Google Wants to Add In-Store Photos to Maps
Byline:
J.R. Bookwalter
Byline:
jrbookwalter
Enhanced Teaser:
First rumored back in February, Google has confirmed that it plans to add an in-store view to Google Maps, but it won’t be as intrusive as many have feared.
First rumored back in February, Google has confirmed that it plans to add an in-store view to Google Maps, but it won’t be as intrusive as many have feared.Electronista is following up on an earlier report back in February on Google’s latest move to add features to its Google Maps service with an “in-store view.” At that time, many feared that the search giant would be expanding its Street View into storefronts, but that’s not quite what they have in mind.On Thursday, Google confirmed the test program, which they call “Business Photos,” is indeed real and launching in 30 cities across Australia, Japan and the United States (mostly major cities like Chicago, New York City and Los Angeles).While the project does provide snapshots from the inside of a store to “give an impression of its contents,” such photos are not directly linked to Street View. Instead, Business Photos plans to include “views of actual products, store hours and other details that normally wouldn’t be visible.”Google is actually scheduling photo shoots for companies that apply on the Business Photos website; these companies are also free to post their own photos alongside or even instead of Google’s own, which will appear in a gallery the search giant calls a “Place Page.”
http://www.maclife.com/article/news/google_wants_add_instore_photos_maps
