3D Flyover vs. Tour Guide
Both Google Maps and Apple Maps will be offering a flyover feature for getting a birds-eye view of a particular area. Google’s will be called Tour Guide, while Apple’s will be called simply 3D Flyover.
While we’ll definitely have wait until both are released to do a side-by-side comparison, on the surface Apple’s flyover looks to be a bit more impressive and run smoother. Images in the Maps are rendered in real time in exceptionally detailed 3D. Over the past three years Apple acquired three mapping companies, two of which specialized in 3D maps, which undoubtably helped it create such a robust product at launch.


Siri Integration
Siri gets to make an appearance in Apple Maps. Apple’s digital assistant can give you information on anything from where the nearest gas station is to how much longer your trip is going to take.
The integration offers many of the same features as your traditional GPS, possibly because it’s getting a lot of its power from a traditional GPS company. Leaked pictures of the Maps interface acquired by Engadget indicate that TomTom is providing a good bit of data for the service. TomTom has been offering turn-by-turn navigation for the iPhone since 2009, and its iOS app will likely become somewhat if not entirely obsolete with the release of turn-by-turn directions in iOS 6.


Local Search
Both Google Maps and Apple Maps allow you to look up a particular resturant near you. Apple’s version, however, also integrates inYelp information into searches, allowing you to see a particular resturant’s rating and read reviews before you make a choice on where to dine.


Turn-by-Turn Directions, but No Public Transportation
The Apple version of maps brings turn-by-turn navigation to the iPhone, a traffic view, and anonymous real-time crowd-sourced incident reports for traffic problems you encounter along the way.
While Apple Maps will bring turn-by-turn directions to the iPhone, it will take away one feature may city dwellers have come to know and love: public transportation directions. In its current form, Apple Maps does not have public transportation directions built in. That might potentially be because most cities write their transportation in GTFS (General Transit Data Feed originally known as Google Transit Data Feed). While that data is open and free to use –- and used by most if not all of the transportation apps out there –- it was developed in part by Google, which may make Apple reluctant to use it.

Facebook announced sweeping integrations for WordPress.org and WordPress.com VIP users on Tuesday morning — allowing you to add your blog content to the social network in one click. The integrations are accessible through a Facebook for WordPress plugin (available here) and allow bloggers and administrators of WordPress-based sites to cross-publish content to WordPress, their own Facebook Timelines and the Facebook Pages they oversee.

“The plugin was built by Facebook engineers in collaboration with open source partners, and makes it simple for anyone to make their WordPress site more social – no coding required,” Facebook engineer Matt Kelly wrote in a blog post introducing the tool. WordPress powers more than 16% of the web, and Facebook, by all appearances, wants to be the web for its more than 900 million users. So, in that context, the integration makes quite a lot of sense for both parties.

Facebook appears to be angling to become a destination site for original, non-user-generated content — as well as more of a gateway to the wider web.

Today, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon all advertise their networks as 4G, and this confuses a lot of people, including their own employees. While LTE is the true 4G network, the HSPA+ networks operated by AT&T and T-Mobile are noticeably faster than their 3G counterparts, prompting them to proclaim them to be “4G.”
After AT&T finally woke up last year and noticed that Verizon’s rapidly expanding LTE network was substantially faster than its HSPA+ network, the company decided to build its own LTE network while still calling its HSPA+ network “4G.” Sprint and T-Mobile followed suit, announcing they too are developing LTE networks. The most notable change you’ll experience when moving from a 3G to a LTE device is a dramatic speed upgrade. LTE networks are on average 10 times faster than their 3G counterparts. Sites load faster, Netflix doesn’t pause every five seconds, and apps download at greater speed.

After getting off to a massive head start, Verizon now has the biggest 4G LTE network in the country, no matter what the AT&T and T-Mobile commercials say. With more than 250 current LTE markets and plans to cover 400 markets with LTE by the end of 2012, Verizon is your best bet if you are looking for true 4G speeds countrywide. In comparison, at the time of publishing, AT&T has 39 markets with LTE coverage, Sprint expects to have six markets up and running by mid-2012, and T-Mobile is in the beginning stages of building its LTE network. Be aware that if you don’t live in a LTE market, you won’t get the faster speeds whether or not you have a LTE device. (If you have an LTE device but are not in an LTE market, your device reverts to 3G speeds.)

