Tweet your Hotpot ratings in Google Maps for Android

Thursday, March 3, 2011 | 8:18 AM

(Cross-posted on the Hotpot Blog and the LatLong Blog.)



Whether it’s Google Places with Hotpot or Google Latitude, we’re working on helping you connect the people you care about with places you love. Now, when you’re rating your dinner spot using Google Maps for Android, you can share your review with even more people by posting it to Twitter.


Post your ratings and reviews to Twitter
When you rate and review places like restaurants or cafes from Google Places, you can share valuable recommendations with your Hotpot friends and across Google’s products – in search results, on google.com/hotpot, and on Place pages. But we wanted you to be able to share your recommendations even more broadly. So today, you can start sharing your ratings and reviews with your followers on Twitter directly from your Android-powered device.





When rating on the go using our rating widget, just choose to Post review to Twitter and connect your Twitter account. You’ll get a preview of your tweet and will be able to post your ratings and reviews moving forward.






Post your ratings and reviews to your Twitter followers.


Check-ins: ping friends and search for places

Starting last month, you could share information about the place you were at, in addition to your location, by checking in at places using Google Latitude. Starting today, if you see nearby Latitude friends on the map and want to ask them where they are, you can quickly “ping” them instead of having to text or call. They’ll receive an Android notification from you asking them to check in at a place. And when they check in using your request, you’ll get a notification right back so you know which place to go to meet up with them.





From a friend’s Latitude profile, ping them (left) and they’ll receive a notification (right).


You’ll also be able to more easily check yourself in at the right place. Sometimes there are a lot of nearby places around you, and the right one is missing from the suggested list of places to check in. You can now quickly search for the right place using the Search more places button.





Search for the right place to check in if it’s not among the suggested places.


To start posting Hotpot ratings to Twitter and pinging Latitude friends, just download Google Maps 5.2 from Android Market here (on Android OS 1.6+ devices) everywhere it’s already available. Please keep in mind that both Latitude friends need version 5.2 in order to use the new “ping” feature. Learn more in the Help Center.

24 comments:

Unknown said...

I clicked the market link but it's still not available on market.

Unknown said...

Would rather Buzz my ratings tbh.

Patrick_R said...

Once again I am sure this will be a total pile of CROCK, as the underlying technology behind it in Google Maps Mobile, now relies on BUZZ, a feature STILL after all these years, not open to Google Apps accounts users!

For a BIG software company, when will you learn NOT to introduce new functionalities that rely on underlying tech that instantly then REMOVES a massive element of your userbase?

GAH - give me strength!

mystery said...

The file is too huge after update. Why can't it be installed in /system after the update? Almost 10MB... - Nexus One 2.3.3 Stock

NATER said...

Ya why is Google using Twitter so much (same in Android market)..? i want to Buzz it!

Brad said...

mystery: I know that you're stock, but if you root (easy to do) and run Titanium Backup, you can move the update back to the system partition. I do this on my Nexus One.

mikepags said...

Patrick R, I'm with you.

If I still need Buzz to check in, it's useless. Google Apps accounts still can't use Buzz. Nonsense.

Paul said...

When is Google going to comment on the 20+ applications found in the Android Market that contained malware? Google needs a new approach both to a) screening Android Market applications and b) controlling the damage misbehaving or malicious Android applications can do to you and your phone.

I hope we can see evidence of a fresh approach in both these areas soon?

TheDavidWalsh said...

Not sure about anyone else, but I now find my GPS on my device not turning off once I am no longer using the app. Have to use the GPS widget to shut it off. Not cool and sure to be a battery drain.

-HTC Aria w/ carrier released Froyo build

David H. said...

Crashes when i try to view a place. Search just goes away instead of showing results. Orange Boston stock 2.1. Previous version of maps worked flawlessly.

Jack Doyle said...

Installed the update. No twitter option for me.

Xin said...

Cool, updating. but there's no twitter in my country... *sign*

Simon said...

did you guys forget about Buzz?

Samuel said...

Generic comment #2357 observation that there appears to be no love for Buzz...

Paul said...

Google Buzz is obviously about to be phased out (or radically changed). That explains why Google is no longer investing in it nor integrating it into new products.

Unknown said...

I AM ON MY WAY TO GET MY PHONE YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE 972-370-6428 MANAMANABEEPBEEPDEEDEEDEE YOU BETTER GIVE IT UP WE KNOW EVERYTHING DID YOU NOT THINK THAT I LINKED MY PHONE AND LET HER SNAG IT ON PUPOSE. I BROUGHT IT OUT IN THE KITCHEN WITH A CAR CHARGER PLUGGED IN IT!!! HELLO SHE SAID I AM NOT AFFRAID OF YOUR POWERS!!!! OHHHH WELL LET ME TELL YOU I AM LEO THE LION QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE AND I DO IT THE TINATINALAND WAY!!! KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!!! SLY AS A FOX I AM IT IS THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT YOU KNOW. WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN FRISCO, TX KIND OF UP THERE FOR YOU! I REALLY WANT TO CUSS YOU OUT BUT I HAVE MY WAYS JUST LOOK ME UP TINATINALAND LOVE YA LITTLE T :):):):) OH TELL MARGARET S. DYAL PETERS I SAID HELLO MY PRETTY LITTLE KITTY!!!!!

NuShrike said...

Hasn't worked on the Vision/G2 since 5.1.0. Details: http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Google+Mobile/thread?tid=38bb7ffd71f178fc&hl=en

I'm not sure what Google is trying to say to those device owners, or the stability of the Android ABI/API.

WaiKin said...

i don't see the check in option? how to check in a place?

Alex van der Linden said...

Search doesn't work anymore since the update :( htc legend

clafa said...

In latitude it would be cool if you could get an alarm if a friend is close.. say 50m

raumgleiter said...

I'm still not sure if I am just too dumb but all the checkin features are still not visible for me even with the new version of maps.

Are these features available in all countries yet? I am located in Thailand.

lucky said...

way is the phone not up Date WERE PEOPLE ARE AT

I Putu Sudarma said...

Nice Feature...

Unknown said...

I just can't figure out why my wife's phone (Samsung Transform SPH-M920) can send real-time updates and ping my EVO, but my EVO shows that her version of Maps doesn't have that capability. Both on Maps 5.2.1 and can't figure out why it works better with Eclair than Froyo...