Google Maps Update for iPhone Released

Remember back in the day when Google Maps wasn’t even available on iOS and the new Apple Maps was received with such vigor (-ous contempt)? All those long months ago in the Ice Age of the Internet (October 2012 or thereabouts) people from around the world were singing the praises of Apple Maps……not.



Oh how times have changed. Here we are now in the future, some 4 Internet months or so and now all is well with the world again. Google Maps, the app, is allowed in the walled garden that is the Kingdom of Apple and today even announced some upgrades for its iPhone apps. Oh joy.
The Google Maps blog (formerly the LatLong blog) reports
Today, we’re releasing an update for Google Maps for iPhone with new search icons that make finding local places faster and easier, and with integration of your Google Contacts to make it simple to find your friends.
This update is part of our goal to make Google Maps comprehensive, accurate and useful – wherever you may be in the world. To that end, we’re rolling out the English version of the app in seven new countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE. You can also choose between kilometers and miles in the settings menu, depending on your preferences.
For faster local search, you can tap one of the new icons for restaurants, coffee shops, bars and other types of places to quickly see nearby haunts. So if you’re in a rush and need a quick coffee, just tap the search box, then the coffee cup icon, to see the cafes closest to you.
Neat.
How are you these days in the battle of the maps? Are you an iPhone user using Apple Maps or have you gone back to the “Do no evil” version of maps with Google? As a marketer are you sure that your local Internet data is available to both formats? If not you might be leaving something on the table.

Google Maps for iPhone Update Adds New Local Search Features

Google Maps for iPhone has been updated with new local search icons to help you more quickly find restaurants, coffee shops, bars, gas stations, and other places. Tap the search box, then tap an icon, and you’ll get a list of local businesses.

As part of the free update, Google has also added your contacts as search suggestions. Now when you search for the name of a friend or family member, and you have their address saved, their address will appear on the map. This will be visible only to you, Google noted in a blog post.

Another change is to the settings menu, which lets you choose between kilometers and miles.

The English version of the app, version 1.1, is now available in the App Store, and it is available for the first time since launching in December in seven new countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE.

New iPhone apps worth downloading

New iPhone apps worth downloading: StubHub update, Lango, Roll: Boulder Smash


Who’s it for? If you like arcade titles and tight tilt controls, you’ll enjoy Roll: Boulder Smash.




With South by Southwest taking place this week in Austin, Texas, ticket marketplace app StubHub has got a big update specifically for the festival. It leads today’s apps worth downloading, followed by Lango, an app that gives users a number of interesting emoticons and other elements to use in messaging. Finally, there’s Roll: Boulder Smash, which lets players take control of a boulder and smash stuff with tilt controls.

StubHub update (Free)
What’s it about? Find tickets to sports, concerts, shows and anything else with the help of StubHub, and purchase them straight from your iOS device.

What’s cool? StubHub gives users the ability to find all kinds of tickets to all kinds of different shows. Fire it up, and you can search for bands, sports and other shows, and nail them down based on venues, what’s near you, and dates. StubHub also lets you filter your tickets by seats in the venue and through a number of other searches. The app’s latest update brings all kinds of music information from the South by Southwest festival taking place in Austin this week.

Who’s it for? If you love concerts and shows, you need to check out StubHub.

What’s it like? You can also get handy ticket information from Ticketmaster, and Fandango can help handle your movie ticket needs.

Also on Appolicious

Go beyond the parades and legends, and you will find a world of new content about Ireland on Zinio. Check out a more authentic Ireland in this Guest Post.

Lango (Free)
What’s it about? Think of Lango as an emoticon app that adds lots of different icons to your capabilities for messaging – but tuned up to be even more expressive across more services.

What’s cool? Lango is a messaging app at heart that links into your SMS and instant messaging capabilities on your iPhone or iPad, allowing you to inject a lot more personality into those interactions. Instead of just sending smiley faces along with text, Lango lets you add a lot of other visual elements, including wallpapers. You can send your messages for free across SMS channels, or use Lango’s icons on your social networking posts for services such as Facebook and Twitter. Some stuff is free, and you can also purchase more icons over time.

Who’s it for? If you like texting, tweeting and status updating with more flare than most, try Lango.

What’s it like? More emoticon capabilities are available from Emoji 2 and Color Text.

Roll: Boulder Smash ($0.99)
What’s it about? In Roll: Boulder Smash, you take control a boulder and smash into stuff to score points by rolling downhill and picking up as much speed as possible.

