Google adds its replacement for addresses to Google Maps
Sure exact coordinates are useful if you’re treasure hunting, but if you’re just trying to find something in a part of the world where addresses are uncommon or nonexistent, they’re way too long. Google proposed a fix earlier this year with the rollout of free to use Open Location Codes, aka Plus+Codes. Now, those short codes (six or seven letters and numbers) are searchable on Google Maps. If you’re further away from a particular area, you may need to include the town, city name or region code for them to work, but codes already exist for every location, and you can find them on the web at plus.codes. The codes specify an area instead of a point, and for more accuracy, you can add more digits. The way the system is setup, they can be encoded or decoded offline, so there’s no problem even if you’re in an area with little or no internet connection. Of course, someone other than Google will need to use them for this system to catch on (others like What3words are trying to do the same), but at least now you can see how it works right in Google Maps.
[Image credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images]
Google Maps (86JR7782+):
Source:
Plus.codes, Open Location Code
Tags: addresses, coordinates, google, GoogleMaps, maps, OpenLocationCodes, PlusCodes
Dimensions of the Huawei Nexus and LG Nexus leak out, suggest interesting specs
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We’re eagerly waiting to see whether Google is going to release any Nexus smartphones this year, and the evidence is mounting that it will indeed launch two devices this year – one made by Huawei, the other by LG. Thanks to @onleaks, we now have alleged dimensions of the Huawei Nexus and LG Nexus, along with a list of suggested specs. According to the leak the Huawei Nexus will be 159.4×78.3×6.6/8.5mm whereas the LG Nexus is going to be 146.9×72.9×8/9.8mm – we’re assuming the 6.6/8.5mm and the 8/9.8mm are the thicknesses of the device at the edge and at the middle of the device.
Alone, those dimensions don’t mean a whole lot, so let’s compare these new Nexus dimensions to the devices that they’ll be replacing: the Motorola Nexus 6 and LG Nexus 5. The Nexus 6 measured 159.3 x 83 x 10.1 mm and the Nexus 5 137.9 x 69.2 x 8.6 mm. As you can see, the Huawei Nexus is going to be a very similar size to the Nexus 6, despite having a 5.7-inch display as opposed to a 5.96-inch one. If these dimensions are true, the new LG Nexus 5 is going to be around 10mm taller than the original Nexus 5, which isn’t insignificant – though previous leaks of the LG Nexus do agree that it quite a stocky device.
Dimensions aren’t all that these leaks had to offer: @onleaks suggests that both devices are going to have front-facing speakers, a fingerprint scanner on the back and a USB Type-C port right where we like it. That’s a hell of a package, and we can’t wait to see if this all true sometime in October or November.
What do you think about the dimensions of the Huawei Nexus and LG Nexus? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: @onleaks (1), (2) via Phones Review
The post Dimensions of the Huawei Nexus and LG Nexus leak out, suggest interesting specs appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Google Map Maker is back for some with new changes
Google Map Maker was taken offline a little while ago after some users managed to post pictures of an Android character peeing on the Apple logo. Google said they would look into a new system to help make sure that won’t happen again. Now Map Maker is back online with brand new moderation techniques in place.
It isn’t back just yet for everyone, but is back in Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, India, the Philippines and Ukraine. The listed countries have access to Map Maker editing, with more areas being included “over the coming weeks”.
The key to the new system is a small group of users known as the “Regional Leads”. These people will be able to moderate any changes in their area. However, any edits may take longer to go live because of this. Google also says they have a few employees that will change things from time to time.
The final way Google is making sure nothing crazy happens in the future is by disabling the ability to add or edit geometric figures or polygons in Maps.
If you would like to be part of the Regional Lead, all you have to do is fill out this form.
Source: Google
Come comment on this article: Google Map Maker is back for some with new changes
Google’s Niantic Labs will become it’s own company
With Google being newly owned by Alphabet, many previously Google owned companies are being broken up and becoming their own company. One of those divisions that will now be it’s own independent company is Niantic Labs.
Niantic Labs is responsible for the very popular game Ingress.
“Niantic Labs is becoming an independent company. We’ll be taking our unique blend of exploration and fun to even bigger audiences with some amazing new partners joining Google as collaborators and backers. Niantic will be building on the success of +Ingress, which has been downloaded more than 12M times, has attracted more than 250,000 people to live events around the world, and has inspired users to collectively walk the distance from the earth to the sun while playing, exploring and discovering.”
