Google Maps gets real time location sharing

Fans of the old Google Latitute rejoice; Google Maps is about to have real time location sharing just like we wished for so long.

Google Maps gets private and public lists for places and locations

Tired of having to use an external app to keep track of places of interest? Well, you'll now be able to create and manage lists of places directly on Google Maps app.

Google Maps learns new voice commands via Ok Google

If you find yourself saying "Ok Google" ever more frequently, you'll be pleased to hear Google Maps can now understand more of your commands, such as finding nearby gas stations.

Google Maps will show taxi services fares

Uber is about to lose its exclusivity in Google Maps, as Google will begin to show other "taxi" services and make it easier than ever to choose the cheapest one.

Google Maps gets smarter "Driving Mode" that knows where you're going

Fascinated by the fact that Google seems to know when you're about to drive to work and drive back home? Well, it's about to get better, as it will try an figure out wherever you might want to drive, every time.

Contributing to Google Local Guides can get you 1TB of free Google Drive space

Looks like Google has finally decided to make its Google Maps the first option for anyone wanting to find a restaurant or local attraction, and it's counting on its users for help, rewarding them with 1TB of free space on Google Drive.

Google Maps Streetview Player turns your routes into video

Ever wished you could preview how a specific Google Maps route would look like if you were driving, or walking, it? Now you can thanks to this Google Maps Streetview Player.

Google's universal zip codes - Plus Codes - arrive on Google Maps

A while back, Google unveiled it's universal "zip code" system that allowed us to pinpoint any location anywhere in the world. Now, Plus Codes get another push, by working on Google Maps as well.

Google Maps can now deal with insistent "are we there yet?" questions

The latest Google Maps version not only lets you find out where you were at any given day, but it can also manage insistent  are we there yet questions.

Google puts location history in plain sight in Google Maps app

Some users know that Google keeps a record of wherever we go (provided you opted into it), but for many more that simply click on everything, this often comes as a surprise. Now Google puts your location history front and center in the new Google Maps app, so there are no more excuses for not knowing about it.

Google Maps learns to avoid traffic delays

Google's Waze acquisition showing its fruits, and Google Maps finally learns a new (old) trick: the ability to alert you of any delays ahead and showing you possible alternate routes to save you time.

Android pissing on Apple in Google Maps easter egg

We know there's a lot of rivalry between Google and Apple, and their respective fans, but it's not often that we can see that put into actual words - or in this case - in a very descriptive image of an Android pissing on a Apple, in Google Maps.

Pac-Man is eating its way though Google Maps

If you ever wished you could munch your way through traffic when waiting in a traffic line, now you can... at least in a digital way thanks to Google's easter egg on Google Maps, that allows you to turn any map into a Pac-Man level you can play.

Smarty Pins puts your knowledge to the test on Google Maps

Do you know where things happened? How about putting that to the test, and put your markers on the map? That's precisely what you can do with Google's new Smarty Pins trivia game.

You can now travel back in time in Google Street View

One can never stop but feel amazed by Google Maps' Street View, allowing you to travel the world wherever and whenever you want. But now we get to travel in yet another dimension inside Street View, and I'm not talking 3D... Street View has now 4D capabilities, meaning:  you can travel through time in Street View.

Google has a fleet of vehicles continuously roaming around and capturing new images and data about the streets and its surroundings, but until now we only got to see the latest updated information. Thankfully, Google has decided to let us glimpse into the past, and provide a way to go back in time to previous Street View imagery.

This means you can get to see Freedom Tower rising up in NY; the devastating effects of the 2011 tsunami in Japan; and even how Brazil is readying up to the world cup.

... This means Street View has become an even more interesting way to explore our world - and just imagine how kids today will be able to revisit their childhood places as they were, as they grow up. :)

Google's New Maps can finally be embedded

Looks like Google is finally noticing (and fixing) some of the very visible and annoying flaws of their new Google Maps. A map that looked a lot better and more modern, but lacked some of the most basic things users might expect, like easy access to streetview (fixed with pegman's return) and the ability to embed a map into any webpage. Well, that's finally been taking care of, as we can now embed the new Google maps into any web page.

But don't think you'll be seeing just the intended map. Google is also working on bringing ads to its map services, and those ads will pop up on the embedded maps as well. (Well... considering you can use them for free, it's the kind of trade-off most people will be willing to take.)

All that I would ask is for a simple way to do a "send map by email" like we had in the old maps. I know we can share a map on Google+, and that you can specify a single email address as its destination to send it to them, but I think Google should really ease up on the whole Google+ mandatory thing, and face reality: Google+ may be a great service, but the more they try to shove it down everybody's throats the less likely people will be willing to use it.

Pegman returns to Google Maps

When Google redesigned Google Maps, they certainly looked way better than before. However, somewhere along the way Google forgot some things that users had grown accustomed to over the years - one of them being the popular Pegman that allowed us to quickly drop-in anywhere and look around using Street View. Well, you'll be pleased to know that Pegman has returned to Google Maps, and Google also add a few extra nice touches to it.

