Google has been ordered to pay €500,000 to Bottin Cartographes, a French company that filed a lawsuit against Google France after it began providing its free Google Maps services to customers. Google is also responsible for paying an additional €15,000 in fees. The court found Google “guilty of abusing the dominant position of its Google Maps application,” Economic Times said Thursday. ”We proved the illegality of [Google's] strategy to remove its competitors… the court recognized the unfair and abusive character of the methods used and allocated Bottin Cartographes all it claimed,” Botton Cartographes lawyer Jean-David Scemmama said. “This is the first time Google has been convicted for its Google Maps application.” Google said it will appeal the decision. “We remain convinced that a free high-quality mapping tool is beneficial for both Internet users and websites,” a Google spokesperson said. “There remains competition in this sector for us, both in France and internationally.” Google was also fined €100,000 in France last year after a court found it guilty of collecting private information for the Street View feature of Google Maps.

Read

Beating out popular own-brand apps like Google Search, Gmail, Google Maps and YouTube, Facebook holds the title as the most actively used Android app. Market research firm Nielsen on Monday published the findings of a month-long study to determine the most-used Android apps currently available for the platform. The study made use of Nielsen’s proprietary on-device monitoring software, which has been voluntarily installed by thousands of panelists across the country. Beyond the Android Market itself, Facebook was the most actively-used app on the Android platform over the past 30 days in all age brackets. Among users aged 18 to 24, Google Search was the second most used app in the firm’s new study with 77% of panelists having opened the app over the past 30 days. Gmail and Google Maps followed with 79% a piece, and YouTube slid in behind them with 64%. Following the suite of Google apps was Pandora Radio with a distant 30%. A similar study conducted by Nielsen in July found that Facebook was the third most popular app behind Google Maps and Gmail. Read on for more.

Among users aged 25 to 34, 81% used Facebook over the past 30 days while 80% used Gmail. Google Maps was used by 79% of panelists and Google search was used by 78%. YouTube followed with 56% and the most actively used non-Google app other than Facebook was Angry Birds at just 29%. Users aged 35 to 44 painted a similar picture. Facebook and Gmail were tied at 77% followed by Google Search (75%), Google Maps (73%) and YouTube (51%). Angry Birds then followed with a distant 35%.

Interestingly, Amazon’s third-party app store ranked in the top-15 most actively used apps across all age groups. The Amazon Appstore was No.14 among users aged 18 to 24 with 14%, No.11 among users aged 25 to 34 with 22% and No.10 among users aged 35 to 44 with 24%.

Read

Google has announced a new privacy option that allows users to opt out of having their wireless routers included in the Google Location Server. That’s right, you have to opt out, not in. Here’s how Google Location Server works: when you’re walking around town trying to figure out your location using your smartphone and Google Maps, your phone can either use GPS or a faster, more battery efficient method that determines your location based on local wireless networks. Google maintains a database of local wireless access points but, if you don’t want to be included in it, you can simply change your router SSID (the network name that you broadcast) to include “_nomap” at the end of the access point name. Once you’ve done that, Google will not include your wireless access point in its Google Location Server database. “As we explored different approaches for opting-out access points from the Google Location Server, we found that a method based on wireless network names provides the right balance of simplicity as well as protection against abuse,” Google’s global privacy counsel Peter Felischer said in a blog post. “Specifically, this approach helps protect against others opting out your access point without your permission.”

Read

Beginning January 1st, Google will start charging a fee to developers and websites that frequently access its Google Maps API service, BBC reported recently. Developers will apparently be charged $4 for every 1,000 views after Google Maps is accessed more than 25,000 times in a single 24-hour period. BBC said Google expects the changes will only affect 0.35% of its user base. “We understand that the introduction of these limits may be concerning,” Google Maps product manager Thor Mitchell said. “However, with the continued growth in adoption of the Maps API, we need to secure its long-term future by ensuring that even when used by the highest-volume for-profit sites, the service remains viable.”

