Google Maps launched in South Africa yesterday on its own domain (http://maps.google.co.za) and boasts enhanced features.  The new version of Google Maps SA comprises detailed maps of cities like Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Port Elizabeth and East London and is available through any web browser or on your mobile phone through Google’s mobile application.

The new version of Google Maps SA brings a number of marketing opportunities to businesses. Businesses can list details like their physical address, opening hours, phone numbers, logos and even a live web cam on Google Maps Local Business Centre  free of charge.  Once this data is updated, potential customers searching for the business will receive driving directions to the business’ location and there is also an option to print the directions.  New overlay functions include a photo, wiki and webcam overlay.  The webcam overlay allows users to view a live feed of an area and will come in handy to avoid traffic jams!

In an attempt to enrich users’ map viewing experience, the My Maps feature will allow users to highlight their favourite locations and share them with others.  Stephen Newton, Country Manager for Google SA said:  ”Our goal with Maps is to make information with a geographical dimension available to everyone and to allow users to update the maps and develop on top of them.”

Kenya was the first African country to receive their own Google Maps Internet domain and South African second.  In total there are about 30 countries globally with their own Google Maps domain.  In preparation for 2010 Google Maps has committed to have the Street View function operational in time for the FIFA World Cup.  At present five South African cities are being photographed using special cameras mounted on Toyota Prius vehicles and a few of them have been spotted by Twitter users in Cape Town.  Other services aimed at international tourists include walking directions and transport data which will help visitors plan their holiday.

Last week Friday Facebook quietly implemented certain changes to the way information is displayed on users’ homepages in an attempt to make it easier to find information.

By using a special algorithm the new Facebook homepage displays more relevant posts.  The more likes, comments or interactions a post has within your network, the more likely it is to appear in your Newsfeed.  This means that posts receiving the most attention within your network will be displayed in the Newsfeed of your network and will engage more users in the conversation.  Peter Deng, a Facebook product manager said “If the content has comments or ‘likes’ by 10 of your mutual friends, it’s something that is important to you.”

Certain old features that have been brought back on request of users include notifications for when friends are tagged in photos, when friends become fans of pages or join groups and when they add a friend.  “Nothing is going away,” Deng said, “we are just moving things around.”

Facebook have removed the Highlights tab on the right hand side and created separate tabs for the Newsfeed and real-time events in a Live Feed.  Next to the Live Feed is a counter keeping track of the number of unread posts in your Live Feed.  The space freed up by the removal of the Highlights tab will be used to display events like birthdays more prominently.

There has been some negative feedback, but I suppose you can’t please everyone.  Over half a million people have joined the group ‘Change Facebook Back To Normal.’  What do you think of the changes?

Nokia, the world’s largest cellphone manufacturer, filed a claim with the Delaware Federal District Court against Apple alleging the company has infringed ten patents owned by Nokia.  The patents relate to crucial processes in the running of a smart phone like wireless data applications, speech coding, security and encryption.

In a press release Nokia stated it has invested over £40-billion in research and development over the last 20 years and claims Apple has infringed its intellectual property rights since the launch of the iPhone’s in 2007.

According to Ikkia Rahnasto, the Vice President of Legal and Intellectual Property at Nokia “the basic principle in the mobile industry is that those companies who contribute in technology development to establish standards create intellectual property, which others then need to compensate for.”  Nokia stated it has entered into license agreement with 40 other mobile phone manufactures regarding these patents.

The litigation can continue for years, but if Nokia wins its case Apple will have to pay Nokia a percentage every time an iPhone is sold.  Even though Nokia is still the market leader it has lost market share since iPhone entered the market.  Could this be an attempt by Nokia to kill its smaller yet highly successful competitor?