Google updates maps for selected European, African and Asian countries, now with more detail than ever

Your Android device, coupled with Google Maps -- in particular the new, offline features -- is a pretty powerful way of finding your way around when you visit another country. Google never settles for 'good enough' though, and today has announced a slew of more detailed maps across selected European, African and Asian countries. 

The affected nations are; Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lesotho, Macau, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore and Vatican City. 

The added details cover a pretty broad spectrum too, from coastlines and bodies of water, to more accurate names and locations for points of interest, and several places in between. One example given is that now, when you look down on St Marks Square in Venice on Google Maps, you'll see accurately aligned canals, 3D buildings and a whole heap of labels on different points of interest. 

Ferry routes also get a mention, as for many places Google has gone and tidied these up and added better, and more clearly labelled ferry routes. Local roads are now more accurately distinguished from the main highways, and multi-lingual names are available for larger number of roads in these countries. 

For the full rundown, hit up the source link below. As for me, I'm going off to explore Venice some more -- albeit only from a Nexus 7. 

Source: Google Lat Long

ShopAndroid Update: Now shipping Android accessories to more countries worldwide for less!

Since Android Central launched in 2008, two of the most frequently asked questions we receive from visitors outside of the United States have been When will ShopAndroid ship to my country? And in the case where we do ship to that country, Why is it so expensive to ship to my country?

Recently we introduced our dedicated ShopAndroid Canada store.

Today we're announced that the same stellar service offered in our U.S.-based ShopAndroid.com store is open to our international customers as well! We've also rolled out free shipping to AFP/FPO destinations around the globe.

To our international customers - thanks for the patience. And thanks for the ongoing support. Now keep reading for all the details!

It’s really a good idea to probe a little deeper into the subject of ShopAndroid Update. What you learn may give you the confidence you need to venture into new areas.

New countries can now sell apps in the Google Play Store

Google has been working hard over the past few years to make the Google Play Store as global as possible and now, they've announced the availability of some new areas and currencies that are supported:

• Czech Republic


• Israel


• Poland


• Mexico

Android developers in those countries can now submit and sell apps in any currency they wish and subsequently receive payouts and financial data for their work in their local currency. The finer details are highlighted on the Android Developer Blog and within the developer console so be sure to check out the source link for more information.

Source: Android Developer Blog

Connectivity Google + SMS 41 new countries

When Google + launched last summer, users in India and the United States were able to interact with their circles via SMS, however other territories have so far been left out of the text-based fun. That changes today, as Google + ' s SMS features are rolled out to 41 new countries, mostly in the developing world.Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bahrain, Benin, Cambodia, Cameroon, Congo (DRC), Cote D ' d'Ivoire, Egypt, Ghana, Guinea, Indonesia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam and Zambia.The idea is to allow G + members to interact in places where standard voice and SMS coverage is available, mobile purpose data is not. By texting a particular number on a supported carrier, users can post to their stream, either publicly, or to a specific circle. Likewise, any responses are fed back by text message.A list of networks supporting these new SMS features can be found over on the Google + support page.Source: Google India Blog

Sphero now directly to international countries, unveils two new apps

It's been a while since we hard from the folks at Orbotix but they've been hard at working coming up with some new apps and working out arrangements so that they may ship the pretty awesome Sphero ball to what is now 95 countries outside of the U.S. The two new apps they've been working on are called MacroLab and Chromo respectively and they are certainly impressive though, they've not quite been released as of yet. Orbotix says they will be arriving this month:

• Sphero MacroLab - Create easy, repeatable programs and macros for Sphero. Arrange simple commands and settings in any combination you choose to let Sphero drive autonomously, follow unique patterns, and more, all while learning basic programming. Play your commands, save favorites, and even share them with friends. MacroLab makes programming Sphero easy and fun.
• Chromo - Get ready to challenge your coordination and your memory with the first app that lets you use Sphero as a controller. Move Sphero to match the colors on your screen for an entirely new way to challenge yourself.

If you're looking to get in on the Sphero action, you can now save yourself 10% percent off the purchase cost when you use the coupon code "GETROLLING" on their website. The full list of countries is available via the source link as well, hit the break for a video of the Chromo app in action it's pretty awesome and makes me want to get a set of balls, no pun intended.

Source: Sphero