Google+ Local

Google fills search with Zagat ratings

It's time to rate your world on Google+ Local, double down on secrets and lose the hashbang:

Google+ has teamed up with Zagat to add a new feature encouraging users to review local establishments. It's called Google+ Local, and even if you don't use Google+, you'll start to see these ratings pop up around Google search and maps.

Apple CEO Tim Cook shared some interesting comments at the D10 conference Tuesday. To summarize, Cook didn't say if Apple was working on a television set, he vowed that the company will "double down" on … Read more

TomTom Go Live 1535 M searches the Web, tweets your trip (review)

Testing GPS devices can be a grind--a dull, boring grind. So when a device comes along promising to revolutionize portable navigation devices, I tend to perk up and take notice. The TomTom Go Live 1535M is one of those attention-getters.

When this portable navigation device (PND) was announced a few weeks ago, I was intrigued by its integration of travel apps that enable the user to tap into Yelp, Trip Advisor, Expedia, and Google Local Search services for up-to-date point-of-interest data and reviews via the same Live data service that beams in its HD Traffic data. I was even more … Read more

Magellan RoadMate for iPhone updates with Yelp, Google search

Magellan's RoadMate app for iPhone updates today to version 2.0 with a refreshed UI. However, the biggest change is the new POI search, because joining Magellan's standard list of searchable points of interest are new options for Yelp and Google Local.

With Yelp search you can browse all of Yelp's categories and subcategories. Search results include Yelp's star rating for quickly identifying, for example, the best Ethiopian restaurant in your area. Once you've found your destination, the app can call the venue or initiate turn-by-turn directions. Additionally, every search result is a clickable link … Read more

15 minutes of fame

Links from Friday's episode of Loaded:

Google releases its 2010 Zeitgeist with the year's fastest growing and most popular search terms

YouTube will now allow a select group of users to upload video longer than 15 minutes, which used to be the maximum time limit allowed

Yahoo revamps Yahoo Local

A new Pew Research study shows that only 8 percent of online Americans are on Twitter

Howard Stern renews his contract with Sirius XM Satellite Radio and will now be available on Sirius mobile phone apps

Using your head

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded:

Google launches Boutiques.com for highfalutin shoppers

Google creates Hotspot to help you discover your friends' favorite haunts

Hulu Plus is now $2 per month cheaper and available on the Roku set-top box

Yahoo launches Amazon Studios goes live in a quest for the next big thing in movies

Yahoo Clues lets you track trending search topics

The Emergency Broadcast System is coming to your cell phone

Intel wants to put computer chips in football helmets to measure head trauma

A New York University professor is going to live-stream his life from a … Read more

TomTom for iPhone version 1.3 gets new features, traffic charge

TomTom's latest version 1.3 update to its navigation app for iPhone went live this week, adding a handful of new features that we were expecting, and a few that we didn't.

We'd heard previously that the 1.3 update would bring integrated Google Local search and TomTom Traffic. However, rather than rolling the traffic service into the update, TomTom gives users access to the service as an in-app subscription. For U.S. users, this means shelling out $19.99 per year to gain access to live flow and incident data for more accurate routing and arrival … Read more

TomTom iPhone app getting update, live traffic

GPS device manufacturer TomTom continues to put its weight behind its TomTom app for iPhone with a new version 1.3 update. This revision, which has just been submitted to Apple for review, will add real-time traffic speed and incident reports for more accurate routing and travel time estimates.

Also included in this update is Local Search powered by Google, for finding points of interest that are not included in the preloaded database without leaving the app. TomTom tells us that there will be other yet unnamed enhancements that will be detailed when the app emerges from this end of … Read more

Google Favorite Places coming to window near you

Google is turning its sights squarely on the local ad market, with plans to promote its local business listings in storefronts around the U.S.

Stickers bearing Google's logo and a QR code have been distributed to 100,000 of the most popular businesses in Google's Local Business Center database, and starting this week consumers will be able to use code-scanning applications on modern phones to look up the Google listing for that particular restaurant, store, or dry cleaner. The stickers will be prominently displayed in store windows of participating businesses, and represent a shot across the bow … Read more

TomTom updating GO Live flagship series

TomTom unveiled the successor to its GO 740 Live connected PND, and it's called the GO 750 Live. Like any good sequel, this one adds more characters to the mix in the form of two additional Live models, the GO 950 Live and the GO 550 Live.

All three Live models will feature a wireless data connection for receiving traffic data, fuel prices, and performing Google Local Searches. Additionally, the three models will also all feature TomTom's IQ Routes technology and the free MapShare service for user-generated map updates. An Eco Route option has been added to the … Read more