iPhone 2.2 beta to add public transit & walking directions
The next version of Apple's iPhone software will not only introduce Street Views to the handset's Maps application, but also provide bus, train and walking directions, a series of new photos reveal.
Public Transit Directions
iPhoneYap has posted an extensive screenshot gallery from iPhone Software 2.2 beta 2, released Friday, which offers a walkthrough and detailed descriptions of the new features.
When set in Directions mode, Maps now offers three icons -- car, public transit, and walking -- centered at the top of screen, in between the "Edit" and "Start" buttons. Selecting the transit icon provides a list of transit choices that can include subways, buses, or a combination of the two.
A list of departure times and estimated commute times accompany each transit option. Once you select a particular method of transit, the Maps application will serve up step-by-step directions from your current location, usually directing you to your chosen departure subway or bus stop on foot. During commutes, Maps will specify when you should board or disembark from a bus or train.
Screenshots of iPhone 2.2 beta 2 showing public transit directions | Source: iPhoneYap.com
Street View
Meanwhile, Street views on the iPhone will let you view street-level photographs, just as they would at maps.google.com. To activate the feature, iPhoneYap reports that you simply need to "drop a pin or click a searched location to get the tooltip to popup from the pin." The tooltip popup then serves as a gateway to the Street View interface.
Once in Street View, you'll notice two options in a bar at the top of the screen: "Report" and "Done." A small navigation circle showing your current location (on a map) overlays each Street View photograph.
Screenshots of iPhone 2.2 beta 2 showing Street Views | Source: iPhoneYap.com
Location Sharing
One final feature noticed in the new version of Maps is location sharing. Selecting the "Share Location" option of an address will auto-fill an email with a hyperlink to the location, which will automatically launch and load in Maps application of the recipient, assuming they too have an iPhone.
Screenshots of iPhone 2.2 beta 2 showing Share Location | Source: iPhoneYap.com
Public Transit Directions
iPhoneYap has posted an extensive screenshot gallery from iPhone Software 2.2 beta 2, released Friday, which offers a walkthrough and detailed descriptions of the new features.
When set in Directions mode, Maps now offers three icons -- car, public transit, and walking -- centered at the top of screen, in between the "Edit" and "Start" buttons. Selecting the transit icon provides a list of transit choices that can include subways, buses, or a combination of the two.
A list of departure times and estimated commute times accompany each transit option. Once you select a particular method of transit, the Maps application will serve up step-by-step directions from your current location, usually directing you to your chosen departure subway or bus stop on foot. During commutes, Maps will specify when you should board or disembark from a bus or train.
Screenshots of iPhone 2.2 beta 2 showing public transit directions | Source: iPhoneYap.com
Street View
Meanwhile, Street views on the iPhone will let you view street-level photographs, just as they would at maps.google.com. To activate the feature, iPhoneYap reports that you simply need to "drop a pin or click a searched location to get the tooltip to popup from the pin." The tooltip popup then serves as a gateway to the Street View interface.
Once in Street View, you'll notice two options in a bar at the top of the screen: "Report" and "Done." A small navigation circle showing your current location (on a map) overlays each Street View photograph.
Screenshots of iPhone 2.2 beta 2 showing Street Views | Source: iPhoneYap.com
Location Sharing
One final feature noticed in the new version of Maps is location sharing. Selecting the "Share Location" option of an address will auto-fill an email with a hyperlink to the location, which will automatically launch and load in Maps application of the recipient, assuming they too have an iPhone.
Screenshots of iPhone 2.2 beta 2 showing Share Location | Source: iPhoneYap.com
Comments
PUSH technology.
Public transit sounds awesome! For them to include it the system must be reliable enough for the information to be meaningful, one would think. Now this is something I am really looking forward to.
I predict that (like pretty much all "location aware" iPhone software), it will be accurate in California and New York, reasonably so in the rest of the USA and absolutely useless for the rest of the world.
