Posts Tagged ‘Google Maps’

Google Maps 4.0 Update for BlackBerry

Monday, April 19th, 2010

Google has rolled out an update to Google Maps for mobile with several feature upgrades. The biggest enhancement is a search by voice feature with the same setup as search by voice in the main Google mobile application. I tested the new feature out using business names and specific addresses, and the results are just as good as you would receive via Google Maps online. Google Maps 4.0 also introduces new Google Buzz features for mobile. However the Google Buzz results are kind of scattered; and more on the interesting than helpful side. The third main feature is Google has enabled better integration with existing search history and your Google Account. You have to log in and save your search history, but there is great potential in personalized recommendations and time savings.

Features:

  • Search By Voice
  • Google Buzz
  • Synchronization with you Google Account and Search History
  • Google Labs experimental features: Scale Bar or Terrain Layer
  • See businesses near an address or location by selecting a point on the map.
  • Report problems with map data or a business listing.

Check out the original instructions direct from Google on how to install the latest version of Google Maps 4.0 for BlackBerry. Or get started by going to m.google.com/maps in your BlackBerry’s Internet Browser.

Finally, here is a link to the announcement post on the Google Mobile Blog: http://googlemobile.blogspot.com/2010/04/google-maps-40-for-blackberry-adds.html.

[del.icio.us] [Digg] [Facebook] [Technorati]

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Travel and Maps | 1 Comment »

Life with Google — on your BlackBerry

Monday, March 1st, 2010

I’m one of those people who can’t imagine life without Google. I communicate with all my friends and family using Gmail and Google Talk. I do all my web searches on Google Search. I look up all my directions on Google Maps. And I keep up on all my news via Google Reader.

That’s why the first app I installed on my BlackBerry Curve was the free Google Mobile App. It has all the amazing features of Google – but it comes with me in my pocket. Here’s a few tips for maximizing your life on the go with the Google Mobile App for BlackBerry:

  • Voice search: Say you’re having a conversation with a friend and trying to figure out when the first day of spring is. It’s easy: just launch your Google Mobile app, hold down the green call button, and say “first day of spring” into it. The voice recognition software will translate what you say into a Google Search query—and return the results that the first day of spring this year is March 20.
  • Maps: Did a friend just call and offer to meet you at a restaurant you’ve never heard of in an hour? No need to get directions, just plug the restaurant name into your Google Maps app. Whether you’re walking, driving, or taking public transit, the Google Maps app will draw your route for you, and give you estimated time it’ll take to get there (and how much it’ll cost, if it’s via public transit). Or are you lost? Just call it up and wait for the blue dot to tell you where you are. I’ve used this more times than I’d like to admit when I’ve been turned around in unfamiliar neighborhoods. And it’s especially valuable to have if you’re navigating someone from the passenger seat; “turn right in two blocks” is a lot better than “turn right on Main Street, which is coming up at some point…oops, there it was…”
  • Reader: This app is by far my favorite. As a CREDO Action campaign manager, I live and breathe the news, and Google Reader is my go-to way of catching up on the latest. I use RSS feeds from all my favorite newspapers, magazines, and blogs. Rather than having to visit each publication’s site, I pull their stories into my Reader account through RSS. The Mobile Reader app pulls in the headline of the newest 10 (depending on your settings) articles. You can easily scan to see the latest news, or click through to read the full articles of the ones that pique your interest the most.
  • News: Don’t use Google Reader? You can also use the News app, which pulls in the latest from the Google News homepage.

All of these and more are available with the free Google Mobile App for BlackBerry. Just point your browser to m.google.com or visit their website to have a link texted to your phone.

[del.icio.us] [Digg] [Facebook] [Technorati]

Tags: , , , , , , , ,
Posted in News, Political, Travel and Maps, Utilities | 1 Comment »

Turkey Day Travel

Thursday, November 26th, 2009

As usual, it looks like this Thanksgiving will be a heavy travel time. I’ve already blogged about easy ways to check your flight status and even breeze through security for your flight using your mobile phone, but there are still ways your phone can come in handy if you’re logging some car miles on your way to your holiday gathering.

