Google Street View coming to iPhone OS 2.2 - what else?

by Alex Zaharov-Reutt

Tuesday, 07 October 2008

Page 1 of 2 ! Google’s infamous yet handy Street View feature looks set to arrive with the iPhone OS 2.2 update, among other tweaks including graphical emoticons, but will the iPhone’s Street View work like it does on the Android? Anyone who has seen the T-Mobile G1 Google Android gPhone, or videos of it online, knows that it has the world’s best Google Street View feature – simply activate the “compass mode”, and as you move the phone around, the street view changes its view accordingly. Thus, if you’re looking down a city street, and move the phone left or right, you’ll see the shops or buildings on either side of the street. Move the phone upwards to the sky, or downwards to the ground, and you’ll either see the sky in your Street View – or the street itself. It’s a very clever trick and is a step towards the “augmented reality” we’ve seen in sci-fi movies where the good guys put on some glasses and suddenly see all kinds of extra information, such as names of faces, or available weaponry or anything else. You can go to the T-Mobile G1’s official site to see a Flash based video “commercial” of the phone’s features in action, while this YouTube video shows a short demo of this very cool feature. Given the iPhone has an accelerometer too, as do phones like the Nokia N95 and N96 series, I wonder how long it will be before Google Street View not only appears on those phones – but adds this “compass” view, too. MacRumors reports that evidence of Street View has been detected in beta versions of the iPhone OS 2.2, and that it’s not the only new feature. Another feature is said to include the ability to turn off the iPhone’s keyboard autocorrection feature in the Settings panel. What else is said to be in iPhone OS 2.2, and what about the much desired features that so far, we’ve heard diddly squat about? Please read on to page 2. << First page <   1 2 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>

 

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