Google Maps on Android just got even hotter with Hotpot, our new local recommendation engine that helps you discover places you’ll love based on opinions from you and your friends. Here’s how to get the benefits of Hotpot on your phone:

Rate places on the go — Now you can write and publish ratings and reviews from your mobile phone. We make it quick and easy with a new rating widget designed for rating places on the go. Install it from your homescreen by going to Menu > Add > Widgets > Rate Places. You can also post ratings and reviews directly from any Place page. So, when you polish off the crispiest carnitas taco you’ve ever eaten, you can pull out your Android phone to celebrate the event and give that taqueria the public love it deserves.

Get personalized recommendations — Why rate the places you’ve been? First, your ratings will personalize your search results by customizing them according to your tastes. Even better, when you add friends to the mix using Hotpot on your computer, your ratings will point them in the direction of the best enchiladas in town the next time they crave Mexican food, wherever they happen to be.

Of course, this works the other way too — so to reap the rewards, you’ll want to add friends to get recommendations for the places they love. Notice how John Hawkins, a colleague of mine in London who knows a lot about English pubs, recommends The Grenadier below.

Get Google Maps 4.7 for Android 1.6 and above everywhere Maps is already available. Just search for Google Maps in Android Market (or tap here from your phone).

By the way, if you’re an iPhone user, good news: we’ll soon have a Places app that allows you to rate and get place recommendations as well. Alternatively, you can rate and get place recommendations from your phone browser (iPhone and Android) in the US. Just visit the Places tab at google.com as we roll out over the next day.

We hope you enjoy getting and giving personalized recommendations to make place finding better and more fun.

Posted by Mat Balez, Product Manager

(Cross-posted from the Google Voice blog)

Mobile is all about getting super fast access to what you’re looking for and Google Voice is no exception. So, today we’re releasing an update to the Android app, which gives you immediate access to your Google Voice Inbox and settings via two new home screen widgets.

The Google Voice Inbox widget brings your most recent voicemails and text messages to your home screen. With the widget, you can now quickly flip through messages in your Inbox, and if you choose to select a message preview, it will open in the Google Voice app.



The Settings widget gives you quick access to four handy features.

Get instant access to the full Google Voice app by clicking the Google Voice icon.



Quickly compose and send free text messages.




Change what calls to place via Google Voice on the fly. You can have your phone use Google Voice for all calls, or just some of them.



Select Do Not Disturb and all calls to your Google number will be sent straight to Voicemail.



Plus, your credit balance is displayed so you know when it’s time to add a quarter or two.

The widgets can be used together or individually, and are part of the new Google Voice app, available for download from Android Market today. To add the widgets to a home screen panel, press the menu button from the home screen and select “Add>Widgets>Google Voice Inbox or Google Voice Settings”. You will need a valid Google Voice account to use them, and Google Voice is available free to anyone in the US.


Posted by Marcus Foster, Product Manager

Since we launched Google Buzz for mobile, we've been working on ways to make it quicker and easier to share your thoughts and experiences while you're out and about.

Today, we're excited to release a Google Buzz widget for Android phones that lets you post text and photos with a single tap. Like other mobile access points for Google Buzz, the widget lets you choose to tag your post with the location or place from which it was posted. You can post buzz about a great meal you had and share photos of the new restaurant. To save time, your posts will upload in the background, letting you get back to your scrumptious dessert without a wait.

The widget is initially available in English for Android phones running v1.6 and later. Search for 'Google Buzz' in the Android Market to download it now. Once installed, you can add it to your home screen: tap "Menu" while on the home screen and select "Add > Widgets > Google Buzz".

We plan to add support for other languages soon. Visit our Help Center to learn more, ask questions in our Help Forum, or give us suggestions and vote on other people’s on the Mobile Product Ideas page.

Update on March 22nd @11:10 PM: You can also directly scan the QR code below to install the widget.


Posted by Zak Cohen, Software Engineer, Google Mobile