If you need a refresher on directions to Aunt Erma’s, one of the best ways to navigate using your BlackBerry is to download the Google Maps application. It’s simple:

  1. Visit the Google Maps website.
  2. Enter your mobile phone number and click ‘Send me a link.’
  3. You’ll get a text message on your phone; follow the link in it.
  4. Click ‘Install Now’ on your phone’s browser to download and install the app.

Once it’s set up, you can zoom in to your current location, enter two addresses to get detailed driving directions, and even see current traffic conditions. You’ll be cruising efficiently to your destination in no time!

Myself, I’m taking the bus. But to avoid hanging out at the bus stop for too long and tempting passersby with the pumpkin pie I’ll have in tow, I’m going to browse to NextBus.com on my BlackBerry so I can know exactly when it’s coming.

Have a great holiday, and safe (and speedy) travels!

[del.icio.us] [Digg] [Facebook] [Technorati]

Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Travel and Maps | No Comments »

WiFi surfing on the HTC Touch Pro

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

The HTC Touch Pro is a powerful device. As a touch screen smartphone, it is the essential mini windows computer in your pocket. And because it’s WiFi capable, you can even get broadband speed data connection just like on your laptop.

Say you are:

  • Traveling abroad and you want to use your phone on your trip where you wouldn’t necessarily be able to have phone service.
  • You don’t want to incur a huge international data roaming bill but you want to check email and be able to map where you are traveling in google maps.
  • Make low cost international calls using Skype
  • Sitting at home or work or a cafe and you want really fast connection speeds – much faster than on a cell phone network

Here’s how you setup WiFi:

  1. From the top left corner of the home screen select start -> settings
    This will bring up a menu of options and select the connections tab at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Select the WiFi icon on the screen and look for a WiFi network to connect to and select the Connect soft key in the bottom left corner of the screen.

  3. You’ll need to enter in a network key if the connection requires a password. Select Finish to finish setup and establish the connection.

Once setup, it should remember the connection settings so that once you return to your house or your workplace, you will have instant broadband connection.

[del.icio.us] [Digg] [Facebook] [Technorati]

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Productivity, Reference | 1 Comment »

Yahoo! Go or “no-go” on my Blackberry?

Friday, July 17th, 2009

Its been a while since I have used my Yahoo! account.  The reason is simple.  Since I got my Blackberry Curve, I have been spending most of my time using other applications and viewing other mobile web sites.  I downloaded the Google App and moved my personal email to Gmail.  With Google Apps, I have my email and the web at my fingertips.

I heard about the downloadable Yahoo! Go application for my BlackBerry Curve and decided to try it out.  “The best internet experience for your phone. Period.” is no idle boast.  Or is it.

Yahoo Go! is a well designed application.  It takes me back to the days when Yahoo! was cool.

Overall, the Yahoo! Go user interface is very user friendly compared to the Google app.  Yahoo! Go’s interface is superior by a large margin in my opinion.  However, each component of this all-in-one application doesn’t live up to it’s competition.  For example, I am used to using Google Maps to find my way around the Bay Area and couldn’t imagine that I would be hooked on something else.  The Yahoo! maps are compelling,  providing quite a bit more map detail than you can find on Google Maps.

Yahoo! Go for Blackberry

Unfortunately, some key features are missing from Yahoo! maps.   I couldn’t seem to  find walking and transit directions which can come in handy when you are not driving.

It also turns that the GPS service is a bit dodgy.  I was on the train testing it out and I kept getting an error message that  Yahoo! Go is unable to find my position.  I switched over to Google Maps and it picked up my location within seconds.  I am no geek but I’m partial to fast and reliable performance.

For looks, the Yahoo Go! application is indeed the best internet experience on your mobile phone, but for performance it is not. Period!

For now this will have to be a no-go for me.

