Google updates Street View with more than 250,000 miles of new imagery

Google has substantially updated its Google Maps Street View service, updating 250,000 miles of roads around the world.

The Street View coverage is now extended to cover Macau, Singapore, Sweden, the U.S., Thailand, Taiwan, Italy, Great Britain, Denmark, Norway and Canada. Google is also launching special collections in South Africa, Japan, Spain, France, Brazil and Mexico, among others.

Google says this is the largest update it has ever released for Street View and I am inclined to believe them. Now, you can view even more attractions all around the world from the comfort of your couch. That is, until you save enough money for this nice trip to Spain you’ve been dreaming of.

You can check out the cool places Google has added to its Street View by following this link.

Source : blog[dot]gsmarena[dot]com

Google Maps Street View gets ‘biggest update ever’

Google Maps Street View just got its biggest update ever.

Google Maps’ Street View feature just got a whole lot bigger, with updates to 250,000 miles of roads around the world, and double the number of special collections, which give users 360-degree views of international landmarks, parks, and other attractions. The “biggest Street View update ever” comes just after Google added Street View functionality to the iOS Web app.

Countries whose roads are now far more exposed to the world include Macau, Singapore, Sweden, the U.S., Thailand, Taiwan, Italy, Great Britain, Denmark, Norway, and Canada. New special collections are now available for South Africa, Japan, Spain, France, Brazil, Mexico, and others. Google points users to new updated locations, “like Catherine Palace and Ferapontov monastery in Russia, the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taiwan, or Stanley Park in Vancouver.”

To view the full gallery of Street View Collections, click here.

While nothing can replace physical travel, Street View is one of the prime examples of how the Web is making the world a smaller place. Now, those of us with little chance of ever visiting the Western Wall in Jerusalem, or the Amazon rain forest in Brazil, can at least know what these destinations look like, in all their Street View cam glory.

Of course, it’s impossible to mention anything maps related without a peek under the band-aid at the still-festering wound that is Apple’s Maps app. The company continues to promise that things are getting better — though it’s going to be quite a while before we’re able to call this problem fixed. In the mean time, we just have to wait and hope that Google is putting as much effort into building a version of Google Maps for iOS 6 as it is trolling the streets of Macau.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

iPad Mini apparently enters production, instantly hits supply problems

A new report suggests the Apple iPad Mini has gone into production, and that it's already plagued by supply problems.

Sources speaking to the Wall Street Journal have said that components for the device we currently know as the iPad Mini have entered mass production. As with everything iPad Mini related, the sources are anonymous but “familiar with the situation.”

The report says it’s the device’s touchscreens that are being built, and again speculates that they will measure 7.85-inches, and have a lower resolution than the 9.7-inch iPad.

However, previous rumors have suggested the iPad Mini will share the new iPad’s 2048 x 1536 pixel Retina screen, and that production was supposed to start in August.

This news comes soon after a quote from an anonymous Apple investor, who in turn was quoting from a gaggle of unnamed sources, said invitations to the press event for the iPad Mini’s announcement would appear on October 10. An October launch has been on the cards for a while, but then, so was a joint iPhone 5/iPad Mini event.

Supply problems

But, nobody said making a hypothetical product was going to be easy, as no sooner had the elves begun working on the iPad Mini, than those ever problematic supply problems arrived. This time it’s Brian White, an analyst for Topeka Capital Markets with the inside gossip, saying that suppliers had found the iPad Mini’s specification a “challenge” and that the production had suffered because of it.

This, White says, is the reason for the iPad Mini’s delayed launch.

He goes on to talk about “continued yield challenges” — supply chain geek talk for producing the right number of products, at the right time, to make the most profit — before adding that while the iPad Mini is “on track to reach acceptable volume levels for launch,” there will be supply problems “during the first month or so.”

In other words, demand will likely outstrip supply, which is just the way Apple likes it.

The iPad Mini is supposed to be Apple’s response to the popularity of budget tablets such as Amazon’s Kindle Fire and Google’s Nexus 7. For this reason, if it does ever arrive, the price will most probably be the primary talking point, and it’s expected to be no more than $300.

We’ll know more on October 10, or not, as the case may be.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Street View coming to Google Maps mobile Web app in October

If you're really missing Street View on your iPhone since you upgraded to iOS 6, you may be pleased to know that in a couple of weeks Google's Maps mobile Web app will include the feature.

When Apple launched Maps as part of iOS 6 recently, users were largely pleased with the look but disappointed with its usability – which is kind of important when it comes to finding your way somewhere. Stories surfaced of absurd inaccuracies, you know, cities in the sea, farms labeled as airports, that sort of thing.

Apple has said the more that people use its Maps app, the better it will get. Meanwhile, Google is reportedly working on a new Maps app for iOS, but it could be a couple of months before it sees the light of day. This has left many iPhone users who’ve upgraded to iOS 6 and who used Google’s Maps app on a regular basis scratching around for a solution.

Of course, alternatives are available, but the whole Maps mess may have left a few iOS 6 users wishing they’d held off upgrading until either Apple sorts Maps or Google releases its own Maps app.

