Announcement
Ouch. Did you hear that? That was the sound of a hundred hearts missing a beat over at TomTom / Sygic / ALK headquarters. Google has just announced an updated version of Google Maps for Android that includes built-in turn-by-turn GPS navigation that makes use of all the technologies already present in Google Maps such as its satellite imagery, StreetView, and even voice search… all free. And according to TUAW, the iPhone version has been submitted to Apple where it is currently awaiting approval.
Check out the Android version of the app in action:
We’ve got to admit it, the app looks incredible. But the one critical downside to this for New Zealanders is that this will be pulling all its data from the net, just like the existing Maps app, and with all those StreetView and satellite images streaming to your device this could turn out to be an expensive option in terms of data usage, whereas the current GPS navigation apps cache their data and cost nothing to run beyond the initial purchase.
If you’re hungry for more information, check out the links below to hear it from the horse’s mouth. But before you do – how bad do you want this? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
– Google Maps Navigation product page
– Announcement via Google Mobile Blog
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Do you think this will come as an update to the existing Maps App on the iPhone, or will it be a seperate standalone app?
(dylangiacon has made 9 comments)
I would imagine it would be part of a firmware update since Apple like to bake the Maps app into the OS
Yes! At least it is not Android exclusive.
I guess Apple have to feed google some $$$ to get this brilliant map navigation. Now Apple where is the Flash support and multi-tasking?
(MX28080 has made 29 comments)
Hm, I would hope that you could cache the maps and images to a certain degree otherwise this is useless in areas with no or poor coverage. Add that to Vodafone’s sad 3G speeds it’s not going to be that useful.
(moviemichael has made 50 comments)
Agree, caching would be essential. I was driving around Bay of Plenty last year (on Vodafone) and the maps application would only show me the ‘you are here’ blob on a completely gray background which was less than useful.
(Ivan has made 13 comments)
lol the phone memory would be used up a lot, I mean tbh the smart phones memory are a bit small right now, and I actually hate paying for data so I’m sticking with Navigation maps, but with updated Google Maps is a nice option, I mean if you wanna find stuff quick then I’ll use Google Maps.
(MX28080 has made 29 comments)
@moviemichael – from what I've read there will be caching of the route you've programmed, but to what extent I don't know
Yes it could be that Google kills the competition in the States where mobile data is more-or-less unlimited, but markets like NZ where mobile data is still sold at a premium could be where the ‘traditional’ GPS companies manage to keep a stronghold.
I'd rather just pay the price of a navigation app, then have to worry about what the data charges would be. Especially as I am a pre-pay user.
(Abominus has made 5 comments)
I for one am hoping that the introduction of free GPS navigation on the iPhone will at least bring down the prices for all the different GPS navigation apps out there (TomTom, Sygic & CoPilot). That’ll be sweet!
(an@rchos has made 9 comments)
Like Steve said, there are no chance or surviving in USA with Google Maps, because who would wanna use GPS since you can have unlimited data for $50USD per month.
(MX28080 has made 29 comments)
Caching would at least allow someone planning on roaming using the product, an advantage some of the other map software has 9ie those that include Australia especially). Data roaming at around $10 per megabyte means even small usage will result in large bills.
If caching is included, then this will be a must have app for me at least.
(MrGadget has made 5 comments)