Swiss Data Protection office goes after Google Street View: Google is fairly familiar with public antagonism toward its Street View mapping service, especially in Europe. Switzerland is the latest European country to ask Google to remove Street View after faces and license plates in several cities were visible when a privacy agreement requires them to be blurred.
Trio of mapping companies to merge: Dutch digital mapping firm AND aims to partner with two other mapping companies, from China and Lebanon, in the next two years in order to compete with industry giants Tele Atlas and NAVTEQ. AND says the partnership will target the built-in automotive GPS and smartphone markets. The three companies will collectively provide maps of the entire globe with the exception of South America.
Yelp launches Blackberry application: Location-aware business review platform, Yelp, has launched a Blackberry app. The app lets users search for businesses by geographic area and see reviews. It’s available for free in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Garmin-Asus nuviphone M20 and G60 hit Poland: A Polish online retailer has both the Garmin-Asus nuviphones M20 and G60 up for pre-order. Both nuviphones come bundled with a Jabra BT2080 Bluetooth headset and extremely high prices. The M20 costs the equivalent of US$840 while the G60 costs the equivalent of US$774. Ouch.
