谷歌地圖潛入室內(nèi)
????谷歌(Google)通過將室內(nèi)地圖融入Android版谷歌地圖服務(wù)目前已經(jīng)在利用兩大流行趨勢(shì)中拔得頭籌:一是移動(dòng)通信市場(chǎng)的飛速發(fā)展,二是公共空間的日益私人化。畢竟,在商場(chǎng)里尋找洗手間的難度可不亞于在一座陌生城市里找到一處確切的地址。 ????更為重要的是,此舉將進(jìn)一步鞏固谷歌對(duì)美國(guó)在線(AOL)MapQuest的優(yōu)勢(shì)。多年以來,谷歌工程師一直在奮力追趕MapQuest。現(xiàn)在,谷歌這個(gè)位于加州山景城的科技巨頭又在不遺余力地強(qiáng)化其領(lǐng)先地位。 ????目前為止,谷歌只收錄了一部分室內(nèi)場(chǎng)館,包括:布魯明代爾百貨(Bloomingdale's)、梅西百貨(Macy's)和家得寶(Home Depot)等商店;芝加哥、亞特蘭大和舊金山等地的機(jī)場(chǎng);日本的一些交通樞紐中心及其它場(chǎng)所;還有位于明尼阿波利斯郊外的美國(guó)商城(Mall of America)等商場(chǎng)。【美國(guó)商城的收錄讓人頗為意外,因?yàn)樗诎踩矫嬗羞^不少非常奇怪的舉動(dòng)。(美國(guó)商城曾將多位顧客當(dāng)作恐怖分子處理。——譯注)】 ????谷歌將按照有意入駐室內(nèi)地圖的場(chǎng)館提供的方案來顯示室內(nèi)樓面分布圖。這項(xiàng)功能的基礎(chǔ)是谷歌近來發(fā)布的360度商業(yè)圖片服務(wù),用戶利用該服務(wù)可以遠(yuǎn)程觀看商業(yè)建筑的內(nèi)部全景圖。谷歌派遣攝影師進(jìn)入店中,然后這些照片就會(huì)出現(xiàn)在該商鋪的谷歌地方信息(Google Places)頁(yè)面中。 ????一旦室內(nèi)服務(wù)形成氣候并與谷歌地方信息和谷歌錢包(Google Wallet)結(jié)合起來,谷歌就能從中賺取收益。 ????許多用戶都力挺MapQuest,認(rèn)為它與谷歌地圖不相上下。雖然MapQuest最近進(jìn)步不小,但美國(guó)在線仍與谷歌相距甚遠(yuǎn)。MapQuest為Android發(fā)布了一款全方位導(dǎo)航移動(dòng)應(yīng)用程序。與此同時(shí),它還宣稱其移動(dòng)網(wǎng)站每月能吸引到860萬用戶。不過,今年2月,尼爾森(Nielsen)發(fā)布報(bào)告指出,谷歌地圖僅次于Facebook和氣象頻道(Weather Channel)應(yīng)用程序,成為所有智能手機(jī)平臺(tái)上第三受歡迎的應(yīng)用,當(dāng)然,也遙遙領(lǐng)先于MapQuest。在Android平臺(tái),谷歌地圖是當(dāng)之無愧的老大,高達(dá)67%的用戶每月至少要訪問谷歌地圖一次。在iPhone平臺(tái),它也僅僅屈居iTunes之后,排名第二。 ????尼爾森還指出,就互聯(lián)網(wǎng)網(wǎng)站流量而言,谷歌地圖2月份的獨(dú)立訪問人數(shù)為6,730萬,而MapQuest僅為2,470萬。雅虎本地資訊(Yahoo Local)排名第三,為1,310萬。 ????早在互聯(lián)網(wǎng)被發(fā)明前,MapQuest就統(tǒng)治著整個(gè)在線地圖領(lǐng)域(MapQuest于1967年創(chuàng)建,當(dāng)時(shí)是作為一款商業(yè)性制圖軟件。美國(guó)在線于2000年收購(gòu)了該公司。)。2009年,該服務(wù)在每月訪問量上首次落后于谷歌地圖,考慮到幾年前其產(chǎn)品性能就大大落后于谷歌地圖,這一成績(jī)已經(jīng)相當(dāng)不錯(cuò)。盡管美國(guó)在線憑借相對(duì)有限的資源苦苦追趕,但其在整個(gè)網(wǎng)絡(luò)的裝機(jī)量?jī)?yōu)勢(shì)仍在不斷削弱。MapQuest的主要問題似乎在于它的東家是美國(guó)在線。 ????谷歌室內(nèi)地圖服務(wù)面臨的難題是手機(jī)信號(hào)問題,建筑物的厚墻和天花板導(dǎo)致手機(jī)信號(hào)減弱,更不要說像東京地鐵系統(tǒng)這樣的地下建筑了。定位精度可以米計(jì),在大多數(shù)情況下這樣的精度已經(jīng)足夠了。谷歌目前并未明確表示這項(xiàng)新功能何時(shí)甚至是否會(huì)登陸iPhone——不過假如谷歌希望繼續(xù)保持領(lǐng)跑位置,登陸iPhone將是毋庸置疑的選擇。 ????譯者:項(xiàng)航 |
????By including indoor spaces to the Android version of its Maps service, Google is positioning itself to take advantage of two concurrent trends: the spread of mobile communications and the increasing privatization of public space. After all, it can be just as hard to find the restroom in a mall as it is to find an address in an unfamiliar city. ????What's more, the move further solidifies Google's (GOOG) lead over AOL's (AOL) MapQuest. For years, Google engineers struggled to catch up to MapQuest. Now, the Mountain View, California-based giant is intent on not squandering its lead. ????So far, only a handful of indoor venues are