[del.icio.us] [Digg] [Facebook] [Technorati]

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Entertainment, Music and Tones, News, Productivity, Travel and Maps | 3 Comments »

Top 5 Must-Have Apps for your CREDO Mobile BlackBerry Curve

Thursday, June 11th, 2009

You’ve probably seen from our website that we now offer the most popular smartphone in the US, the BlackBerry Curve.  This sophisticated and powerful device is a must have for organizing, managing, and keeping up with the latest on the go.

Here are some basic applications that I found useful to have loaded on my BlackBerry Curve.

1. BlackBerry App WorldBB App World

BlackBerry App World is the one stop shop for finding applications to outfit your BlackBerry device.  The App World includes everything from games and social networking applications to weather and business applications.  Although I found that the browsing App World was at times a bit slow and not the easiest interface for finding what I’m looking for, it is still one of the most convenient place to go to find apps.

To download the BlackBerry App World Application

  1. Select the Blackberry HELP! icon in your main menu. It should be the one that looks like a plus sign. This will launch the BlackBerry home page
  2. Under “What’s New” click on the link “BlackBerry App World – Download Today!”
  3. Scroll down and select the Download button. You will then see another screen with “Download”.  Click on the button to start downloading the application.
  4. Once download completes, it will prompt you to reboot your BlackBerry.  The Blackberry App World icon will appear on your main menu after the reboot.

2.  Facebook  for Blackberry Smartphones

If you’re like me, I find out what my friends and my favorite organizations are up to through my facebook page. I can check the latest post from CREDO Mobile on the Food, Inc. Movie while waiting for the train by using the Facebook application on my BlackBerry.

Facebook app in BlackBerry App World

Facebook app in BlackBerry App World

To download the latest Facebook app

  1. Go to the BlackBerry Help! icon to get to the main BlackBerry Home page where the Facebook application is featured in the “What’s new” section.  Alternatively, type  http://www.blackberry.com/facebook in your browser.
  2. Follow the questions on the subsequent pages.  Select your desired language and start downloading the app.
  3. After the download completes, the facebook application icon will be added to your main menu.

3. Twitterberry

It’s not just celebrities anymore – approximately 200 members of congress  are reportedly tweeting and communicating with constituents over twitter.   You can follow them and remind them to support your cause from your BlackBerry using Twitterberry.

twitterTo download Twitterberry

  1. Go to http://orangatame.com/ota/twitterberry/ from your BlackBerry
  2. Click on download.
  3. Once the download completes, the twitterberry application icon will be added to your main menu.

4.Google Maps
google-maps

This is one application that you can’t find in BlackBerry App World – probably because it competes with the Maps application that comes installed on the device.  I’ve found the Google Maps to be faster in retrieving map data with a few more features than the pre-installed Maps application.

Google Maps works much like the Google Maps on the internet.

  • You can get Transit and Walking directions in addition to the Driving directions
  • There is an option (press 8 while navigating within the directions) to see the street view where available
  • You can get up to date traffic information overlayed on the map

To download Goggle Maps

  1. Go to m.google.com/maps from your cell phone browser or alternatively, go to the google website from a PC to type in your phone number and send an SMS with the download link to your phone.
  2. Click on the “Install Now” link to start the download.
  3. After the download completes, the google maps  icon will be added to your main menu.

Try it out the next time you’re trying to find a protest location.

5. Opera Mini

operamini1mj

Sure, there is a default browser that comes installed on the BlackBerry, but who says you have to use it?  Just like I choose to use Firefox instead of Internet Explorer on my PC, I choose to use Opera Mini on my BlackBerry.  It has faster page loads, some useful features such as speed dial that allows you to bring up your bookmarked pages by dialing * and a number, and most importantly does a descent job of loading full (not mobile) websites.

To download Opera Mini

  1. Go to mini.opera.com on your BlackBerry
  2. Click on the download link
  3. After the download completes, an Opera Mini icon with a Red letter “O” will be added to your main menu.

Go to Bookmarks-> Edit Speed dial -> to customize your speed dial options.

Let us know what you find useful – you might even discover a great new app while browsing App World.

[del.icio.us] [Digg] [Facebook] [Technorati]

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Messaging, Productivity, Travel and Maps | 9 Comments »