Just sayin.
I predict that (like pretty much all "location aware" iPhone software), it will be accurate in California and New York, reasonably so in the rest of the USA and absolutely useless for the rest of the world.
Just sayin.
You can probably judge it by Google maps, since that's the service Apple's using. I don't live in CA or NY, nor any huge city, but my maps functionality is accurate and detailed. Street View even (medium-sized city).
... You can probably judge it by Google maps, since that's the service Apple's using. I don't live in CA or NY, nor any huge city, but my maps functionality is accurate and detailed. Street View even (medium-sized city).
The maps are pretty accurate, although street view is certainly not everywhere yet.
I was referring more to the plethora of apps that tell you what movie theatres, restaurants, or those that tell you what's on TV in your area etc. They don't seem to work outside of the USA (or work well anyway), and they form an absolutely huge percentage of apps in the app store.
The comment about the accuracy of the transit info in the previous post was what I was focussing on. It would be nice, but I am not counting on it being accurate or indeed even available in my area for years.
Sometimes when you live in a large US city, you lose track of the perspective the rest of the world has on these sorts of things. I think Apple and Google employees are no different in that respect.
And what about sync-ed notes and to-do list? Are there coming at last
I predict that (like pretty much all "location aware" iPhone software), it will be accurate in California and New York, reasonably so in the rest of the USA and absolutely useless for the rest of the world.
Just sayin.
location services is very accurate in the E.U., europe that... for americans it has to be spelled out... otherwise comments like the one quoted above would not be made... LOL...
in australia, japan, new zealand, singapore as well...
flickr group about street view: http://www.flickr.com/groups/googlestreetviewcar/
just look @ the group map or the discussion area...
The maps are pretty accurate, although street view is certainly not everywhere yet.
I was referring more to the plethora of apps that tell you what movie theatres, restaurants, or those that tell you what's on TV in your area etc. They don't seem to work outside of the USA (or work well anyway), and they form an absolutely huge percentage of apps in the app store.
The comment about the accuracy of the transit info in the previous post was what I was focussing on. It would be nice, but I am not counting on it being accurate or indeed even available in my area for years.
Sometimes when you live in a large US city, you lose track of the perspective the rest of the world has on these sorts of things. I think Apple and Google employees are no different in that respect.
I think this may have been true 6 months to a year ago. But not so much any more. I live in Montreal, Canada and have no problems at all with locating restaurants, theaters, etc in google maps, or other specialized apps. "Now Playing" is a great a movie theatre app that is accurate here.
even in cities that are 300-500k... threshold is 100k i think, @ least in germany...
I think this may have been true 6 months to a year ago. But not so much any more. I live in Montreal, Canada and have no problems at all with locating restaurants, theaters, etc in google maps, or other specialized apps. "Now Playing" is a great a movie theatre app that is accurate here.
i think the movie theater thing is north america specific... there's nothing like that or a working API for movie theaters to use and share their data... also the highway traffic data is not easily accessible by private parties... the traffic feature in google maps does not work in europe... huge bummer...
i use "exposure", "aroundme" and "trapster" all work in germany and all over euroe, and they deliver very accurate info...
i use twinkle for twitter on iphone and there's a ton of people using twinkle in my area...!!!
I predict that (like pretty much all "location aware" iPhone software), it will be accurate in California and New York, reasonably so in the rest of the USA and absolutely useless for the rest of the world.
Just sayin.
Ah come on, don't pretend the US is the only developed country in the world. Google Maps is accurate and has lots of information also in Europe. In Cologne where I live even the smallest shops and cafes can be found using the Maps application. I'm really looking forward to these news features.
Sometimes when you live in a large US city, you lose track of the perspective the rest of the world has on these sorts of things. I think Apple and Google employees are no different in that respect.
So far, I think the top 50 US metropolitan areas are on Street View. Street View is available for some parts of Japan too, there was a bit of a fufurah about it a couple months ago.