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Google wants to take you on a Field Trip

Lewis Leong

Lewis Leong

  • Updated:

field trip iconGoogle’s Niantic Labs is taking advantage of the negative feedback Apple is facing for its Maps service in iOS 6 by releasing a new app that helps you discover points of interest. Field Trip is a companion application to Google’s suite of map apps which include Google Maps, Google Earth, and Google Local Search.

Field Trip will automatically notify users of nearby points of interest, which include architecture, food, historical places, deals, and more. Places are populated in a list where you can tap to see more information. If you want a more visual experience, swipe to the left and you’ll be shown a Google Map where you can get a better sense of where things are.

Let’s take a look at Field Trip’s gorgeous interface.

When in list mode, you can tap on a place to view more information about it. There is a picture on the top but it’s a bit disappointing that there aren’t more photographs as Google Earth has plenty of user submitted photos.

One of the most impressive things about Field Trips is its integration with Google Maps and Google Navigation. If you’re in map mode, tap on a point of interest and you will be given the option to view satellite imagery, view the venue with Street View, or launch Google Navigation. All of these options make it extremely easy to research places and things to do around the city.

field trip main interface

Users can also tailor what publications they want Field Trip to pull information from. If you like a certain publication’s information, you can opt to increase the amount of information by clicking “More like this.”

Field trip is also great for viewing restaurants near by. Zagat scores are shown at the top of a restaurant’s “card.” Unfortunately there’s no Yelp support for user reviews.

field trip maps

Field Trip is definitely a handy application to have when visiting a new place or finding new things to learn about and do in your current city. Its integration with other Google services make it a stellar package right out of the box. Still, it could use some more refinement by providing more information and user reviews.

Check out our full review of Field Trip for Android here. An iOS version is listed as “coming soon” on Field Trip’s site.

Lewis Leong

Lewis Leong

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