LONDON: The latest Google updates announced this week, which include flight search options, restaurant recommendations, reviews and directions, are poised to pose a major threat to smaller travel apps that provide one, or two — but not all — services.
Widely hailed by tech critics and travel experts for bundling a comprehensive list of services into one platform, Google Maps in particular is being pitched as a one-stop shop for mobile travelers.
Think Yelp, Foursquare and Zagat, all in one site.
A search for burgers in San Francisco, for instance, will yield a range of results: recommendations made by friends and other users; directions on how to get there, as well as other points of interest in the surrounding area.
Users can likewise leave a recommendation.
The more the site is used, the more efficient the site becomes for the user as it collects information on their preferences and makes tailor-made recommendations.
A system of personalized recommendations is also the premise behind restaurant guide and app Ness, which makes suggestions based on how a user ranks restaurants they’ve visited in the past.
But where Ness stops, Google picks up, with additional services such as transportation information.
Once the user reads reviews left by friends or anonymous diners and decides where to go for dinner, they can obtain directions on how to get there either by public transit, car, by bike or on foot.
Places visited can then be saved in personalized maps to serve as a reminder of where users dined.
The new edition of of Google Maps also integrates their existing Google Flight search option — a little known service launched in 2011– and allows users to look up flight options, tickets prices, and estimated travel times on the map itself.
Google Maps is currently in Beta. To be one of the first to try out the new updates, sign up at  here.
The redesign is expected to roll out across iOS and Android apps in the future.
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