The little Pegman now lives in the bottom right tab on the screen, and just like before you can drag it anywhere (the maps lights up where there is Street View info, as well as photo spheres and inside imagery - perfect to check out a store or restaurant). When you're planning your route somewhere, you also get street view imagery on your turn-by-turn info, so you can better navigate your surroundings.

Google is also putting its Waze acquisition to good use, with real-time incident reports popping on Google Maps (and you can also check the usual traffic patterns at different times of the day - a nice touch that might help you avoid frustrating minutes behind the wheel.)

And if you like to use Google Maps/Earth to travel the world without spending a dime, you'll be pleased to know that the "tour guides" feature we already had on the mobile version has made its way into the desktop web version, being renamed as "Earth Tours". Be sure to give it a try and fly around famous and noteworthy places all over the world... without worrying with jet-lag or lost luggage. :)

New Google Maps available for All - Leaves behind basic features

If you felt bad for not being considered "worthy" of trying the  new Google Maps, you're finally off the hook as Google has now opened up its new and "improved" map experience for all. Don't get me wrong, the new Google Maps is indeed better, in a sense that it looks better and is more dynamic and intelligent than ever - what annoys me the most is that I thought they would have taken care of some missing basic features by now!

Let's say you want to meet somewhere with friends, you drop a pin on the map and want to share it with your friends (or maybe even a Google+ circle, as Google is so fond of it, right?) You look around... and around... Certainly you must be missing something obvious that is staring right at your face; Google wouldn't dare create a new "improved" maps without such a basic feature, would they?... Indeed they did. There's no sharing in sight - and making it even worse, this isn't simply an oversight, as Google is perfectly aware of it, as clearly stated in the "help section":

To share the map with others double click the URL bar and copy-paste it to wherever you want.

Really? In 2013, Google is asking users to do CTRL+Copy and CTRL+Paste!?! (I can imagine a few thousand users looking for a "copy" key on their keyboards)...

And what about the sharing to satnav systems we had before, that allowed us to send a destination automatically to our cars? Should we "copy paste" it there as well?

It's, quite frankly, unbelievable how Google left out such a basic feature. I've already "complained" about it through the feedback report system, and I encourage you to do the same. Even if you have to "copy paste" the report to share it with your friends.

Google Kills Latitude - Pushes Users To Google+ (Once again)

Let me start with the good news: there's a new Google Maps app for Android (soon to come to iOS), that brings the new design look (inspired by the one first used in the iOS app, and later transposed to the web), and that has lots of new features and is the "most amazing thing ever" (you know... the usual stuff). Although it also comes with some less than logical options: like the offline maps, which are now stored by entering "OK Maps" into the search box when you're looking at the area you're interested in (sure would like to know who came up with that "amazing" idea...)


But the thing that caught my attention is something far worse, that brings back recent bad memories we're still struggling to forget. Google is once again showing no mercy for its long time users, and this time it's Google Latitude that gets canned. In case you don't know the service, Google Latitude allowed you to share you location with friends in real time, so you could always see where they where (as well as keep a location history that allowed you to see where you were at any give date). It began as a separate "app", but had since evolved into being integrated in Google Maps (as it should)... until now.

From now on, Google says that if you want to share your location with friends, you'll have to use Google+ to do so... which is kind of absurd, considering you want to see them on a map; and that's exactly what Google Maps is there for! Worse of all, there's no way for you to export you Latitude friends, or easily migrate them to a Google+ circle (update: luckily there is a way to export your Latitude friends into Google+, although Google says otherwise!). Seems like Google is once again offering millions of users to their competitors...

With Google Reader's demise, millions flocked to alternative services like Feedly and Newsblur; now with Google Latitude going the same way, I wonder how many will simply opt to use Foursquare and Facebook for check-ins... for the sole reason of not using Google+ whenever Google says so.

I'm seriously being scared by the path Google is taking... and I wouldn't be surprised if somewhere along the way they decided to integrate Gmail into Google+. Thankfully, with each of these steps they're making, they're forcing people to look for alternatives and depend less and less on any single service/provider. And at least, that's a good thing.

Google allows you to Borrow its Street View Trekker

We've all seen the evolution of Google Maps and Street View over the past few years. Something a few decades ago would sound like science fiction, but that today allows us to visit a considerable part of our civilized world no matter where on the world we are. Street View began as "street viewing", but has since expanded to lots other places - including museums, and even trails in some of the most amazing places around the world.

Those images were captured by Google's Street View Trekker backpack, that has compressed the equipment that used to require a car into something anyone can carry around - and now more than ever, because Google is willing to lend you their Street View Trekker so you can capture the amazing places you know.

Well... not exactly everyone (at least for now) as this program is intendend for tourism boards, non-profit, government agencies, universities, research organizations and other entities. But even so, it sure is a very clever way to bring more of our amazing world into street view so it can be shared with everyone else.

... In Portugal, one of my first suggestions would be for a Street View stroll to Fenda da Calcedonia in Gerês. :)