Read

Market research firm Nielsen on Tuesday revealed the 20 most popular Android applications in the United States. Using data obtained from metered device usage as opposed to observations from surveys as most similar data is collected, Nielsen studied Android owners’ app usage over the past month. The result is a ranking of the platform’s top-20 applications by active reach, or the percentage of Android device owners who used each app within the past 30 days. Google’s Android Market topped the charts overall as well as among men and women alike, with a reach of nearly 91%. Google Maps was the second most popular app overall with a reach of 74.6%, and the app was No. 2 behind the Android Market for men with 77.1%. Gmail was third among men (75.5%), Google Search was fourth (72.4%) and Facebook rounded out the top-5 (66.9%). Among women, Facebook (81%) was second behind the Android Market, followed by Gmail (73.4%), Google Maps (71.9%) and Google Search (71.3%).

Read

Google announced on Tuesday that it has added support for 3D buildings in 13 additional cities on Google Maps, including London, Paris, Barcelona, Stockholm, Singapore, Lisbon, Boulder, and 11 cities in South Africa. Until Tuesday, the feature was available in just a handful of other metropolitan areas, including New York, Milan, and Zurich. To activate 3D buildings in one of the aforementioned locations, simply zoom in close to the city and the application will then show a 3D renders of the city landscape. A software update is not required if you already have the latest version of Google Maps installed on a device running Android 2.0 or newer.

[Via Mobile Burn]

Read

Google took the wraps off of Google Maps 5.7 for Android devices on Wednesday, and the software update adds quite a few new features. The most noteworthy addition is Google’s Transit Navigation beta feature, which provides navigation instructions for public transportation in more than 400 cities around the globe. You don’t have to leave it open, either. Once you’ve started your trip, Transit Navigation will automatically remind you with an alert when your stop is coming up. Google also made it easier to find driving or walking directions in one click, improved search suggestions with category icons, and added a photo viewer to the Places feature of Google Maps. The update is available free from the Android Market for devices running Android 2.1 or newer. Hit the jump for a video of Transit Navigation beta in action.

Read

TomTom on Monday lowered its 2011 financial outlook again as consumer interest in dedicated navigation devices dwindles. Despite beating second-quarter revenue estimates, the Dutch company cut its full-year revenue guidance to €1.23 – €1.28 billion from its previously forecasted range of between €1.43 billion and €1.48 billion. This marks the second time this year that TomTom has lowered its 2011 guidance — the company had already reduced its full-year revenue forecast this past April. TomTom made a name for itself selling sleek Personal Navigation Devices that could be mounted in any car to provide the user with voice-guided GPS navigation. Following the emergence of smartphone-based solutions over the past few years, however, dedicated navigation companies like TomTom and Garmin have not been able to recover business lost to free solutions like Google Maps and inexpensive paid mobile solutions such as those offered by CoPilot and TalaNav. TomTom does offer a series of mobile applications, but the relative high price points and the flood of competition have proven to be difficult barriers.

Read

After spending three days with iOS 5 on multiple devices now, I can confidently say that this is the mobile operating system to beat. It gives you just enough of what was missing, while still remaining solid (“closed” — a.k.a. fast, responsive, apps that don’t steal your data, etc). There have definitely been some slowdowns in daily usage due to the fact that the OS is in beta, and battery life has no doubt taken a hit, but this isn’t meant to be used on consumer devices. And even with those hiccups, it still out performs many Android handsets (though not the Galaxy S II, that battery is Teen Wolf). Hit the break for the rest of my thoughts after day three.

Notification Center continues to be something I’m not sure how we lived without (actually, I am sure… I cursed those pop-up notifications every time they came in), and iMessage is everything that BlackBerry Messenger is, but better. Why? You’ll be able to communicate with over 200 million people (and growing) as opposed to only 45 million using BlackBerry smartphones. It’s also a much cleaner interface, and it combines text messages, MMS and iMessages into one gorgeous app. Oh, and let’s not forget the fact that it can be used across multiple devices, allowing users to continue their conversations while moving from one to the next.

The little updates also really make me happy. Things like being able to drag and drop calendar appointments, being able to select and mark multiple messages as read, the new alternative routes in Google Maps, the alignment grid in the camera, and even the Reminders app, which delivers incredible geo-fence-based reminders while also syncing with all of my Exchange notes. This is the mobile operating system to beat, folks.

For earlier thoughts on iOS 5, be sure to check out day one and day two.

