By Yes, folks, I said Hotpot. No, not a delicious concoction of epic proportions that’s too good to be classified a casserole. Instead, Google Hotpot is a standalone application that helps you find local spots based on what your friends like, and more importantly, based on what you like. When searching for a place, if you find a spot you like and end up giving it a higher rating later on, Hotpot will recommend places similar to it of similar rating and quality. These even show up in Google Maps so you can navigate right to them without having to jump between applications. More information on Hotpot can be found here.
Next up, Google Shopper is getting a nice little update just in time for the biggest shopping day in America: Black Friday. Today’s update to 1.3 brings with it new search filters so you can refine your results even further — something quite necessary for those truly looking for the best bargain they can find. They’ll also feed you a list of lists from which you can gather your gift ideas. Pretty sweet if you’re stuck on what to get little 9 year old Timmy. Check out Google Mobile’s blog post here for more on that.
Finally, Google Maps has been updated to give you a bit of the same functionality that Hotpot enables: the ability to rate places and get personalized recommendations right there in the app based on what you’re rating. It adds a nice widget to help facilitate the experience. Go and check it out now in the Android market. QR codes for all updates and apps can be found below. Google Mobile for more information.
I KNOW I’m not the only one who read that as “Google Hotspot.”
I just wish they’d let the Android app sync “My Maps” from the main site. Or fix the My Maps app that has been broken for two years plus!
Indeed you weren’t quentin.my first thought was a market app enabling wifi tethering for non-froyo phones
I thought hotpot was an app for android. It is web based app.
Hey Quentin, Ant, . , and Joooooosh: I’m Vanessa, Hotpot’s community manager. Thanks so much for the feedback. Wanted to let you know that we have a page set up for you to submit your Hotpot ideas and vote on ideas submitted from others. Please feel free to jump in. We’ll be responding there:
https://www.google.com/moderator/?expr#15/e=323ff&t=323ff.40&f=323ff.b650b
Thanks!
Wow, another attempt at cloning Yelp?
Anyone know why I can’t find shopper in the market? I can find all other apps, but for some reason, shopper is gone for a couple of months now. Nexus one