What’s cool? Smashing stuff is pretty cool in and of itself, and Roll: Boulder Smash gives you an opportunity to do lots of smashing. The game uses tilt controls to control your boulder as it heads downhill, and your job is to guide it toward cartoon people, animals and structures. You’ll also need to avoid things you can’t destroy, in order to keep your speed and power up. The more things you smash, the more points you earn through each level, and tougher structures to destroy are worth more points. Roll includes 60 different levels to play through and lots of achievements to earn to keep up the challenge.

Who’s it for? If you like arcade titles and tight tilt controls, you’ll enjoy Roll: Boulder Smash.

Apple’s latest iPhone update could kill the popular Evasi0n jailbreak

Apple’s latest iPhone update could kill the popular Evasi0n jailbreak



Apple is testing a potential fix for the Evasi0n jailbreak in the most recent beta for iOS 6.1.3, Forbes reports. Davig Wang, a developer testing the new update, tells the site that it fixes at least one of the five bugs Evasi0n relies on (specifically, a flaw in the iOS time zone settings).
“If one of the vulnerabilities doesn’t work, Evasi0n doesn’t work,” Wang told Forbes. “We could replace that part with a different vulnerability, but [Apple] will probably fix most if not all of the bugs we’ve used when 6.1.3 comes out.”
Released in early February for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, Evasi0n was the first fully untethered jailbreak for iOS 6 (meaning the hack sticks even if you reboot your phone). Jailbreaks allow iPhone owners to install unapproved software (including pirated software) as well as interface tweaks that Apple would never allow (like the tweaks in the notification area above).  Not surprisingly, Evasi0n also benefited from pent-up demand for a full iOS 6 jailbreak, helping to unshackle over seven million iOS devices in its first four days.
Jailbreakers are generally aware that any Apple update could spoil their fun, but Apple’s response to Evasi0n seems surprisingly quick. Given how long it took to release this jailbreak, it’s clear that iOS 6 was the hardest to hack so far. Apple likely wants to keep a secure image of iOS 6 alive by crushing Evasi0n

Google Maps App For iPhone Upgrade Adds Local Icons, Google Contacts & More Countries

Google announced an upgrade to the Google Maps for iPhone app that was originally released in December 2012.

The update is version 1.1 and is available in the App Store as a free update. The changes include improved search for local venues, integration with your contacts and the addition of new countries.

Local Icons

To speed up the local search process, Google has added new local icons. The local icons are for restaurants, coffee shops, bars and other local venues. You can simply tap on one of the icons to find nearby venues that match the category. For example, to find coffee shops, simply click on the coffee cup icon to find local cafes.

Contacts Integration

Google Contacts is now integrated into the iOS version of Google Maps. While signed in, search for a friend’s name and Google will show them as a search suggestion. Then tap their name to see the address, which will visible only to you, on the map.

More Countries

Google has added more countries to the English version of the app. The seven new countries include Bahrain, Egypt, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and UAE. In addition, you can now choose between kilometers and miles in the settings menu.

Google Maps for iPhone Update Adds Contacts Integration

Google Maps for iPhone Update Adds Contacts Integration


Google is providing a very good map application, and they have to pay for it, so why are you surprised that they show you ads ... no one is forcing you to use Google map. You can always use the free, non-tracking(?) Apple Map.... but then your gas bill will be higher!
Google Maps for iPhone is getting its first major update today. In version 1.1, users can now search for any address stored in their Google contacts list. In addition, tapping inside the search bar brings up the option for finding nearby places in 13 different categories (e.g., restaurants, hotels, gas stations). Google is also rolling out the app to seven new countries, including Egypt, Lebanon and Bahrain. Google Maps for iPhone launched in December and was quickly downloaded by iPhone users frustrated with the poor Apple Maps experience.

Gmail for mobile browsers gets iPhone-like update

Gmail for mobile browsers gets iPhone-like update




Google has updated its Gmail mobile web app to have a clean new look reminiscent of the latest iOS app, following positive feedback from the most recent redesign.



Heavy Gmail users probably use a dedicated app for their email needs, but being able to access the service via the browser is always handy. Whether on a friend's phone or a device without access to official Google apps, the mobile Gmail is accessible (like on the desktop) by pointing the browser at gmail.com, where you can log in as normal.

The redesigned mobile interface follows the example of the new iOS version introduced in December. Search will autocomplete, calendar items can be responded to within the mail, and the new look is cleaner in general.

No need to update anything on your end — just visit gmail.com and the new version should load right up.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. His personal website is coldewey.cc.