google maps

Google Maps for iPhone is getting off to a very good start. It quickly became the No. 1 free iPhone app with lots of five star user reviews.

To find out a bit more about what Google was thinking when it developed the app -- and to get some tech support on how to use its swiping features -- I spoke with Daniel Graf, Google's director of Google Maps for mobile (scroll down to listen to the podcast).

Graf said it was always Google's intention to "be present on all platforms" and that "we wanted … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Why can't America deal with Kanye West's leather skirt?

- Missing from the concert: Women and Jay-Z.

- The six most disappointing games and trends of 2012.

- Check out Jeff on CNET's Ask the Editors for gaming and entertainment.

- Snapchat (aka the "teen sexting app") just raised $10 million from one of Instagram's backers.

- "Back to the Future" writer hates the Mattel hoverboard toy.… Read more

Google Maps is back on iOS, but this time as a standalone app. You'll find it doesn't look like it did on iOS 5, due to Google having complete freedom with the user interface and design. As such, using Google Maps on iOS is going to feel a bit familiar, yet like a completely new experience.

To install Google Maps on iOS, you'll need to be using an iPhone (3GS and newer), iPod Touch (fourth and fifth gen) or an iPad running at least iOS 5.1. If you're using one of the above devices, download Google Maps for iOS … Read more

Google Maps didn't take long to capture the top spot among free iPhone apps.

Driving back into iTunes earlier today, the app had already reached first place after the first several hours. It's also garnered close to 8,000 reviews at this point, almost all of them earning five stars.

The new app offers all of the features that made it an iOS standard in the past but with a cleaner look and feel.

You can search for your destination by typing or speaking it. The app handles specific addresses as well as the names of businesses and … Read more

Once banished from Apple's iOS, Google Maps has returned to the mobile platform in the form of a standalone app.

The official Google Maps app returned to Apple's App store this evening. As expected, the new free app includes turn-by-turn navigation, just like its Android counterpart, as well as public transit directions, integrated Street View, and a 3D-like Google Earth view.

However, as quickly as it showed up, the app apparently vanished from the App Store. Many iOS users complained about not being able to complete the purchase, getting a message that "the item you tried to … Read more

An official Google Maps app is coming back to iOS as soon as tonight, according to a new report.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, All Things Digital says Google plans to release the software on the App Store tonight.

Apple declined to comment. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The report, which does not specify what features the software will bring, comes about a month after Google was reportedly in the "near final" testing stages of prepping the software for Apple's platform.

Google provided maps to iOS devices until the release of … Read more

Days after Australian police warned motorists not to rely on Apple Maps, lest they end up stranded in punishing heat, authorities issued a similar warning about Google Maps.

Police in Colac, a town west of Melbourne, say Google Maps has created "a significant safety issue for tourists [and] locals" along the Great Ocean Road by suggesting they drive down a one-way road not built for heavy traffic, according to a police sergeant quoted by ABC News.

Tour buses using Wild Dog Road are in danger of being driven off the road, Sgt. Nick Buenen told ABC.

The warning … Read more

Google Maps is now letting users explore Earth's far-reaching lands filled with flickering lights using imagery from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's "Black Marble."

The Web giant announced the launch of its own Earth at Night today, which is a global view and animation of the images taken from NASA and NOAA's jointly operated Suomi NPP satellite. These series of images show what the Earth looks like from space once the sun sets.

"It took 312 orbits to get a clear shot of every parcel of Earth's land surface and … Read more