included: stores such as Bloomingdale's, Macy's (M) and Home Depot (HD); airports in Chicago, Atlanta and San Francisco; transit centers and other spaces in Japan; and malls including the Mall of America outside Minneapolis. (This latter spot comes as something of a surprise, considering the mall's history of bizarre behavior when it comes to security.) ????Google will accept floor plans from any indoor venue that wants to be included. The feature comes on top of the recent rollout of 360-degree Business Photos, a service that gives customers a remote, panoramic view of the insides of businesses. Google sends a photographer to a store, and the photos are posted on the store's Google Places page. ????Once the indoor service achieves scale, Google will be able generate revenues by tying it in with Google Places and Google Wallet. ????Despite recent improvements to MapQuest that by many accounts put it on a par with Google Maps, AOL is having a tough time competing. In February, MapQuest introduced a turn-by-turn mobile app for Android. At the same time, it reported that its mobile Web site was drawing 8.6 million users per month. Also in February, Nielsen (NLSN) reported that Google Maps was just behind Facebook and The Weather Channel's app in popularity among all smartphone platforms, far ahead of MapQuest. On Android phones, Google Maps was the No. 1 app, with 67 percent of all users accessing it at least once that month. On the iPhone, it was just behind iTunes at No. 2. ????On the Web, Google Maps drew 67.3 million unique views in February, according to Nielsen, while MapQuest tallied 24.7 million. Yahoo Local (YHOO) was third at 13.1 million. ????MapQuest, which had owned the online mapping space since before the Web was invented (MapQuest was created in 1967 as commercial cartography software; AOL purchased the company in 2000), first fell behind Google Maps in 2009 in terms of monthly visitors -- which is pretty good considering how vastly superior Google Maps had been for several years before that. AOL's advantage of having an installed base on sites across the Web eroded even as AOL, with its relatively limited resources, worked hard to catch up. MapQuest's main problem seems to be that it's owned by AOL. ????One issue Google had to overcome with indoor mapping is that it's hard for a phone to get accurate signals in buildings with thick walls and ceilings --- not to mention underground spaces such as the Tokyo subway system. The accuracy is down to a several yards, which should work well enough in most situations. Google hasn't said when or even if the new feature will be made available for the iPhone -- but maintain its lead will no doubt require it. |