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Understanding Google My Business & Local Search

Google Maps Navigation Demonstration: Why you won’t want to invest in TomTom

This video demonstrating Google Maps Navigation, the free Android 2.0 app from Google. It is clear that the days of the PND are numbered. On his blog, Alex Chitu points out a likely explanation for the recent release of this product: “In the past, this wasn’t possible [to offer turn by turn naviagtion] because of the licensing fees that had to be paid for each user of the navigation system. Now that Google no longer uses data from TeleAtlas in the US, turn-by-turn navigation can be added for free.”

Some features highlighted by TechCrunch:

Search in plain English. No need to know the address. You can type a business name (e.g. “starbucks”) or even a kind of a business (e.g. “thai restaurant”), just like you would on Google.

Search by voice. Speak your destination instead of typing (English only): “Navigate to the de Young Museum in San Francisco”.

Traffic view. An on-screen indicator glows green, yellow, or red based on the current traffic conditions along your route. A single touch on the indicator toggles a traffic view that shows the traffic ahead.

Search along route. Search for any kind of business along your route, or turn on popular layers such as gas stations, restaurants, or parking.

Satellite view. View your route overlaid on 3D satellite views with Google’s high-resolution aerial imagery.

Street View. Visualize turns overlaid on Google’s Street View imagery. Navigation automatically switches to Street View as you approach your destination.

Car dock mode. For certain devices, placing your phone in a car dock activates a special mode that makes it easy to use your device at arm’s length.

Here are Garmin and TomTom stock values on the day:

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