Google Earth for Android gets Street View support, updated search, 3D directions, and improved interface
Google on Wednesday updated its native Google Earth for Android app with a big new feature and two improvements. You can download the new version now directly from Google Play.
The biggest addition is Street View support. While the desktop version of Google Earth has had the feature for a while now, it wasn’t available on mobile:
Can I access Street View or Flight Simulator on Google Earth for mobile?
At this time there is no way to access Street View from Google Earth for mobile. On Android, if you’d like to view Street View imagery on a phone or tablet, Street View is available through Google Maps for mobile. Currently there is no way to view Street View imagery on iOS.
Looks like Google badly needs to update the Google Earth FAQ. The limitation never did make sense to us, as Google Earth has always been more powerful than Google Maps, but prioritization of features is naturally different on mobile than on desktop.
Next up are the improvements: updated directions and search as well as a tweaked interface. The former means you can now visualize all four types of directions (walking, biking, driving, and transit) in 3D as well as browse through search results more quickly. The latter means the app now also lets you check out different layers from the new left-hand panel.
The full Google Earth 7.1.1 for Android changelog is as follows:
- Google Maps Street View: With Street View, you can explore the world at street level.
- Improved directions/search: Updated directions let you can visualize transit, walk, bike and drive directions in 3D while update search result list will let you browse search results quickly.
- Improved interface: Easily browse and enable different layers through use of new left hand panel.
Google Earth for iOS is at version 7.0.3; we’ll let you know if and when it gets these new features too.
Top Image Credit: gilderm
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PlayOn launches on the Wii U to let you watch videos from sites like Hulu, MTV and HBO GO
PlayOn, a service that lets you stream content from sites like Hulu, HBO GO and Comedy Central via your PC to your TV and mobile devices, has arrived on the Wii U.
Four and a half years ago, PlayOn first began as a way to use the PC to bring streaming content to “dumb” gaming and mobile devices. Now, even as these devices evolve, there’s still a gap in availability due to artificial restrictions — for example, a Hulu Plus paid membership is required for viewing content on certain screens.
This, in addition to the fact that the Wii U doesn’t support Flash, makes a ton of sites inaccessible on the gaming console. PlayOn essentially works around these limitations by converting Flash and Silverlight videos from your PC to HTML 5.
“The beauty of the Wii U is the tablet-like gamepad that becomes a second screen for watching video or browsing content and options,” says PlayOn CEO Jeff Lawrence. “So now, instead of waggling a Wii remote, you can use the touchscreen controls to browse PlayOn channels and select from the long list of online content we’re making accessible through the Wii U console.”
For non-Wii U owners, PlayOn supports 19 other devices, including the Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, iPhone, Android phone, Roku, Kindle Fire and more. Unfortunately for Mac owners, PlayOn only supports PCs, but also can work with Bootcamp and Parallels.
➤ PlayOn for Wii U (free for a year, PC only)
Image credit: Kiyoshi Ota / Getty Images
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Amazon Quietly Begins The Long Road To Closed Captioning Its Streaming Video Library
Amazon has quietly started to add closed captioning services to its Instant Video library, following a September 30 deadline from the Federal Communications Commission that required online media companies to begin incorporating these subtitles for the hard of hearing into their video content.
This regulation — an implementation of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2011 – has been long in the making, with companies like Amazon and YouTube but also Apple arguing that they will need extensions to fully comply, and those arguing on behalf of people with hearing disabilities saying that digital content needs to be just as accessible as what people can see in analog. The September 30 deadline is the first in a series for closed caption compliance.
But in the meantime, Amazon has, it seems, started to take some baby steps. A reader, Linda, passed us an email from Amazon explaining what is going on, and how to get to the closed captioned content.
Hello,
Closed captions are now available for select Amazon Instant Video titles streamed on the Amazon.com website. Support for additional devices is coming soon.
Customer feedback like yours is very important in helping us continue to improve the experience of using our digital video service. If you’re interested in support for a particular device, please let us know!
…
While browsing or searching the Amazon Instant Video store in your web browser, you can filter your view so that only those videos that include closed captions appear. You can also see the “CC” symbol on the video detail pages for supported videos.
To browse for videos with closed captioning:
1. From your web browser, go to the Amazon Instant Video store.
2. Go to the Movies or TV Shows storefronts.
3. Set the “Subtitles & Closed Captioning” filter in the left-hand column, and then browse the results.
To search for videos with closed captioning:
1. From your web browser, go to the Amazon Instant Video store.
2. Search for a video title or keyword, and then set the “Subtitles & Closed Captioning” filter to display only those videos that both match your search term and include closed captions.
Some foreign language videos are available in both dubbed and subtitled versions. You can find these by searching on “subtitle” in the Amazon Instant Video store.
We look forward to seeing you again soon.
It is not clear whether the regulations will apply retroactively to all content, or whether it will be only new content that is added after September 30. We are reaching out to Amazon to ask. For now it seems like only a handful of titles come up in closed caption searches.
Netflix has been making updates for a while on its closed captioning situation, as has Hulu.
[Photo: dno1967b, Flickr]
Continued here: Amazon Quietly Begins The Long Road To Closed Captioning Its Streaming Video Library
Netflix overhauls its Android smartphone app, brings it in line with its tablet and iOS versions
Revamping its existing iPhone and iPod touch apps last week, Netflix has overhauled its Android smartphone app, bringing it in line with its Apple counterparts and making it easier for you to browse, find and watch titles on the streaming service.
In today’s new update, Netflix’s Android app is designed to show more titles and galleries by default, pushing a similar style to its tablet app that was updated at the end of last year.
The Browse screen has been adapted to showcase a list of films or TV shows that you have started to watch but haven’t finished, with additional rows filled with recommendations based on your previous history and preferences.
Making it easier to simply touch and play, Netflix makes sure that with a double-tap, you can immediately start watching your chosen film or TV show (and pick up from where you left off in a film or show you didn’t finish watching). A single tap bringing up the relevant information for that title.
If you have an iPhone or iPod touch, it’s the exact same feature upgrade, but tailored for Android devices. You will need to make sure your device has Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) or higher installed.
Image Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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