Google: A Cloud In The Hand
The company's GPS mobile app heralds new competition.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Google has developed a powerful new mobile phone application--interactive mobile phone-based driving directions--that is designed to increase the attractiveness of its Android phone operating system. It will also likely mean trouble for makers of existing GPS car navigation systems.
Even more, it signals a bigger effort by Google ( GOOG - news - people ) to increase its reach to include the organization of people's information and lives to sources far from the standard Internet.
The new application, called Maps for Mobile, is capable of a number of things unavailable on standard GPS systems, including real-time traffic information, access to photographs of landmarks (like highway ramps or a destination), and a strong voice-activated search function. In a demonstration at the Googleplex, the system correctly responded to the voice request "navigate to the museum in San Francisco with the King Tut exhibition" with both directions, drive time and a green indicator that the traffic was light. Had the traffic been heavy, the color would have turned to yellow, then red, and the projected drive time would have increased.
These and other features, such as remembering previous destinations and searching along the route for favorite burger joints, are possible because the application ties into Google's enormous system of data centers, a "cloud" of computer servers that may host one's personal information, like contacts and search history, and public info, like street-level photos. The traffic information is derived in part from an awareness of how rapidly others using the Google system are moving to their destinations, and thus will strengthen if Google Maps for Mobile picks up users.
At present, the application works only on Google's Android 2.0 mobile operating system. The demonstration model was a Motorola ( MOT - news - people ) phone on the Verizon ( VZ - news - people ) network. Motorola, which was part of the original Android project two years ago, is likely to announce products in conjunction with the Google app. (See "Google's Navigation Bombshell.") Like other Google applications, the service is free to consumers (Google usually makes money off such products by sharpening its mobile search results and advertising, based on the usage data it gathers, or by growing and increasing Internet usage habits.)
Vic Gundotra, vice president of engineering at Google, said that his company was "eagerly working" with Apple ( AAPL - news - people ) to provide the app for the popular iPhone. In total, he said, Google has over 50 million active users of its current mobile phone map application, which does not do driving
source
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Google has developed a powerful new mobile phone application--interactive mobile phone-based driving directions--that is designed to increase the attractiveness of its Android phone operating system. It will also likely mean trouble for makers of existing GPS car navigation systems.
Even more, it signals a bigger effort by Google ( GOOG - news - people ) to increase its reach to include the organization of people's information and lives to sources far from the standard Internet.
The new application, called Maps for Mobile, is capable of a number of things unavailable on standard GPS systems, including real-time traffic information, access to photographs of landmarks (like highway ramps or a destination), and a strong voice-activated search function. In a demonstration at the Googleplex, the system correctly responded to the voice request "navigate to the museum in San Francisco with the King Tut exhibition" with both directions, drive time and a green indicator that the traffic was light. Had the traffic been heavy, the color would have turned to yellow, then red, and the projected drive time would have increased.
These and other features, such as remembering previous destinations and searching along the route for favorite burger joints, are possible because the application ties into Google's enormous system of data centers, a "cloud" of computer servers that may host one's personal information, like contacts and search history, and public info, like street-level photos. The traffic information is derived in part from an awareness of how rapidly others using the Google system are moving to their destinations, and thus will strengthen if Google Maps for Mobile picks up users.
At present, the application works only on Google's Android 2.0 mobile operating system. The demonstration model was a Motorola ( MOT - news - people ) phone on the Verizon ( VZ - news - people ) network. Motorola, which was part of the original Android project two years ago, is likely to announce products in conjunction with the Google app. (See "Google's Navigation Bombshell.") Like other Google applications, the service is free to consumers (Google usually makes money off such products by sharpening its mobile search results and advertising, based on the usage data it gathers, or by growing and increasing Internet usage habits.)
Vic Gundotra, vice president of engineering at Google, said that his company was "eagerly working" with Apple ( AAPL - news - people ) to provide the app for the popular iPhone. In total, he said, Google has over 50 million active users of its current mobile phone map application, which does not do driving
source
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