Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Go indoors with Google Maps 6.0 for Android

Google Maps for mobile had its sixth birthday earlier this month and we’re celebrating by releasing the next generation of Google Maps for Android, which is first to get indoor Google Maps—announced moments ago on the Official Google Blog. We also have two other great additions in this release: a new way to switch between features in the toolbar and a new Places home screen.

Mapping the vast indoors

When you’re inside an airport, shopping mall, retail store, or other public space, Google Maps 6.0 for Android brings the freestanding map directory to the palm of your hands -- helping you determine where you are, what floor you're on, and where to go indoors. For example, in this busy travel season, you can use Google Maps 6.0 to help you find your way around airports.


Detailed floor plans automatically appear when you’re viewing the map and zoomed-in on a building where indoor map data is available. The familiar “blue dot” icon indicates your location within several meters, and when you move up or down a level in a building with multiple floors, the map will automatically update to display which floor you’re on.

See the full announcement for more details or to demo indoor Google Maps, start here.


Mall of America in Minneapolis before and after, with a floor selector


San Francisco International Airport before and after, with 3D tilt

Switching between features gets easier

When you open Google Maps for Android, you can do many things: view your location on the map, discover where to go with Places, get GPS turn-by-turn directions with Navigation, check in to share your location, and more. We wanted to make it easier to hop from one feature to another; so, we’ve added a drop-down menu to the top toolbar for quick access.

New drop down menu to switch between features

We hope this menu helps you get to your favorite parts of Google Maps faster or shows you some features you haven’t tried yet.

Discovering what’s great nearby with the new Places home screen

The new Places home screen includes popular searches for your current location, so you can find the best spots in any area you travel.

Redesigned Places home screen with popular searches for your area

To start using Google Maps 6.0 for Android, download the update from Android Market. This update works for Android OS 2.1+ devices everywhere Google Maps is currently available.

Posted by Chikai Ohazama, Product Management Director
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28 comments:

  1. UnknownNovember 29, 2011 at 10:49 AM

    A better map of Disneyland would be AWESOME! :-D

    ReplyDelete
  2. MitalisNovember 29, 2011 at 11:38 AM

    Is this crowdsourceable? I'd like to setup a virtual directory for the mall nearby me.

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  3. UnknownNovember 29, 2011 at 1:20 PM

    Will this feature also be coming to the iPhone?? :)

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  4. UnknownNovember 29, 2011 at 1:33 PM

    Love the indoor concept, this would be terrific in Vegas casinos.

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  5. BadCarbineNovember 29, 2011 at 1:41 PM

    my life just became an fps

    ReplyDelete
  6. BryanNovember 29, 2011 at 1:44 PM

    John,

    no way this feature comes to the Iphone, it's an Android exclusive.

    ReplyDelete
  7. UnknownNovember 29, 2011 at 2:19 PM

    Awww you think so? Just seemed like a natural evolution for Google Maps across all platforms and not just for android.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Marc - CCVapesNovember 29, 2011 at 3:30 PM

    Love this new floor plan feature! Worked fine at Home Depot.

    Looking forward to more stores being added like Walmart, Target etc.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AJ LopezNovember 29, 2011 at 4:06 PM

    Super great App a great concept.
    Love the UI.

    ReplyDelete
  10. AJ LopezNovember 29, 2011 at 8:15 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  11. GizmoNovember 29, 2011 at 9:45 PM

    Can anybody tell me if Google provide API support for indoor navigation so that beginner android developer can use them in our apps??

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  12. AmiralNovember 30, 2011 at 2:12 AM

    Too bad there are no guiding inside the buildings. For the airport with all the public/non public/international zone, the access can be complicated. This is a killer feature of such an application.
    AD : the application MyWay does it for the Paris Airport (v2 on the way. Way better than v1)

    ReplyDelete
  13. UnknownNovember 30, 2011 at 7:28 AM

    Does this fix "touchscreen freeze" issue associated with using Google Maps?

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  14. RobertDecember 1, 2011 at 12:26 PM

    For the Disney Question. Disney already has a downloadable ap (free) that not only shows you fast pass times but allows you to make diner reservations. I know it is there for Disney World not sure about land

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  15. RobertDecember 1, 2011 at 12:27 PM

    Touchscreen freeze must be your phone. I have had zero issues with that.

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  16. Michael W. OllingerDecember 1, 2011 at 12:54 PM

    Love the new orientation on Navigator. Took me a minute to get used to watching my cursor move according to the direction I am traveling!

    ReplyDelete
  17. TrikDecember 2, 2011 at 1:01 AM

    Ikut menyimak artikelnya Gun :-)

    Silahkan pasang iklan baris gratis tanpa daftar di web saya :-

    ReplyDelete
  18. mig33December 2, 2011 at 6:07 AM

    nyc post

    Wcruiser

    ReplyDelete
  19. richardberryDecember 3, 2011 at 2:04 AM

    Really very nice app for the Android mobile phones. Thanks for sharing it to us.
    Mobile Prices in Pakistan 2012

    ReplyDelete
  20. AnonymousDecember 3, 2011 at 7:49 AM

    When does Google come to Windows Phone?
    Google earns money from search results, so why deny 7 million WP 7 users??

    ReplyDelete
  21. Bruce KrulwichDecember 3, 2011 at 10:36 AM

    Why isn't 6.0 available on a Galaxy S2 (Android 2.3) on Orange Israel? Shouldn't availability be in all countries? I'd like to try it on US locations even if indoor maps aren't yet in my own country.

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  22. aebDecember 3, 2011 at 8:09 PM

    why did the voice nav stop saying the street names to turn on with this update? :-(

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  23. aebDecember 3, 2011 at 8:11 PM

    and I don't like the orientation on Navigation. How about an option to have it not do that?
    Thanks!

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  24. AnonymousDecember 4, 2011 at 6:53 AM

    Well the finest of the mobile is the integration of Google maps with the android. I guess this technogie may be submitted to http://www.technogies.com

    ReplyDelete
  25. AnonymousDecember 4, 2011 at 12:48 PM

    When IRENE says the den is YEMEN, she's not kidding.
    And either is " AWESOME ".
    And when they got ahold of AROMATERAPIA , they got all the VIOLENTE they needed for SWAT.
    THis broke loose all those OBBESSE in PHTOTE which, of course, means MP 3.
    And that meant that PHYPAR had a CRUISE- HANKS.
    And SLYCA had a DOOMME .

    ReplyDelete
  26. ShriDecember 5, 2011 at 7:15 AM

    Does anyone know what part of the country is the R&D team that developed the indoor navigation app is located?

    ReplyDelete
  27. luckyDecember 8, 2011 at 12:59 PM

    The indoor view doesn't work for me. I have Tmobile Mytouch 4g w/ android 2.3.4. Any advice?

    ReplyDelete
  28. ZedDecember 12, 2011 at 7:25 AM

    I am having problem with my Google Maps 6.0, when ever i try to load my application it gets close it self, can some one and tell me what should i do?

    James Smith from TechGlobeX

    ReplyDelete

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