Google Maps Turn by Turn
With Android 2.0 coming to a smartphone near you, Google has released an enticement for those considering making the smartphone switch: a dedicated turn-by-turn GPS application, hooked up to Google Maps, aware of traffic, and powered by plain English voice commands. Take that AT&T. Just another reason for me to someday make the leap back to my friends at Verizon.
Google points has a few unique features loaded into its super-upgraded Google Maps, arriving first on Verizon’s Droid (which premieres Nov. 6 at $199 with a two-year Verizon Wireless contract) and then on any phone that gets the 2.0 Android update and has the “with Google” branding. The best features are plain English voice and text search (”Navigate to Fatlace on Post Street,” inclusion of traffic information gleaned from other Maps users, and a Street View image of your destination. It also searches along your route, so asking it to find a 7-11 while you’re cruising won’t make you break out the compass or take you far off your itinerary.
Some of those features aren’t just unique to a phone GPS app—they’re unavailable on a number of dedicated GPS navigation devices (like the iPhone). Those of us who’ve been watching Google slowly add in Maps features, and its competitors do likewise, have been wondering when this was coming, and it’s awesome to see what it finally looks like.
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