Google Maps has expanded its lead in features in the last year, a move that will help the company vanquish rival services in mobile search, Cowen and Co. analysts said Monday.
"Since our initial survey in July 2007, innovation at (AOL's) MapQuest and Yahoo Maps has stagnated," and although Microsoft has improved Live Search Maps, it remains the least popular of the four top services, said analysts Jim Friedland and Kevin Kopelman. "Yahoo and MapQuest do not have the resources to keep pace and are forced to aggressively monetize a declining franchise in the maps segment."
Why does it matter? Because with the Apple's iPhone, Google's Android operating system, and many other efforts are bringing the Internet to mobile phones, and there's a wealth of untapped ad revenue in that market.
"Google's aggressive investment in maps positions the company to achieve a dominant share of search in the mobile Internet," the analysts said.
Specific advantages at Google Maps include Street View and public transportation directions, the analysts said.
Google Maps also has just launched traffic monitoring and prediction for parts of the United Kingdom, Google Blogoscoped pointed out.
Street View endows Google Maps with a driver's-eye view of the world, and now people actually on the street will be able to use it, too.
The company announced a new version of its Google Maps for Mobile software that includes support for Street View, as well as walking directions and reviews of businesses. Google said the new version is faster too.
The new features work on BlackBerrys with color screens and on mobile devices with Java abilities. Sorry, iPhone users. Visiting the Google site with an iPhone produces this message: "Sorry, Google Maps does not work on your Apple iPhone."
The move isn't a surprise. Google demonstrated Street View on a phone using the company's Android operating system in May, hooked into the phone's hardware so the view would change according to which way the user oriented the phone. The Android phones are due to be announced Sept. 23.
Update 1:56 p.m. PDT: The Google Mobile blog now has some details and an explanatory video.
I downloaded, installed, and ran (once I figured out the new icon) the software fine on a BlackBerry. Launching it shows a start-up screen with the Street View person icon with brief instructions.
I did find the new version of the software somewhat more responsive, though data transfer speeds still impose a fair amount of waiting.
The Street View option is enabled when you click on an area; after a pause the software tells you whether Street View is available, and clicking the option overlays a pretty small Street View window atop the map. Using the scroll wheel pans the view left or right, again with some waiting on the network.
- prev
- 1
- next