However, there’s some good news for those who’ve switched to using Google’s Maps mobile Web app – Street View functionality, which gives users a ground-level view of the immediate area, should be on its way in a couple of weeks. Apple’s Maps app offers no such feature.

The information comes courtesy of New York Times’ columnist David Pogue who, in a piece about Apple’s Maps misstep, tells how he used the Cupertino company’s new app to guide him to a speaking engagement, explaining that while both the GPS navigation screen and spoken directions were clear, they took him to the wrong location. He was late for his talk.

Apple’s Maps “may be the most embarrassing, least usable piece of software Apple has ever unleashed,” Pogue wrote.

He laments the loss of Street View on his handset, but says that “in two weeks” Google will be including it as part of its Maps mobile Web app. His information comes directly from the Mountain View company, he said.

It was reported on Wednesday that in its forthcoming iOS Maps app, Google intends to combine Google Earth with Maps, though there’s no clear indication as to when it might be ready.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Apple sold a disappointing 5 million iPhone 5 units in three days

Apple sold a record-breaking 5 million iPhone 5 units in three days — a million or so short of Wall Street's expectations.

Apple sold a record-breaking 5 million iPhone 5 units over the past three days, the company announced today. The number tops its previous record of 4 million units sold during opening weekend, which was set last year by the iPhone 4S.

“Demand for iPhone 5 has been incredible and we are working hard to get an iPhone 5 into the hands of every customer who wants one as quickly as possible,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in a statement. “While we have sold out of our initial supply, stores continue to receive iPhone 5 shipments regularly and customers can continue to order online and receive an estimated delivery date. We appreciate everyone’s patience and are working hard to build enough iPhone 5s for everyone.”

Despite the self-congratulations, sales of the iPhone 5 have fell well short of lofty Wall Street estimates. Apple analyst extraordinaire Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray predicted that Apple would sell 6 million to 10 million iPhone 5 units in its opening weekend. He added that 6 million would count as a “worst-case scenario.”

Apple’s stock price had fallen more nine points, at the time of this writing, to $691.

The iPhone 5 broke the record for first-day sales, clocking in 2 million sales in 24 hours after the device became available for pre-order on September 14. The iPhone 4S set the previous record last year, with more than 1 million units sold in a single day.

The iPhone 5 is currently available in the U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and the U.K. Apple also announced today that the handset would become available in 22 countries on Friday, September 28, and 100 countries total by the end of the year.

New features added to the iPhone 5 include a 4-inch display, 4G LTE connectivity, an improved FaceTime camera for video chat, and a thinner and lighter design.

Check out our in-depth review of the iPhone 5 here.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com

Apple in talks with cable providers about new live-tv, set-top box

Currently in the negotiation stage, Apple representatives are chatting up cable providers about an improved set-top box.

Mentioned on the Wall Street Journal earlier today, Apple is currently having discussions with the major providers in the cable industry in regards to streaming live television to an Apple set-top box similar to the Apple TV. While Apple hasn’t made any official deals with any cable provider yet, company officials have discussed plans for live television streaming with representatives of Time Warner. However, the Apple device may be something completely different from the current Apple TV. It could be similar to a typical cable set-top box, but would be manufactured by Apple or at least be powered by Apple’s software. The device could be sold by Apple directly to replace a cable customer’s regular set-top box or simply rented from a cable provider.

Hypothetically, Apple could significantly broaden the amount of people using a device like the Apple TV if distributed through at least one cable company. This would allow a much larger number of Apple consumers to take advantage of Airplay in order to stream content off the Web as well as use popular apps like Angry Birds within the home theater.

However, it’s unlikely that cable companies would be interested in allowing customers to access iTunes through the device and cut into the profits of premium video-on-demand from rentals of movies and television shows. It’s likely that Apple would have to agree to some form of revenue sharing for all purchases made through iTunes on a new, live TV compatible device.

This report could also be related to recent Apple patents approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office this week. According to Wired, Apple was granted a patent for a DVR-menu function that’s designed to record and store live television for future viewing. However, the current Apple TV does not contain a hard drive and wouldn’t be able to store recorded content. If the current Apple TV hardware is updated with DVR functions, consumers would have to add an external hard drive or Apple would have to provide cloud storage for recorded content.

However, the menu functions outlined in the patent documentation could easily be found in a new Apple set-top box that’s compatible with at least one major cable provider. In addition, these functions could also be found within the menu of an Apple-branded television set; a long-rumored device that could be released during 2013 according to the Wall Street Journal.

While Apple has sold approximately four million Apple TV set-top boxes during 2012 according to CEO Tim Cook, the number of units sold pales in comparison to the number of iPhones or iPads sold to consumers this year. Apple has had a difficult time attracting consumers due to stiff competition from Roku and the lineup of less expensive Roku 2 set-top boxes. Apple is also competing with Microsoft and Sony as both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 work with the major streaming video applications and both companies sell high definition movies and television shows. In addition, Apple has been slow to add all the popular streaming video services to the Apple TV device. For instance, Apple didn’t add Hulu Plus as another option for streaming content until the end of July 2012.

Source : digitaltrends[dot]com