Google Releases Enhanced Maps Features for iPhone

and it requires software update
Google announced today that it has updated Google Maps features for the iPhone. This includes the addition of:
-Street View
-Public Transit
-Walking Directions

"The most eye-catching one is Street View," says Mobile Maps software engineer Joe Hughes. "Apple's silky-smooth implementation makes it a joy to pan around the world. You might wonder why you'd want to look at panoramas of the world while you're already out in it, but I've found it handy for getting an idea of what to look for when going somewhere new. In somewhere like New York, it's also a great way to get your bearings when you pop out of a subway station in an unfamiliar part of town."



The public transit feature includes over 100 cities around the world, offering schedules for transportation systems, and this number is likely to grow as more systems elect to participate.

As an added bonus, you can email info about your location to friends, which can definitely come in handy when you're trying to meet somebody somewhere. To get all of the new features, you have to go to iTunes and update your phone's software. Now some are wondering when these features will become available for Android

Google now Sync for Blackberry

As more of its services are used in business environments, Google started to provide synchronization tools for mail, calendar and contacts, but their launch wasn't timely and they were pretty limited. For example, the Google Calendar/Outlook sync tool is limited to the main calendar, while the Blackberry sync application doesn't upload preexisting events to Google Calendar.

To install the application, visit m.google.com/sync from a Blackberry

The good news is that Google's applications are constantly improving. The sync tool for Blackberry added support for contacts synchronization. "This new functionality will enable you to sync your handheld's built-in address book with your Gmail contacts. This all happens in the background and over the air, so your information is always up to date, no matter where you are or what you're doing," explains Google Mobile blog.

Google Voice Search To The iPhone

The New York Times reports in Friday’s newspaper that Google’s iPhone app will be updated with voice search capability. The move should come as no surprise: The launch of Goog411 in 2007 brought immediate speculation that mobile voice search was on the way, and Google tells the Times that data collection from the Goog411 project helped create this new iPhone service.

Currently 1-800-Free411 is the leader in the ad-supported free directory assistance market.

With the new Google iPhone app, you’ll be able to speak your search query into the phone rather than having to type it out. The Times article explains what happens after you ask your question:

"The sound is converted to a digital file and sent to Google’s servers, which try to determine the words spoken and pass them along to the Google search engine.
The search results, which may be displayed in just seconds on a fast wireless network, will at times include local information, taking advantage of iPhone features that let it determine its location."

New Firefox for Mobile

A modern version of the browser wars of the 1990s could be shaping up, with the battleground being the mobile phone. And there's a new list of contenders: Safari on the iPhone, Internet Explorer Mobile for Windows Mobile, RIM's BlackBerry Web browser, and a version of Chrome for Google's Android phones. Within the next few months, there will be a new entry: a scaled-down, sped-up version of Firefox, called Fennec.

Last week, Mozilla, the nonprofit organization behind Firefox, released an "alpha" version of Fennec, just as the desktop version of its browser reached 20 percent of the market for the first time.

Yellowbook Launches G1 Mobile Application

Local business publisher Yellowbook has launched a new mobile application for the G1, the brand new Android-powered phone. Yellowbook already has apps for Windows Mobile, Blackberry, Palm, and the iPhone.
If you want to download it to your phone, follow these instructions:
1. Tap the Browser icon on the home page.
2. Tap Go to URL.
3. Enter yellowbook.com in the URL bar.
4. Tap Go.
5. Tap the pictures of the phones on the lower right side of the page.
6. Expand the screen to view instructions for this phone, located at the top right.
7. From your phone, TAP HERE to start the download process.
8. Follow your phone prompts for downloading the application.
For more information on Yellowbook's mobile apps, visit http://www.yellowbook.com/iphone-windows-mobile-blackberry/.