GPS, WiFi or cell-phone transmitters. A manual location entry is also possible.
For those worrying about their privacy, Google suggests they rest assured. The user can always specify and change, from whom, how and when you may be contacted or whether contacted at all. As expected there are already critics: the British data privacy organization Privacy International, warns that not all mobile devices are able to regularly remind users that the automatic location feature is activated, as intended by Google. Privacy International envisaged horror scenarios, such as malicious parties could somehow install the program on the mobile device of others without their knowledge, enabling them to be tracked without knowing.
Google Latitude for “Google Maps for mobile” is available at the moment for 27 countries and in 42 languages. A list of compatible devices can be found on Google Latitude’s webpage.
Posted in Local Search per PC, Local Search on the go, Local Search per Mobile phone, Local Search, Localization technology, News, Local Search Engines, Practical features |
Tags: Freunde, Google, Google Latitude, Google Maps for mobile, iGoogle, Latitude, Ortungsdienst, Personen, Privacy International, Standort |
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DasÖrtliche and HRS: free hotel reservations by cellphone
DasÖrtliche now offers its users a practical new feature. Using its mobile portal, cellphone users can book hotel rooms, using a free phone call.
This is made possible by cooperation between the telecommunication directory with the hotel booking service “Hotel Reservation Service” (HRS).
Users with internet-capable phones en route, who access mobil.dasoertliche.de, to search for suitable hotel accommodation, are then forwarded to the HRS-hotel site. As detailed in a press release, users who click on a hotel link will be rerouted through the HRS-call center, where a direct free telephone connection to the hotel is facilitated. If the desired accommodation is full, the user can then return to the HRS site and try suitable alternatives.
Artworks discover Google Maps
Recently, Clara Rivera Rodriguez (in Google’s Lat Long blog) referred to a new layer in Google Earth – for the Prado Museum. Using this, one can observe fourteen famous artworks in the Madrid (Spain) art museum, from close range. This also works with Google Maps.
Using Google Maps, viewers without Google Earth are also able to have a full ‘art experience.’ The masterpieces, according to Rivera Rodriguez, were photographed in very high resolution – some reaching as much as 14 gigapixels. This allows for extreme enlargement where the smallest details can be examined.
Posted in General, Local Search per PC, Local Search, News, Local Search Engines, Practical features |
Tags: Google Earth, google maps, Kunstwerke, Layer, Prado |
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Zoodango.com – local search without words
December 2006 saw the launch of the USA portal Zoodango.com, a type of localized social business network – without much success. During 2008, the portal was substantially revised and has rebranded itself as a local Web 2.0 search service with a community slant.
The search delivered is based on a Google Map. After the entry of a location in the search field, diverse icons showing interesting places or companies are displayed on a map, such as restaurants, hotels or cinemas. The user can then mouse-over these icons, activating a popup with the exact address and ratings of the displayed locations.
This form of search, that is one without the definition of a special search term, is what differentiates this service from comparable competitors, according to a press release from the operators of Zoodango.com. Contrary to other search operators, Zoodango.com users do not have to know exactly what they are searching for, and are able to visually cruise a range of areas around their initial location specified. This allows the user to ’stumble upon’ previously unknown places or services. Zoodango believes itself therefore to be an effective marketing platform for companies who would not normally be discovered or noticed as a result of a specific search term. At present, the areas covered by this protoype are Seattle, Spokane, Portland, San Francisco and Oakland. Though presented as a unique innovation, it is reminiscent of the German search portal geoflags.de (see our post).
More interesting however is the new ratings method for the different locations/services. According to Zoodango, many ratings platforms such as Yelp or Citysearch use a system of 1 to 5 stars. As a result, users often find many providers with similar ratings but contradictory descriptions. In contrast, Zoodango compares the popularity of a location with similar ones in the vicinity and awards points automatically on a scale of 1 to 10. The number of users ratings is also listed, adding to the depth of the recommendations. Parallel to this community rating, Zoodango also offers registered members the possibility of personally rating, reflecting their individual choices and preferences.
New at meinestadt.de
The city portal meinestadt.de has teamed with new partners and has expanded their offering in the past weeks.
The user is now able to access noteworthy information about each of the 12,241 German towns and communities. According to a press release, these urban portraits offer historical and political facts, alongside insights into commerce, attractions and well-known personalities for each town. The contents originates from the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia, and this new lexicon is to be found on the frontpage, and in every individual city/town portal page of meinestadt.de, under the tab “Bürger” [en=Citizens].
Further this local search service has also partnered with the automobile site motoso.de. In another recent press release, meinestadt.de outlined the partnership as expanding their offering in local areas for used and new vehicles. This collaboration is planned to be further expanded in the future. In the coming months, the site is expected to be augmented with more than five million ads for vehicle-parts and services.
Rebate coupons from Qype
Price reductions or two-for-the-price-of-one, using coupons/vouchers usually tempt clients. This has been noted by Qype; registered businesses have recently been able to offer such deals on the local search and ratings portal.
Locations offering rebates are marked with a red tag in the results lists. In the entries themselves, one finds a coupon on the right, over the map view. On clicking, users can view, print and redeem the vouchers by the respective companies or service providers.
In a post in the company blog, the community manager of Qype, Stephan ‘Moe’ Mosel, announces the new function, and illustrates these with some examples. As the application is very new, there are as yet very few vouchers on offer at present.
In the USA, this form of advertising has been represented for some time on local search services (see our post). In Germany, the online directory glenglobe.de has until now been the only local service provider offering something similar.
Posted in Local Search per PC, Local Search, News, Practical features |
Tags: Bewertungsplattform, Bewertungsportal, Gutschein, Gutscheine, Preisnachlässe, Qype, Rabatte, Rabattmarke, Rabattscheine |
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Google Maps integrates underground and S-Bahn
Google Maps has integrated a ‘Transit Layer” into their maps views. Using this more than 50 metropolitan areas worldwide now offer the display of tram, underground and regional train (S-Bahn).
Several German cities are represented, including Berlin, Dortmund, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne and Munich. If the users zooms sufficiently close on the maps, when clicking the “more” button (alongside photos, videos and Wikipedia), a “Verkehrsmittel” [en=transit] option appears. Check the option to activate the new overlay. This is especially useful when trying to find a location (e.g. restaurant or cafe) in relation to public transport.
One can access a list of the cities already offering this feature in a post on the Google Lat Long Blog. The post by Raphael Leiteritz also discussed the intention of the new feature. The new transit overlay is a part of Google Transit (see our post). While Google transit was created in order to make local transport schedules and details available, the Transit Layer now offers a visual integration with Google Maps.
