From,...

From,

http://www.spiegel.de/netzwelt/web/google-verbessert-seinen-kartendienst-a-837432.html

German to english translation by Google

07.06.2012

Google's digital maps will continue to be available in 3D and in offline mode. The company announced the web at a news conference. Users should also help in the transmission of accurate spatial data. The improvements are clearly a response to plans of the rival Apple.

San Francisco - Google on Wednesday announced a series of enhancements to its digital mapping services. These include 3-D representations of major cities in the mobile version of Google Earth satellite imagery service. The responsible manager Brian McClendon said in San Francisco. By the end of the year, metropolitan regions are explored with a total population of 300 million people in three-dimensional views, especially in the U.S. but also in Europe.


The 3-D pictures are reportedly taken up with their own aircraft, thousands of pictures of cities from the air to shoot. "We try to create the illusion that you are flying over the city," said Peter Birch, Head of Development of Google Earth.

Contribute to greater accuracy of geographic data to provide the user: This Google Map Maker 2008 software has developed, which allows for easy recording and transmission of card data. The application is now available in South Africa and Egypt and will be launched in the coming weeks in ten other countries, including Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Germany will follow in the summer.

For phones with Google Android system, the digital maps will in future also be available offline, such as when there is no Internet connection in public transportation. This feature would be introduced in the next few weeks in more than one hundred countries. To view Google Street View service, the company announced a so-called "Trekkers", a special camera in a backpack, which also receives outside views of the surrounding streets - as an example, the Grand Canyon McClendon.

Google's announcement should also be a reaction to plans of the rival Apple. Apple will unveil on Monday at the international developer conference WWDC, new products, including rumors that also has its own mapping service. So far, users of mobile devices like the Apple iPhone by default Google maps.

The rumors that Apple will introduce its own version of digital maps, had this week is compressed, after the company made several acquisitions. Apple bought the company in 2009 Place base that produces a Google Maps-like map product. In the years after Apple took over the Canadian company Poly9 and C3 Technologies. Both start-ups have been made by digital 3D maps a name.

suc / dpa / DAPD