Undeterred by its lack of a working LTE network, Sprint released its first LTE smartphone, the HTC EVO 4G LTE, on June 2. If you are in a market where AT&T currently offers LTE service, the HTC One X — which may be the best Android phone available — is your best choice for a smartphone, with the new iPad your best bet for a tablet with LTE.

Verizon offers a plethora of options including standouts like the Galaxy Nexus by Samsung with Android 4.0; the Droid Razr Maxx by Motorola, which has the longest talk time ever for a smartphone; and for those of you who enjoy a physical keyboard, the Droid 4, also by Motorola. Along with the new iPad, Verizon offers great Android tablets with LTE, such as the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7.

Acer launched on Wednesday its latest Android tablet to hit the market, boasting an HD display and a series of powerful specs.

The 32GB Iconia Tab A700 tablet — which is currently available for pre-sale in U.S. and Canada for $449.99 — runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, Google’s latest mobile operating system.
Available in black and silver, the tablet features a 10.1-inch full HD 1080p backlit display that produces beautiful images and HD video, with 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution that’s 55% higher in pixel density than many other tablets on the market.

Powered by an NVIDIA Tegra 3 quad-core processor, the sleek device caters to fast web-browsing. Other specs include an HDMI port, a micro-USB port for syncing and transferring files and supports up to 64GB MicroSD cards. The Iconia Tab A700, which comes with high-quality Dolby Mobile 3 sound, can also be connected via HDMI to an external sound system.

It’s been quite the day for the Russian hacker who has reportedly stolen nearly 6.5 million LinkedIn passwords. Now, it looks like the same hacker has also compromised 1.5 million passwords from popular dating site eHarmony.


“After investigating reports of compromised passwords, we have found that a small fraction of our user base has been affected,” eHarmony wrote on its blog. “We are continuing to investigate… as a precaution, we have reset affected members passwords.”

Affected members will receive an email with details about how to reset passwords. The company also included a list of password security tips, such as changing passwords every few months and using different passwords for each Internet site.

The Samung Galaxy S III has a lot of cool features, including a couple of “first evers” among smartphones, like its voice-activated wake-up feature. But is it just as revolutionary in its durability? To find out, SquareTrade, an independent warranty provider, subjected Samsung’s hot new Android phone to a drop test. For comparison, it also dropped another hot phone with which you may be familiar: the iPhone 4S. It’s actually a three-part test. First, SquareTrade dropped the phone from ear level — certainly a fair test since a drop while making a call is probably the worst case scenario because of the phone’s height above the ground. Next, they gave both phones to two small (and super-cute) kids, simulating what a toddler might do to a parent’s phone. (SquareTrade says one in four parents have had their kids damage their phone in some way.)

The news that Facebook might be considering a membership option for children under 13 is garnering plenty of reaction from parents and online safety advocates. Many underage kids are using Facebook already, often with their parent’s help. A recent Consumer Reports study estimated that 7.5 million children under 13 are already using the social network.

Even among the parents who knew about their kids’ Facebook accounts, only 18% had friended them — which would be one of the most basic steps you can take to monitor your kids’ Facebook useage. Facebook is well aware of the problem. The company told Mashable in a statement: “recent reports have highlighted just how difficult it is to enforce age restrictions on the Internet, especially when parents want their children to access online content and services.”

Facebook Camera


Parking Douche
 


Sing Something



Sleepbot



Sidecar



My Last Wish

 
Slide

The wait is finally over for the Indian fans of Samsung smartphones who are eagerly waiting for the Galaxy SIII launch in the country. The Korean company reportedly confirms the May 31 date for the launch of SIII.

The smartphone has been touted as the biggest competitor to the iPhone and is available in three variants-16GB, 32GB, 64GB. The SIII has some interesting features such as zero shutter lag, voice control system and 'more intelligent' lock system that keeps the screen awake by sensing the user's eyes. The Galaxy S III is powered by Ice Cream Sandwich Android operating software and comes with a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED screen, 16/32GB storage, 8 megapixel rear camera and a 1.9 megapixel front camera and is only 8.6 mm thick.

