Give your customers virtual tour of your premise through Google Business Photos

Google has launched its Business Photos programme in India. This programme of Google allows users to have a Glimpse of a business premise. It also allows a virtual tour via interactive 360 degree imagery. Users of Google Search, Google Maps, and Google+ Local Pages can access the imagery.

According to Google, business owners can hire ‘Trusted Agency Photographers’ to post images of their interiors. They can also post images of displays on the storefront, like business hours, rating details, credit cards accepted, and posted menus. There’s an option to add social media channels using an embedded code from Google Maps.
Google says the images will help users/customers to have a “better sense of business has to offer and what sets it apart from others”.
Interested businesses in India can visit http://google.co.in/businessphotos and click on ‘Get Started’. Business owners can also upload their own photos and videos of their business to local Google+ pages.

Apart from India, Google’s Business Photos Program is available in countries United States, Australia, New Zealand, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Just few days left for London Olympics. For this London Olympics Google has released its indoor map feature for various locations in the UK. Google is launching indoor maps for Android devices in the UK. Indoor Maps was first released in the US and Japan in November last year, and has since been updated to improve indoor location accuracy and to provide indoor walking directions.

Now just open Google Maps on your Android mobile phone, zoom in to the location you’re in and the indoor floor plan magically appears. And for buildings where the information is available. The feature launches in the UK with maps of more than 40 locations including the National Theatre, museums, train stations, airports, shopping malls, and others, and allows any building owner to upload their floor plan to be included in the future. Google has a full list of venues on the Google Maps site.

Selected locations for Indoor Map in UK

United Kingdom

• British Museum
• National Maritime Museum
• Harrods
• National Theater
• Victoria Albert Museum
• Museum of London
• Natural History Museum
• Courtauld Gallery
• National Portrait Gallery
• Victoria Station
• Euston Station
• Kings Cross Station
• Waterloo Station
• London Bridge Station
• Fenchurch Street Station
• Cannon Street Station
• Paddington Station
• Charing Cross Station
• O2 Arena
• Wembley Stadium
• BFI Southbank
• Barbican
• Ricoh Arena
• Somerset House
• John Lewis*
• Debenhams*
• Selfridges*
• House of Fraser*
• One New Change Shopping Mall
• Calbot Circus Shopping Center
• Liverpool Street Station
• St Pancras International
• Peter Jones – Sloan Sq.
• Airports:
  • London City airport
  • London Stansted airport
  • London Luton Airport
  • Manchester
  • Edinburgh
  • Glasgow
  • Birmingham

All you need to know is where you are and which place you want to reach and Google maps will find the way for you. Not just this. The search engine will also tell you the place from where you can catch a public transport, the distance to be travelled, time required and expenditure for the trip. Already available in Delhi, such a facility may soon come to Chandigarh.

On Thursday, Jagjeet Chawla, product manager, Google India, said, “It will be easier to do it for Chandigarh as it is a well-planned city. Google maps have covered most places in India and road directions are already available to guide vehicles. For enabling maps to tell about public transport, we need schedules and routes from the government.”

Google is learned to have requested the central government to provide data of various public transport systems that can be mapped, like Delhi, where, for instance, if you wish to take the tube from Rajouri Garden to Hazrat Nizamuddin railway station Gate No 2, you must just enter your location and destination on Google map. In a few seconds, the engine will tell you that your journey will take 45 minutes, location of Metro station, frequency of tube on the route and nearby taxi stand.

source:The times of India

Motorola launches Motorola MILESTONE, Android 2.1-powered phone in India A phone with rich mobile web experience,messaging and top-of-the-line multi-media features.
Powered by Android 2.1, it enable you to use multiple applications at once and one of the world’s thinnest QWERTY sliders (13.7mm or 1.37cm). Phone already consist Google applications such as, Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail and YouTube.
MILESTONE comes preloaded with lifetime free access to fully voice-guided street-level navigable maps of 40 cities6 in India.Voice-guided navigation allow users to access 400,000 towns and villages and
explore over one million points of interest like budget/premium hotels, petrol pumps, eating joints, ATMs, hospitals as well as tourist and religious spots.’ India’ maps app is pre-installed in MOTONAV application menu.

Motorola MILESTONE features:
9.39cm (3.7 inch) widescreen display with 854 pixel width and more than 400,000 total pixels
High-speed, cortex A8 processor
Pinch and zoom, double tap zoom
5 megapixel camera with dual-LED flash, AutoFocus, and image stabilization.
Motorola Media Link and Motorola Phone Portal to manage and share media content across desktop,

phone and the Web5
Stereo Bluetooth / BT 2.1, USB 2.0 High Speed
3.5mm (0.35cm) headset jack
CrystalTalk Plus for superior talk quality
8GB memory card

Pre-loaded applications in Motorola MILESTONE :
Full suite of the Google applications: Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube, and Google Talk
Unified Google, Microsoft Office and Facebook Contacts
Navigation: GPS, MOTONAV turn-by-turn navigation with India maps
Email Support: IMAP, POP3, Gmail and Exchange
IM Support: Google Talk

Google recently add a new feature in there map this feature provide great help to Bicycling riders,Yes Biking directions is now Integrated with Google Maps, now those who are ride on bicycle also get benefits from Google Biking direction,But this service only in U.S,

Google has partnered with Rails-to-Trails (RTC), For biking directions to Google Maps.With this Google Maps now providing Rout detail of more then 150 cities of U.S. and include more than 12,000 miles of trails and bike lanes. Google says it plans to continue to add new trail information to Google Maps and is requesting feedback from riders via the “Report a Problem” tool.

with this tool user get best bicycling route and avoid the user from busy road lines, In this user will be able to directly contribute their local knowledge about trails, bike lanes and suggested routes.

for more detail you can check http://maps.google.com/biking

Source:Google official blog