You would assume Niantic Labs would become the “N” in the new Alphabet company, but Google will still remain a backer, along with upcoming partners. Niantic Labs sent an email to users stating that Google will start to send users data over to Niantic Labs on September 11, but users can opt out if they want to.
Source: Ingress (Google+)
Come comment on this article: Google’s Niantic Labs will become it’s own company
Creators of Ingress and Field Trip, Niantic Labs, spinning off from Google as its own company
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Lots of movement happening lately in the Googlespere. The most recent news is from an internal company known as Niantic Labs. That is company/team that is behind the global phenomenon, and responsible for more battery bank sales than anyone else, Ingress. They were also the guys that brought us the discovery and learning app Field Trip. In an announcement today that graced Ingres players emails, and was announced by Google, Niantic Labs will be spinning into its own company out from under the umbrella that is Google. Here is the email many of you should have sitting in your inbox somewhere.
YOUR INGRESS ACCOUNT INFORMATION
We’re excited to share with you that Niantic Labs – the creator of Ingress and Field Trip – is becoming an independent company. You can read more about the announcement here. We’re looking forward to taking our unique blend of exploration and fun to even bigger audiences. More details coming soon.
To prevent any disruption in your gameplay, Google will transfer to Niantic Labs certain data that you agreed to share with Google for the Ingress app under the Google Privacy Policy, specifically gameplay information and your email address. Accordingly, we are providing you this notice that this information will transfer to Niantic Labs thirty days from August 12th, 2015.
If you do not wish to have this personal information transferred to Niantic Labs, please follow the steps at http://www.ingress.com/optout.
Please note that if you select “No” all your Ingress app data, including Achievement History, Game Progression and other Account information, will be deleted on or before September 11, 2015 and cannot be restored.
The name and contact information for the new company are as follows:
Niantic, Inc.
Email: transfer@nianticlabs.comThank you,
The Google Team
Their email was a lot prettier than that poor copy paste attempt. For player of Ingress, you shouldn’t notice anything different unless you intend to opt-out of the data transfer. I do imagine there will be a change to the apps publisher on the Play Store though as they move to simply Niantic Inc. instead of NianticLabs@Google sometime after 30 days from today.
The post Creators of Ingress and Field Trip, Niantic Labs, spinning off from Google as its own company appeared first on AndroidSPIN.
Google Map Maker back in select markets, new moderation system in action
Google’s Map Maker user submissions are usually on point, but we do get the occasional joker showing the world why we can’t have nice things. A giant image of an Android robot peeing on an Apple logo was displayed in Pakistan last April. Needless to say this was a huge embarrassment for Google. The Search Giant had to apologize, take the image down and shut down editing in Map Maker.
As promised last month, today Google is re-enabling user submissions to Map Maker, but precautionary measures and new moderation techniques have been applied. For now, this feature will only be available for a few markets. These include Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, India, the Philippines and Ukraine. All six countries will have access to Map Maker editing starting today, with more areas being included “over the coming weeks”.
What exactly are the differences? Google’s automated system will still be in place, but the company has also armed itself with a team of dedicated users they call Regional Leads. These members will be able to moderate changes submitted within their areas, which means edits may take a while longer to go live. In addition, Google’s own team members will also moderate edits from time to time, but they will mostly stay hands-off.
To further strengthen the system and make sure no one is fooling around, the Mountain View tech giant is also temporarily disabling the ability to add or edit geometric figures or polygons in Maps.
By the way, you can be a Regional Lead if you are interesting in keeping your area’s maps accurate. Google chooses these users based on contribution quality and history. If you want in, just fill out this form and get started.
So there you have it, guys! Google Map Maker editing is finally back, even if it is with a lot more limitations and only in some markets. It’s all for the greater good, though. Are any of you looking to sign up to moderate your regions?
Google’s Alphabet doesn’t include N for Niantic Labs
Google’s newly-created parent company Alphabet apparently has room for only one “N” brand — Ingress and Field Trip creator Niantic Labs is telling users that it’s becoming an independent company. Google will stick around as a supporter, but there will be “amazing new partners” helping out in the near future. Although the company is shy about where it’s going (we’re told you’ll hear more “in the weeks ahead”), it plans to stick to its exploration-minded projects. You shouldn’t expect a major shift in direction any time soon, in other words.