The company has not yet unveiled any pricing details of the smartphone, however, unconfirmed reports say that SIII would come be priced between Rs 42,000-45,000.

Microsoft has announced a Windows 8 upgrade program for customers who purchase a Windows 7-based PC from June 2012 until February 2013.

Starting tomorrow in 131 markets, including the U.S., consumers who buy a Windows PC pre-installed with Windows 7 Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional or Ultimate, will be able to upgrade to Windows 8 Pro for $14.99. The standard 90 days of support from Microsoft is also included in the offer. To be eligible for the upgrade program, users must purchase a new Windows 7 PC from June 2, 2012 to Jan. 31, 2013, and redeem it before the end of February 2013.

Customers who participate in the program will be able to download Windows 8 on the day it becomes generally available. You can find detailed information on the program over at www.windowsupgradeoffer.com.

Third-party apps like HootSuite just got a little less relevant with an update from Facebook that lets Page admins schedule posts. A new help center page from Facebook also outlines how brand pages can now dole out specific duties to multiple page admins, each with varying degrees of permissions.

The chart below outlines the new roles of manager, content creator, moderator, advertiser and insights analyst.

PepsiCo is joining forces with Twitter to extend the reach of their current “Live for Now” promotion. “Live for Now” is a musical platform that resides at Pepsi.Com and offers live music from some of today’s biggest pop performers. Launched on May 7th, the platform also features breaking entertainment and pop culture news. The idea behind the behind the new promotion is to position Pepsi products alongside other popular culture icons.

The “Live for Now Music” initiative is an extension of Pepsi’s recently launched “Live for Now” global campaign, will offer free music downloads, music videos and a series of pop-up concerts this summer and fall. Every Wednesday for the next 52 weeks, Pepsi will offer videos providing an overview of the artists, music and music news trending on Twitter that week.

In addition, @pepsi will offer free downloads from the Amazon MP3 store for fans who follow the brand on Twitter and use the hashtag #PepsiMusicNOW in their tweets. The brand will also use Twitter to announce pop-up concerts, which it will offer on-demand afterward for fans who want to watch it later. Twitter, which makes most of its money from advertising, is poised to post ad revenues of $259.9 million this year, according to eMarketer.

Starting in 2003, the iconic Apple co-founder and former CEO sat with the Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher for six interviews at the annual southern California tech and business event. Now all of those interviews are being made available as free downloads on iTunes (Audio only).

The new download option (you can find many, but not all, of these clips as online streaming video), was announced during a special Steve Jobs tribute panel called “The Lessons of Steve Jobs.” The panel featured two of the Apple founders’ long-time friends Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and Dr. Ed Catmull, President of Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Animation Studios. The result of a collaborative effort between Apple and All Things D, this content will be offered in video and audio-only form.

During a now-famous interview with longtime friend and rival Microsoft founder and former CEO Bill Gates, Jobs joked that they had been keeping their marriage a secret for 10 years.

Name: CauseCart
 
Big Idea: CauseCart is a Chrome extension and Firefox add-on that works with ecommerce websites to donate a portion of every user’s online purchases to charity.

Why It’s Working: CauseCart seeks to revolutionize the culture of donation by enabling shoppers to give money to a charity of their choosing for free. All donations are handled between CauseCart and the ecommerce platform.

The way that CauseCart works is simple: Users log on to the startup’s website, drag the CauseCart add-on to their Chrome or Firefox browser and select a charity of their choice. Then the user continues to shop online the way that they normally do. CauseCart communicates with popular ecommerce platforms, such as Amazon, to donate a percentage of each purchase to the charity. For example, if a user buys $20 worth of goods on Amazon, the platform will send at least 5% of that money to CauseCart. The user pays nothing extra, and he or she is able to micro-fund a cause like charity: water or Pencils of Promise.

On the social good end, Geer is ultimately curating a list of around 30 partners doing good all over the country. “We’ll always try to keep it a short list, but we have a good relationship with each of these causes, and we want to have a good feedback loop with each of them,” Geer says. CauseCart is preparing for a soft-launch in June with its Chrome extension, with a bigger push and a Firefox option in the near future. Geer says he’s hoping that this model will positively reinforce all users to give in a new and innovative way.