Android Users Can Launch Google Places As Its Own App

Google has released Google Maps for mobile version 4.4, and this comes with a new dedicated "Places" icon designed to make it easier to find nearby places with updated Place Pages.

The icon appears on Android-powered devices in the app launcher along with all of the other apps. This way you can go right to Places from the homescreen if you choose to add it.

Michael Siliski, Product Manager for the Google Mobile Team explains:

Search for several convenient types of places with the default categories or add your own for your most frequent searches. You can also use the search bar at the top to type or speak any query. I tend to use the “coffee” search a lot, but I’ve also looked for “gas stations” on the road, “ice cream shops” in my neighborhood, and even specific places like “Chelsea Market” on a recent trip to New York.

Of course, you’ll often want to learn more before deciding where to go. With updated Place Pages, you should be able to find all you need to know about a place, whether you’re wandering into a new restaurant or deciding from your couch. In addition to photos and reviews, Place Pages now have a bunch of new details, such as prices, parking and menu links to inform your quest for the perfect steak. You'll also notice that the search results list now highlights business opening hours in addition to compass direction and distance -- consider it your late night caffeine radar.

The new version of Google Maps and the Places icon are available for devices running Android version 1.6 and higher. They can be found by searching for Google Maps in the Android Market. Blackberry users will soon get the new features.

Google Launches New Image Search Ads

Google began rolling out a new design for its image search today, and along with that came a new ad format. The format is called (appropriately) Image Search Ads.

"These ads appear only on Google Images, and they let you include a thumbnail image alongside your lines of text," explains Google Images Product Manager Nate Smith. "we hope they’re a useful way to reach folks who are specifically looking for images."

Advertisers can review specific performance metrics for their ads on Google Images. They are priced the same as standard AdWords ads with cost-per-click pricing.

Advertisers can create the ads using Google's Display Ad Builder. They can use a template to pair relevant ad text with targeted images.

 To create an Image Search Ad, simply go to your AdWords account, select the campaign or ad group where you want to create it, click the Ads tab, select Display ad builder from the "new ad" drop-down menu, then select "templates for search" and choose Image Search Ad.

Google recommends that advertisers create a new ad group so that they can target keywords, adjust bids, and track performance for ads specifically on Google Images.

Google Arranges To Scan Over 160,000 More Books

The digital collection of public domain works Google Books maintains is in store for yet another major boost.  Google's struck a deal with the National Library of the Netherlands that will see the search giant gain access to more than 160,000 additional books.

This should bring Google a fair step closer to achieving its goal of organizing the world's information and making it accessible to everyone.  A post on the company's European Public Policy Blog explained with regards to the first matter, "The books we'll be scanning constitute nearly the library's entire collection of out-of-copyright books, written during the 18th and 19th centuries."

And more specifically, "The collection covers a tumultuous period of Dutch history, which saw the establishment of the country's constitution and its parliamentary democracy.  Anyone interested in Dutch history will be able to access and view a fascinating range of works by prominent Dutch thinkers, statesmen, poets and academics and gain new insights into the development of the Netherlands as a nation state."

 Then, in terms of accessibility, it turns out that Google and the National Library of the Netherlands intend to make all of the scanned texts available via the European Union's Europeana portal.

It looks like all sorts of individuals and organizations will benefit from this development, then.

Don't hold your breath - there are many, many factors at work - but Google might even see an extra perk if the Dutch library's willingness to cooperate influences the Google Books settlement case.

comScore: Yahoo Loses "Time Spent" Fight

June did not go at all well for Yahoo, judging by new statistics from comScore. In fact, at least in terms of time spent on the company's properties, June was terrible, with Yahoo managing to set a couple of records of the wrong sort.

Jay Yarow noted earlier today, "Time spent on Google sites (38.9 billion minutes) was greater than Yahoo (38.8 billion minutes) for the first time." And the "time spent" measurement was one of the few areas in which Yahoo had an advantage over Google.

Then here's another important detail: Yarow wrote, "As a percentage of total internet time for Q2, Yahoo hit an all-time low, says [Citi analyst Mark] Mahaney." Which is perhaps especially embarrassing since Yahoo and Microsoft are in the final stages of implementing their search and advertising deal.

So now, the company is of course sure to try to correct the problem, and the good news is that some possible solutions are already available to it. Yahoo's recent acquisition of Associated Content could prove useful in this respect, for example, and its partnership with Offerpal and integration with Facebook may also come in handy.

We should note that comScore's revelation doesn't exactly have shareholders in a panic, though. While Google and Microsoft did manage to make bigger gains, Yahoo's stock still rose 0.34 percent today, which put it ahead of the Dow and Nasdaq (which rose 0.18 and 0.09 percent, respectively).

That's a pretty sure sign that not many folks think the financial fate of the company is at risk because of comScore's finding.

Hulu CEO: Ad-Free Version Not Out Of The Question

When the details of Hulu Plus were announced, many people were dismayed that the service still included advertisements. Now, Hulu's CEO has indicated that he'd be willing to do away with the ads - so long as enough customers are willing to pay more money.



Om Malik was able to talk to CEO Jason Kilar sometime yesterday, and in an article published today, Malik wrote, "When I asked Kilar to comment on the criticism being leveled at the company, he said that the company was comfortable with the idea of offering a higher-priced version if there is demand from customers."

And if that plan involving multiple tiers sounds a little overcomplicated considering the existence of free alternatives - and the simple fact that people can use commercials as an opportunity to check their email - there is sort of a precedent. source: www.webpronews.com/topnews/

More Smartphone Owners Using Local Search And Social Networking

More people are increasingly using their smartphones for local search, social networking and gaming, according to a new survey from Compete.

Nearly one in three smartphone owners has called or stopped into a local business after finding it using a local search application. In the first quarter, close to a third of Android and iPhone users found at least two new businesses that they previously were not aware after using local search applications.

"With the increasing popularity of local search, retailers should ensure their sites are optimized for mobile browsers," said Danielle Nohe, director, technology and entertainment for Compete.

"Making it easy for consumers to discover businesses via their devices opens local companies up to a whole new customer demographic, and savvy businesses should make sure they're maximizing this opportunity."

Consumers are increasingly accessing social networking sites via their mobile devices. According to Compete's findings, 33 percent of smartphone Twitter users primarily send tweets via their smartphones, and 33 percent of these consumers prefer to read tweets on their phone. Of those accessing Facebook from their smartphone, consumers are increasingly using the device to read news feeds (66 percent), post status updates (60 percent), read/reply to private messages (59 percent) and post photos (44 percent).

"Given the increasing popularity of Facebook, Twitter and other social sites, it follows that users are eager to access these outlets on their phones," said Nohe.

"Based on our findings, I recommend marketers start thinking about new ways to maximize consumers' use of smartphones on social sites, as mobile adoption will likely only increase with time."

Over half (51%) of iPhone users have five or more games on their devices. In contrast, 46 percent of BlackBerry users have no games on their smartphones. Not only do iPhone owners download more games, they play games more frequently than do owners of other smartphones. Of the consumers surveyed, 37 percent of iPhone users report playing games on their smartphones at least daily and puzzle games seem to be capturing the majority of this attention.

"It's evident that iPhone owners have embraced mobile gaming," commented Nohe. "Developers should turn their attention to targeting other smartphone users in an effort to even out the discrepancies in mobile gaming adoption." source: www.webpronews.com/topnews/