We’ve reached out to learn why Alphabet is cutting Niantic loose, and we’ll let you know what we hear. However, Alphabet chief Larry Page wasn’t coy about discussing a “slimmed down” corporate structure where companies move under the larger Alphabet umbrella if they’re “far afield” of Google’s historical strategy. Niantic sits awkwardly in the middle: it doesn’t really fuel Google’s core internet services, but it also doesn’t produce things as exotic as courier drones or self-driving cars. There’s a possibility that Alphabet has no places for augmented reality gaming or tourist apps in a mega-company focused mostly on ad revenue and moonshots.
Filed under:
Cellphones, Internet, Mobile, Google
Source:
Ingress (Google+)
Tags: alphabet, augmentedreality, fieldtrip, google, ingress, internet, mobilepostcross, nianticlabs
New LG Nexus “likely” to have metal body, report says
As great as the Nexus 6 is, it wasn’t quite the device everyone wanted or expected from Google. For most, the 6-inch screen was just too big but according to a new report from @onleaks, the next Nexus device, manufactured by Nexus, could be 5.2-inches and have a metal body.
We’ve seen Samsung make the move away from plastic and budget-looking materials for their flagship devices, and we could see Google make the same leap with the new Nexus.
#LG's New #NEXUS: Likely Metal Body,roughly 146.9×72.9×8/9.8mm,5.2" Screen,Front Facing Speakers,Fingerprint Sensor on the Back,USB Type-C
— OnLeaks (@OnLeaks) August 12, 2015
Not only this, but it could also have front-facing speakers, similar to the Nexus 6, a fingerprint sensor on the back, and also adopt the new USB Type-C connector like the OnePlus 2.
The new Nexus would be longer when compared to the Nexus 5, with a height of 146.9mm, which is probably due to the front-facing speakers on the top and bottom of the device.
As for the bigger Nexus, it’ll have a 5.7-inch display, again according to a report, as well as all the other previously mentioned features found on the smaller model.
#Huawei's #NEXUS: Metal Body,roughly 159.4×78.3×6.6/8.5mm,likely 5.7" Screen,Front Facing Speakers,Fingerprint Sensor on the Back,USB Type-C
— OnLeaks (@OnLeaks) August 12, 2015
Pricing and release date is still unclear.
The post New LG Nexus “likely” to have metal body, report says appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Google unveils Android Experiments – a showcase of inspiring projects on Android
To better showcase what awesome things are possible with the Android operating system, today Google announced Android Experiments. This is a new initiative from the company that will help show off some of the most inspiring and creative apps, games and even Android Wear applications available.
There are already 20 Android Experiment projects available on the site, from camera apps to puzzle games to the new apps from Google Creative Lab that we talked about yesterday. Roman Nurik’s Muzei live wallpaper and FORM watch face are included on the list as well. Google elaborates:
The 20 initial experiments show a broad range of creative work–from camera experiments to innovative Android Wear apps to hardware hacks to cutting edge OpenGL demos. All are built using platforms such as the Android SDK and NDK, Android Wear, the IOIO board, Cinder, Processing, OpenFrameworks and Unity. Each project creatively examines in small and big ways how we think of the devices we interact with every day.
This is just the start of the new project, though. Google says any developer who thinks their app is creative enough can submit an entry to be featured on the site. It’s open to everybody, so if you have a unique app you’d like to show off, head to AndroidExperiments.com to submit your own.
Google’s Android Experiments show what your devices can do
Google has Chrome Experiments to showcase what’s possible in its web browser, so it stands to reason that there should be an equivalent for Android, doesn’t it? Sure enough, the folks in Mountain View have launched an Android Experiments gallery that demonstrates what Google-powered mobile and wearable devices can do. In many cases, the 20 inaugural experiments take direct advantage of sensors and remote connections. Tilt (above) uses motion sensors to recreate the classic put-the-ball-in-the-hole game, while IOIO Plotter draws flip charts through an Android-controlled board. On Android Wear, the Time Mesh watch face twists and bends based on your movement. The hope is that app makers will use these experiments as springboards for their own ambitious projects — if you notice that Android apps are markedly more creative in the near future, you’ll know who to thank. Slideshow-311828
Filed under:
Cellphones, Tablets, Wearables, Mobile, Google
Source:
Android Experiments
Tags: android, androidexperiments, androidwear, experiment, experiments, google, mobilepostcross, smartphone, smartwatch, tablet, video, wearable
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