July is turning out to be mapping season for Google. They’ve been rolling out general map updates for more precise coverage of National Heritage areas and coastlines, 3D buildings, detailed ferry routes and timetables to get you over the water easily. Google Indoor Maps also hit the UK, and more Street View history was made with a tour of Antarctica & the South Pole.
So for those of us who can’t find our way out of a paper bag – here are the new updates that you may have missed!
Google Indoor Maps UK (for Android)
This has been available in the states for a little while, and has now hit the UK in time for the Olympics! If you’re anything like me, you drive to the airport in a rush, then have to run around finding things you forgot so this is going to come in handy for airports that I have never been to! Likewise, getting lost in the Tate or the Natural History Museum will be a thing of the past.
Google indoor maps allow you to map a route through various locations using floorplans, with a toggle between different floor levels – which is handy for your trip to IKEA when you can’t find the magic exits, or if you get stuck in a shopping centre that crosses timezones from one end to the other.
There are over 40 venues listed in the UK indoor map locations so far including: Kings Cross Station (including Platform 9¾ for all you Harry Potter Fans), Manchester Airport, Heathrow, Wembley Stadium and a variety of Shops such as Selfridges and Debenhams. For the full list go here.
Not to be outdone, Bing has also been rolling out indoor maps in UK Shopping centres and allow you view on the regular online map system as well as your mobile. It is also available on Windows and iPhones. With Apple ditching Google maps last month, the Maps arena is going to get interesting.
Street View Goes to Antarctica & Yosemite
The World Wonders project started back in June to map historical sites around the world allowing users to explore Archeological sites, Landscapes, Places of Worship, Palaces, Castles and of course World Wonders.
This week Street View went wild with some incredible road trips through California’s National Parks: RedWood National Park, Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Death Valley and the Joshua Tree National Park.
The South Pole and the Antarctic are not new to Google Maps with Street view being unleashed there in September 2010 allowing us to see the lovely Penguins (that was when we didnt mind the words Google and Penguin being used in the same sentence), but now you can follow the footsteps of the great explorers with the addition of incredible 360 panoramic shots of historic Antarctic locations and a tour through the history of South Pole Exploration. If that wasn’t enough – you can view it in 3D!
Take a peek at the Video below or visit Scotts Hut on the Google World Wonders site or view the Google Official blog post
