Google’s explorers have added some of the world’s coldest peaks to its virtual street views. The mapmakers at Google just added “Aconcagua (South America), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mount Elbrus (Europe) and Everest Base Camp (Asia)” to its virtual tour.

The climbing teams spent 18 months documenting 3D views from the top of the world. Due to the extreme circumstances, these photos were just taken with a lightweight tripod and fisheye camera instead of the typical 40 pounds Google Trekker Backpack used for trips to the Grand Canyon and Lucas Oil Stadium. The team did not limit their photos to the mountains – images of nearby monasteries and bazars were also collected. Read more

Niantic Labs, the startup that lives inside of Google and has produced projects like the Google Field Trip app, has plans to launch a line of eBooks based on the augmented reality game Ingress.

According to a report in Publishers Lunch, the series, which is slated to launch next month, will be authored and co-published by Thomas Greanias and his @tlantis Books. The first title in the series will be called The Alignment.

Ingress is an augmented reality game that Google launched this past November and it is currently in the invite-only beta stage. Ingress’s website boasts,”the world around you is not what it seems,” and Nianticproject.com is full of cryptic messages and codes.

Google may have killed its RSS feed reader, but the company may have a new note-taking app in the works. It’s called Google Keep, but it may not be ready for public consumption just yet.

According to a report on Android Police, the app hit Google Play this morning and then disappeared a couple of hours later. Here is more from the blog: “Google Keep works a lot like Google Notebook used to: There’s a list of notes, and you can color-code them, save pictures, and make checklists. You can archive notes, which will send them to a section at the bottom of your list.”

This is kind of annoying that they put it out there and then took it away so quickly. Lets hope no reporters and writers reading this blog post downloaded and used the app only to have their notes disappear. That seems pretty unlikely since it wasn’t live for too long, and it probably wouldn’t just disappear from your device just because it is gone from the store.

Google has decided to shutter its Google Reader service this summer, killing an RSS reader tool used by thousands of bloggers (including this AppNewser editor).

If you need a new RSS reader, we’ve collected five alternatives to Google Reader below. Here’s more from Google about the change:

We know Reader has a devoted following who will be very sad to see it go. We’re sad too. There are two simple reasons for this: usage of Google Reader has declined, and as a company we’re pouring all of our energy into fewer products. We think that kind of focus will make for a better user experience. To ensure a smooth transition, we’re providing a three-month sunset period so you have sufficient time to find an alternative feed-reading solution. If you want to retain your Reader data, including subscriptions, you can do so through Google Takeout.

Read more

Google has redesigned its mobile web app as well as Gmail Offline, adding new search features and an updated user interface.

ZDNet has more: “For the mobile web app, the clear idea is to bring the HTML5 version closer in line with the much cleaner, streamlined Android version as well as the recently rebooted apps for iPhone and iPad.”

The upgrade follows December’s Gmail app upgrade which was popular among users. Here is more from Gmail’s official Google + page: “Since launching the rebooted Gmail app for iPhone and iPad in December (http://goo.gl/2m7pd), we’ve heard from many of you that you like the redesigned UI, along with new features such as improved search and integration with Google Calendar.”

The upgrade works across mobile Web-enabled devices including Android, iOS, and Blackberry phones and tablets.

Google has yet to widely release its Internet-enabled glasses to the public and it has already been banned from one bar in Seattle.

Last week, The 5 Point Cafe in Seattle posted the new rules on its Facebook page: “For the record, The 5 Point is the first Seattle business to ban in advance Google Glasses. And ass kickings will be encouraged for violators.”

The owner of the bar later admitted that it was a bit of a joke. Forbes has more: “On Friday morning, Dave Meinert, owner of the 5 Point, joked ‘I’m a thought leader’ on the morning show. ‘First you have to understand the culture of the 5 Point, which is a sometimes seedy, maybe notorious place. People want to go there and be not known … and definitely don’t want to be secretly filmed or videotaped and immediately put on the Internet.’” Read more

Google has brought its Field Trip app, a “guide to the cool, hidden, and unique things in the world around you,” to iOS devices.

The company first launched the app for Android last fall. The app, which uses location-based technology which runs in the background on your phone, gives you a field guide to their environment. So say you are walking down Market Street in San Francisco. The app will tell you architectural details about the buildings you are walking by, suggest stores for you to shop in and give you restaurant recommendations.

Google sources content from various expert media outlets. Check it out:

The hyperlocal history experts of Arcadia and Historvius will unveil local lore in places you never expected. Trend-setting publications like Thrillist, Food Network, Zagat, and Run Riot will point out the best places to eat and drink. Experts at Sunset, Cool Hunting, WeHeart, Inhabitat, and Remodelista will guide you to the latest unique stores and products. Atlas Obscura and Daily Secret help you uncover hidden gems no matter where you are. Songkick and Flavorpill guide you to local music.

Watch out Amazon, Google is looking to get into the e-commerce business with a new service that would offer same day delivery on many products.

It’s called Google Shopping Express. Consumerist has more about it: “Google Shopping Express would work thusly: Local stores advertise their products online, Google hooks them up with a third-party delivery service like a courier, who then picks up the items and delivers them to the customer in the same day. Google itself wouldn’t have a hand in deliveries, nor would the retailers, notes an anonymous source in touch with Reuters.”

According to Reuters, Google may charge an annual subscription for the service, similar to Amazon Prime, which costs $79 a year for two-day delivery on Amazon orders. Would you pay for a same day delivery service from Google?

Google Play is celebrating its first birthday today and as part of the festivities, the company  is offering free content and sales on digital content. Promotions include 10 percent off of bookings in the Hotels.com app, a free download of the Velvet Underground song “Sweet Jane” and a free download of the eBook A Quest of Heroes by Morgan Rice.

Here is more from the Google blog: “Since the best parties are the ones that send you home with a present, today we celebrate our birthday with a festive goodie bag full of gifts. Don’t delay in picking up these limited-time offers. Continue the celebration all week with even more special deals on music, movies, books, magazines and TV along with exclusive gaming gifts. It’s been an incredible first year and we look forward to sharing the gift of digital diversions for many more to come.”

Google has been selling digital content for more than a year. Remember the Google eBookstore that launched in 2010?

Google has updated its iOS Maps app and added a couple of new features, including the ability to create a contact lists that can be searched by name.

Using the new Google Contacts feature, app users who are signed in can save addresses for friends and family by name and then search for these addresses while using the app to find directions to these locations. The Version 1.1 update also includes a function that lets you search for local businesses based on a category.

The Los Angeles Times has more: “When users tap the search bar at the top, they’ll be presented with icons for restaurants, coffee shops, bars and gas stations, which they can tap to quickly look for those types of shops. They can also tap a three dot icon to pull up other types of places, including hotels, movie theaters and ATMs.”

The app update also lets you choose between kilometers and miles.