Google Maps Lets You Record Your Parking Location, Time Left At the Meter (techcrunch.com) 50
Google Maps has received a neat feature that will help users remember where they parked. "This appears as a new menu option when you tap the blue dot, and will place a 'P' icon on the map so you can find your way back to your spot," reports Ars Technica. From the report: Google had already introduced its own proactive parking saving feature via Google Now, but it had worked by tapping into your phone's sensors and making a determination that you had most likely parked at a given spot. Sometimes, you might see this information appear when it was unwarranted, however -- like if you got off a bus or exited a taxi, Google says. The new feature in Google Maps requires a manual entry, but this is actually a bit of an advantage over the guessing done by Google Now, because it allows you to input more information about your spot. Like Apple Maps, you can add notes about where you parked -- something that's helpful for jotting down cross streets or which floor of a garage you're on, for example. But Google Maps also supports adding multiple photos of your parking location -- a common way people often note the parking space number in the garage, and then, via a separate shot, the floor, row, aisle and/or color code for the garage level itself. In addition, Google's parking location saver will let you enter in how much time you have left at the spot. This is handy if you're in a temporary parking area (e.g. "two hour parking"), or at metered space. The time left is displayed on the map, and when it's due to expire, Google Maps will alert you via push notification.
Nice, but hardly new. (Score:2)
OSMAnd has had this feature for ages, and the maps don't eat into your data allowance...
Silicon Valley (Score:2)
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Before you set out, create your route. Maps will ask you if you want to cache the route in case of communications problems, say yes. Leave mobile data turned off. You will still be able to navigate. When you get where you are going, you will still be able to drop a pin, and if you do a little math in your head you can also record the time at which you will have to feed the meter.
I will note that early on you could literally not drop a pin on google maps for Android, which is why there was an app called "Pin
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Google Maps struggles badly with offline caching.
In what way? There was a moment when they created serious problems with the interface and hid caching behind actually having to type something into the search field, but other than that I'm at a loss to understand what you mean.
All bets are off with Google Maps even if you do have a solid data connection, they just don't care about keeping the map current where you are then. Osmand doesn't tend to suffer any of these problems.
I've never managed to load enough data into it for it to be useful, but maybe I'll try again sometime. So far it's been easier to just use google maps.
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On my iPhone I always have a map location for my parked car on my notification screen after I've been driving, along with places I frequently visit, so there's nothing to set up there. I assume it's picked up that I'm driving when I linked it to the car stereo via bluetooth. It's also, somewhat creepily, learned that I always visit my gran on Wednesday nights after work so instead of giving me the driving time home on Wednesdays it shows her address. Ditto with the supermarket on Saturday.
Apple Maps aren't
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My parking problem is with finding the correct garage in Sacramento, and my phone's GPS won't work in the average parking garage anyway. If I left my car on the street or in just a parking lot, I can find it again. But when a town has four or five parking garages in a four by four block area and they all look the same and none of them have differentiating signage and even the fucking ticket spit out by the kiosk machine doesn't tell you which garage you're parked in, you could really use some help. (Serious
Smart lots are better than smart trackers of lots (Score:2)
For instance, I found a lot in Toronto where the parking meter took your credit card and would allow you to authorize additional parking time by SMS. As the time got close, the meter at the lot would send you an SMS warning. The correct reply would automatically charge you for another increment of parking time. I imaging there's a web interface for it by now.
Mind you, that was a private lot. They just have to deal with a lot of hassle if you overstay, while the government is more interested in you runni
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Simpsons... er, Apple did it. (Score:2)
And I can just look at my watch when I set the meter, because I think for myself like that.
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How often do you remember when exactly you pulled in? Particularly if you are in a group at a restaurant and have a lot of other things on your mind?
Rarely, but paid parking generally takes two forms for me: ANPR* regulated or Pay and Display (the ticket). ANPR is easy because you don't display the ticket in the car; you take it with you and it has the time printed right on it. Pay and Display often doesn't give you a spare ticket but in those cases all I need do is tell Siri to start a 30 minute/1 hour/whatever timer.
*ANPR, in case you don't have it there, has a camera pointed at the entrance and exit of the car park. Your registration plate is read wh
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Carsharing (Score:2)
And I just don't give a damn where a left the car.
That's the problem for the next customer of the station-less car-sharing scheme.
(And this next customer just uses the map in their app to find the nearest available parked shared car).
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i.e.: systems where you take a car wherever you find it, and leave it wherever you want within the boundary of the zone where the scheme is in place.
The car sharing company has an extremely wide-area parking pass that allows the car to be left parked nearly everywhere.
No spe
We are fucking doomed (Score:1)
When the apocalypse comes, iDiots without working cell phones won't be able to find their dicks in the daylight - forget about finding it in the dark.
Not that big of a help at Pay and display meditate (Score:2)
Not that big of a help at Pay and display meditated spots.
hmm (Score:2)
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For the longest time Google Maps showed my house as being in the Atlantic Ocean. I am not sure I trust them quite so much to remember where I parked if I don't check it before walking off.
They're just showing the impact of global warming. Take it as a warning from your friends at Google Earth.
Where I parked (Score:3)
Bonus - With no added data sent to GooglePrime.
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"$50 handheld or windshield mount GPS unit"
Mark position, drop it in my pocket.
Later, "the car is thataway!"
(none of my vehicles have in-dash GPS)
Dude (Score:2)
Where's my car?
Manually? (Score:2)
Why does it need you to remember to manually mark your spot? It seems this can easily be done with some logic (no AI needed), especially when you combine it with the fact that google should know all the parking spots if not from maps then from noting where cars stop. The accelerometer should be able to provide the phone with an indication of when you are getting out of your car. Also, it can save your GPS track point by point every 10 seconds with a timestamp (locally so no privacy issue) so that in the wor
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As someone who travels on various forms of transport i can tell you this is not an easy problem to solve. Google already has auto parking detection and it often comes up with done very very interesting ideas of where my car is.
Time left? (Score:2)
Wait who still uses dumb meters? I have another app, not Google that doesn't tell me time left but rather auto bills the meter in a specific zone and stops when I return. Even in my previous more backwards city I would simply send an SMS to start billing and another to stop.
You mean I get to see my own data? (Score:2)
> Google Maps Lets You Record Your Parking Location, Time Left At the Meter
Mountain View, CA. Although ignored by the general populace, it's a public secret that Google knows everything about your life, including where you parked your car. In a surprising move, Google has decided to let users view their own data. "In general, we have a policy that all your data belong to us", stated Eric Schmid, Executive Chairman of Alphabet, Inc. and after remaining silent at the microphone, finishing his sentence with
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Bluetooth (Score:1)