Google — noting that 40% of its Google Maps users are on mobile devices — updated its Google Maps Web app for iOS and Android today. We’ve been pretty satisfied with the native applications on Android and iOS, but the website allows you to access many of the options that are available from a desktop browser, too. That includes the ability to view your location, search nearby areas with suggestions and auto-complete, get directions for driving, transit, biking, or walking, view different lays, view Place pages, and access your starred locations. We’re particularly excited about the option for accessing our starred locations, a feature that’s not available in the native iOS application. You can access the revamped interface by visiting maps.google.com from your iOS or Android device.

Read

Google Maps has hit a new milestone as the first Android application to surpass the 50 million download mark. The free application has seen many revisions since its public introduction in 2008 — as part of Android 1.6 — and now includes 3D modeling with multi-touch zoom and panning, free voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation, and support for Google’s Latitude and Places products. Given that it’s available on every iteration of Android — that we can think of — we’re not surprised to learn it’s the most downloaded application ever. Congrats to the Google Maps team. 

[Via Mobile Burn]

Read

At SXSW, Google’s VP of  Location and Local Services, Marissa Mayer, took the stage and dished out some interesting Google data, including mobile stats. During her talk, Mayer revealed the following statistics we found interesting:

• 40% of all Google Maps usage is from mobile devices, and Christmas and New Years day mobile usage surpassed desktop usage for the first time.
• 150 million mobile users on Google Maps
• Google Maps Navigation, included on Android handsets, has guided users 12 billion miles a year, and the latest version with traffic routing saves users 2 years per day in time that would have been spent in traffic.
• Google Maps could get smarter, and become contextually aware. For instance, if you were trying to catch a flight, Google Maps could see your flight schedule to see when your flight was, then look and analyze real-time traffic data and weather conditions to try and figure out the exact time you should leave
• Google would like there to be better Google Maps for iPhone. “We like being the default provider, but we’d like to get some of these updates out to a broader audience. That’s still a debate/question we’re considering.”

With Google’s Android explosion continuing, it looks like there will plenty more Google Maps and Navigation users over the next few years.

Oh Google Maps, is there anything you can’t do? Via a blog post just moments ago, Google announced an incremental update to its Maps application for Android. The update, which is still technically in beta, brings real-time traffic routing right to your smartphone. “You don’t have to do anything to be routed around traffic; just start Navigation like you normally would, either from the Navigation app or from within Google Maps,” reads the announcement. “Before today, Navigation would choose whichever route was fastest, without taking current traffic conditions into account.” The software will work in both North America and Europe, and is waiting for you in the Android Market. Enjoy.

Read

It looks like the gang from Mountain View have pushed Google Maps 5.2 to the Android Market. Aside from the standard performance improvements, the update adds the ability to post place-ratings directly to Twitter and “ping” friends to request check-ins. Google reminds you that both parties using Maps must be on version 5.2 to take advantage of the ping feature… so be a friend and remind your amigos to update.

Read

On a brisk day in October almost a year ago, Google announced Android 2.0 alongside the Motorola DROID. On that same day, satellite navigation companies like Garmin and TomTom saw their stock prices deflate faster than Yankees fans’ spirits in the sixth inning last night. This was no coincidence. With Android 2.0, Google announced the addition of free satellite-guided turn-by-turn navigation to its popular Google Maps service. Garmin and TomTom both saw mobile as a big part of their futures, and here Google was breaking the space wide open. How can paid services possibly compete?

Netherlands-based navigation giant TomTom found at least one possible answer to that question this morning when it announced a new partnership with HTC. It is becoming increasingly difficult to sell smartphone-based navigation products directly to consumers, so the key is to get manufacturers and carriers to pay for these solutions — and to pay for new solutions that utilize the current Location Based Services (LBS) craze. TomTom, after all, provides much more functional and polished mobile navigation solutions than Google ever will.

The new deal announced this morning places TomTom’s maps in HTC’s new integrated navigation solution, HTC Locations, which HTC calls a “zero-wait navigation experience”. The service will initially be available on the HTC Desire HD and HTC Desire Z, and only in Europe and Asia. HTC Locations will expand to new devices and regions, though no further release schedule was provided.

The catch? HTC Locations will be free to end users, along with some basic functionality. Turn-by-turn navigation, however, will be a premium paid add-on, making it a much less appealing option than it could have been if HTC ate the expense as a value-add. Unless HTC decides to block Google Maps Navigation from its HTC Locations-equipped devices, we don’t see this new deal going very far at all. Sorry TomTom, looks like you’ll have to reroute your trip yet again.

Read