Google Maps on your mobile browser

Friday, May 20, 2011 | 9:25 AM

(Cross-posted from the Google Lat Long Blog)

With 40% of Google Maps usage on mobile devices, we want you to have a consistent Google Maps experience wherever you use it. So, today we’re announcing our updated Google Maps experience for mobile browsers on Android and iOS.

Now, when you visit maps.google.com on your phone or tablet’s browser and opt-in to share your location, you can use many of the same Google Maps features you’re used to from the desktop. This will allow you to:

  • See your current location
  • Search for what’s nearby with suggest and auto complete
  • Have clickable icons of popular businesses and transit stations
  • Get driving, transit, biking, and walking directions
  • Turn on satellite, transit, traffic, biking, and other layers
  • View Place pages with photos, ratings, hours, and more
  • When signed into your Google account, access your starred locations and My Maps
This past weekend, I was at a team off-site at a ropes course and needed to find a good deli spot to grab lunch. I opened Google Maps on my mobile browser and searched to locate a popular deli nearby. A few finger taps later, I had viewed photos and reviews on the deli’s Place page and found the quickest way to get there using driving directions- all from my mobile browser.

Google Maps for mobile browsers is platform independent - you will always get a consistent experience and the latest features without needing to install any updates, no matter what phone you use.

To get started exploring Google Maps in your mobile browser, go to http://maps.google.com or any domain where Google Maps is available. Learn more in our help center.

23 comments:

Yobif said...

Nice idea.. So hereafter i can view google map... Thanks google

Unknown said...

Please add ability to print, just like Gmail can!

David S said...

Any chance this will become vector/svg-based in the future?

BCI: Android Apps said...

doesnt development already add the maps jar?
Book of Shadows for Android

Venious said...

This comment has been removed by the author.

Adam said...

When can I send to my car? Google Maps blows away the interface to my GPS, and really would like to send the information to my car the same way I can from the desktop version of Google Maps.

Shawn said...

How long before a full roll-out?
Will this be effective on all iOS's including 3.1?

I certainly hope so since the iOS built in app is quite lacking in features

zamre said...

google map can use with mobile...
Zamre Bin Ab. Wahab

Unknown said...

"This past weekend, I was at a team off-site at a ropes course and needed to find a good deli spot to grab lunch. I opened Google Maps on my mobile browser and..."

Wow, this doesn't pass the smell test in so many ways. Why in the world would you use Google Maps via the browser when you've got an awesome Maps app on your Android? Why are you looking for a deli to grab lunch when you're at an off-site? And really? Google forces you to go to off-sites on the weekend for team building? Oh, and it's a little weird that the directions show you originating from Mt Hermon Redwood Canopy Tours instead of "My Location."

Anyway, yeah, I get it. You're trying to make it feel personal and real by making up a story about how you used your own product to do something useful, but when it's so obviously made up, it's super-distracting.

joseph said...

My iPhone 4 can't load the new page, it gets as far as the blue menu bar across the top and asking to use my location then just sits there with a little yellow rectangle in the middle of the screen that says "loading" forever. Location is enabled for safari, JavaScript is on pop-ups are not blocked, I am signed in to my google account. Any suggestions?

Susie said...

Why is there NEVER any love for BlackBerry OS???

Robert said...

We're still waiting for Google Maps Navigation on iOS. Hurry up before you lose out to Bing who is working on bring 3D Maps Navigation to iPhone/iPad users in the very near future on the Bing app. Looks like Bing appreciates iPhone customers more than Google!

Dave said...

When will this integrate with latitude?

taetrus said...

so good and amazingly slow! ( i tried on both iphone4 and iPad2 on 4.3.3 )

damonz28 said...

The review states that the sandwiches never fail to disappoint. Really, if they're so bad, why did you go there?!! :-)

Joshua said...

Bicycle routing is working. Wish that was on the Maps app.

Gerben said...

It doesn't really work on Android 1.6 with Opera Mini Browser.

Robert said...

Google gave iPhone users a slap in the face with this worthless web app. I can’t understand why they have been silent on updating the native Maps app on iPhone and give us Navigation. The native app is stone-age compared to what’s out there. I hope Apple cuts their dependence on Google Maps soon because I think Google is getting a kick out of iPhone user’s frustration and hope that they will switch to Android. You know what? Screw you Google!!!

JK said...

webOS has a webkit browser. Y U NO ENABLE NICE MAPS ON WEBOS???

Braydon said...

it is really nice to get any addres of the new plase that we dont know
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zamre said...

very useful info..
Zamre Bin Abdul Wahab

dr hazem said...

drhazem
Google Maps is really very usefull.

DMorrisPE said...

My Palm Pre Plus comes with Google Maps embedded in the ROM. Because of that, I cannot access Google Maps through the web browser(it redirects my attempts to the embedded version), so how do I access the new Mobile interface for Maps? better yet, will there be an upgrade to the ROM version?