Map of the Week: Airbnb

Map of the Week: Airbnb

Why we like it: Airbnb has created a really great ‘search by map’ interface for their vacation rentals services. There’s also a really nice implementation of Google Street View to help renters make an informed decision about the rental and the surrounding neighborhood.

For a lot of people, the months of June, July, and August mean vacation time. As the price of just about everything rises, it can be difficult to find a unique and exciting place to stay within your budget. Luckily there’s Airbnb, which is a great way to find short-term accommodations rented out by private parties.

When it comes to finding the perfect place to stay, location is everything and Airbnb has invested heavily in creating mapping tools to make the right connections. A nice feature of the website is the ability to search by map for places to rent. The search interface is intuitive and easy to use.

For security reasons, you aren’t able to know the exact property or the exact address, but Airbnb places you in the right neighborhood so that you can use Street View to get a better idea of what’s around. A nice added UI feature is a “Rotate Street View” button, which automatically glides the imagery around the neighborhood.

Airbnb is a global operation and there’s a Google Map for everywhere there are Airbnb rentals (which is just about every corner of the globe). So wherever you’re travelling, there’s a good chance that Airbnb has rental for you and Google Maps API tools to help you find it. Good luck and safe travels on your next vacation!

via:googlegeodevelopers.blogspot.com

 

The Garmin aera 796 and 795 -Navigators with 3D Vision

 

Garmin announced its newest flagship aviation portable GPS series, the aera 796 and aera 795. These new devices have all of the great features you have come to know and love from a Garmin aviation portable like a 5 Hz GPS receiver, the patented Panel Page and XM weather integration, plus the aera 796/795 is enhanced with even more features that make it Garmin’s most capable aviation portable yet! Some new additions include a touchscreen user interface, pilot-selectable screen orientation and 3D Vision.

What is 3D Vision?
3D vision is a unique 3D view of the surroundings outside the aircraft. It uses GPS position and the terrain-alerting database to recreate a behind-the-aircraft perspective view of the topographic landscape. The resulting virtual reality display offers pilots a supplemental 3D depiction of land and water features including terrain, obstacles, runways and airport signposts all shown in relative proximity to the aircraft. With the flick of a finger, the 3D view can be rotated around the aircraft to easily view the surrounding terrain.

A path to a paperless cockpit

Because of the comprehensive offering of electronic charts, the aera 796 may be qualified for use as either a Class I or Class II Electronic Flight Bag (EFB). Geo-referenced IFR Enroute charts and VFR Sectional charts come pre-loaded, and the aera 796  also includes geo-referenced Garmin FliteCharts®, an electronic version of the AeroNav U.S. Terminal Procedures Publication. For pilots who prefer Jeppesen charts and diagrams, Garmin also offers a ChartView enablement option. Garmin ChartView utilizes Jeppesen’s extensive library to provide global charting capabilities. More “paperless” offerings include a digital document viewer, scratch pad and pre-loaded geo-referenced AeroNav IFR and VFR enroute charts.

Plus a large touchscreen display
The large icons on the high-resolution 7-inch touchscreen display make this device so easy to use. Using  your finger, you can quickly pan across the map, pinch zoom and quickly access information. The icons along the bottom row of the display are even customizable, so you can pick your favorite features and anchor them at the bottom of the display for even faster access.

The aera 796/795 will be on display and available for purchase next week at the AOPA Aviation Summit in Hartford, Connecticut. Come by and visit us! If you can’t make it to the show, but want to get your hands one one, visit your local Garmin authorized dealer.

Google Maps: Preview your route in 3D

Getting directions is one of the most popular features on Google Maps, whether it be for driving, walking, biking or transit. Today, we are launching a new feature that allows you to bring your upcoming trip to life, by allowing you to preview your route in 3D.

Let’s say you’re planning a road trip down the beautiful coast of California’s Highway 1 and want to be able to see what the route really looks like. California’s rugged coastline is not to be missed, but the top-down view really doesn’t give you a good sense of what this majestic terrain is like. Using the 3D preview; however, you can get aerial view of the route, as if you were in a helicopter flying above the road.

To preview your own route, it is as simple as clicking on a button. Start by entering your starting point, destination, and mode of transport like any directions; in this case, driving directions from ‘Carmel CA to Big Sur CA.’ Then, just click on the “3D” play button. The map will switch to Earth view and automatically start flying you along your recommended route.

You can pause the flight at any time by clicking anywhere in the 3D view or on the pause button in the lower left. While the flight is paused, you can explore the surrounding area in 3D by clicking and dragging the map. When you are ready to resume the flight, simply click on the play button in the lower left of the 3D view.

To help you keep track of which step you are on, the current leg of the trip is highlighted in the left panel. You can also jump to a different part of the trip by clicking on a different step.

You can get back to 2D mode by clicking on the “2D” button in the left panel at any time.