Google Maps 4.0 for BlackBerry adds Search by Voice, Google Buzz, Starring, Labs, and More
Wednesday, April 7, 2010 | 12:10 PM
Search by voice
For starters, we’ve added Search by voice to all BlackBerry devices to save your overworked thumbs. Simply press and hold the green “call” button, speak your search, and see your results quickly appear without typing a single letter. Try it now for any search, like the name of my favorite hometown pizza place, “Punch Pizza in Minneapolis.” You can also search by voice for addresses like “802 Washington Avenue Southeast” or search for other another pizza place to try by speaking, “pizza restaurants.” Currently supported languages include multiple English accents and Mandarin Chinese.
Google Buzz
Google Buzz for mobile also makes its debut on BlackBerry phones in Google Maps 4.0 (see availability). Use the Google Buzz layer to see what’s going on around you or to post to the layer yourself. Check out the many ways to explore the Buzz layer in Google Maps for mobile, including sharing pictures, news, and more. From the Maps main menu, select Layers > Buzz to enable the layer; open the menu and select “Post Buzz” to add your own public post from a location or place.
Take your searches and starred places to go.
Just like in Google Maps on Android, the BlackBerry version now provides personalized search suggestions from your maps.google.com search history. If I previously searched for “Punch Pizza” at home, I can simply type “pun” into Maps on my phone to see “Punch Pizza” at the top of the suggested search terms. Make sure you’ve signed in to your Google Account (Menu > Sign In) and have Web History enabled for your account.
Signing in to your Google Account also synchronizes starred items between maps.google.com on your computer (My Maps > Starred items) and phone (Menu > Starred Items). I’ll do my heavy pizza research at home, star several pizzerias I want to try, and browse the list in Google Maps on my phone when I’m ready to eat.
Wait, there’s more!
Also check out other new features added with 4.0:
- Use Labs to try experimental features like the Scale Bar or Terrain layer (great for hiking enthusiasts!).
- See nearby businesses at an address or location by selecting a point from the map.
- Report a problem with the map data or a business listing.
Visit our Help Center to learn more or tell us your feedback and questions in our Help Forum. Give us suggestions and vote on other people’s on the Mobile Product Ideas page!
Labels: BlackBerry, google buzz, google buzz for mobile, google maps, google maps for mobile, Mobile Blog, search by voice
37 comments:
Tomas Kopecny said...
When will be Latitude and Buzz available for webOS ? Please, Google
April 7, 2010 at 12:18 PM
Venu said...
Nice !
Thanks much google!
Are we getting navigation soon :) ?
April 7, 2010 at 12:37 PM
andrew said...
Thank you guys! It's looking and running great! I can't wait to see what you guys release next. (Navigation, perhaps :-)
April 7, 2010 at 12:40 PM
Shane said...
haha, i like how the first comment has nothing to do with blackberry...
...and i'd like to second it, better gmaps for webOS please!
April 7, 2010 at 12:49 PM
The CyberWeasel said...
Thanks. Good update. Now if you could only make the MyMaps and Starred items work with Google Apps accounts. I am trying to get everything down to 1 address but keep running into limitations like this.
April 7, 2010 at 1:17 PM
Varad said...
cant navigate on storm.. touch screen not working.
All storm users facing this??
April 7, 2010 at 1:21 PM
Anonymous said...
I am expecting local search history upload into the cloud.
April 7, 2010 at 2:22 PM
Nick said...
I, for one, hope Google buried the hatchet with Apple a bit and tomorrow's iPhone OS 4.0 preview will include updated Google apps and better overall integration of them.
What? A guy can hope, right? If not, hello Android.
April 7, 2010 at 2:26 PM
Anonymous said...
Search by voice doesn't work on Bold 9000. When press Call button then move to the dialing screen.
April 7, 2010 at 2:37 PM
Unknown said...
HUZZAH! Thank you google for not forgetting us crackberry addicts!
April 7, 2010 at 2:37 PM
Unknown said...
Not working on my Storm2 with .607 OS. How can I download the prior version until this is sorted out?
Thanks.
April 7, 2010 at 2:48 PM
Jerry said...
It works great on my BB 8520, thanks Google!
April 7, 2010 at 3:10 PM
Develop said...
Exellent news For Blackberry Users For Sure. Google Maps Still Needs Work Though.
April 7, 2010 at 3:44 PM
Amy Alexander said...
Yay, just downloaded it; the voice feature is nice, and so far it seems to work faster/smoother than the old version. (Or maybe I'm just in a place with good connectivity right now.)
Not to seem too needy, but what would really bring joy to my heart would be a gmail Blackberry upgrade with support for applying labels.
Meanwhile, Happy Mappy!
April 7, 2010 at 5:20 PM
Unknown said...
Hooray!! Some BlackBerry love!! Next, might I suggest a YouTube app. There currently is none for BlackBerry, and it would be amazing.
Either way, yay Google!
April 7, 2010 at 5:36 PM
Ken Pendergrass said...
Ditto on the storm 2 issue with .607 which is an official updated Os. Show some love to the touch screen BB users
April 7, 2010 at 5:46 PM
Unknown said...
Hi, i just install the Google Maps 4.0 in my Storm 2, it's not working?! Anyone know why?
April 7, 2010 at 11:51 PM
ajparag said...
hi,
is google going to upgrade google maps java ver. too? b'cause m too excited about the new features and would like to try them on my samsung star mobile.
also, will google maps have an option to login to my account and share my location with my friends?
plz let me know whats the progress...
April 8, 2010 at 2:02 AM
RonBoyd said...
"Google Buzz for mobile also makes its debut on BlackBerry phones in Google Maps 4.0 (see availability)."
Yet, when one clicks on the Link, they are told that Blackberry application is "coming soon." Which is it?
April 8, 2010 at 7:56 AM
Jose said...
Just downloaded 4.0.1 for my BB Storm. Touch screen is NOT working.
April 8, 2010 at 8:12 AM
Rich said...
Thanks for update, voice is greatly appreciated. But please please please give us navigation (turn by turn specifically). Some of us are stuck on blackberries at work but would love an android phone with this but can't unfortuanaly.
April 8, 2010 at 8:41 AM
Bodyweapon said...
touch screen can't work on the BB storm... i can't use the new google maps at all!
April 8, 2010 at 9:08 AM
Unknown said...
Congratulations on making the best app on my Storm 2 a piece of crap. I can't even begin to describe how many ways it doesn't work. Please tell me how to revert back to version 3 or fix this fast.
April 9, 2010 at 2:27 AM
Adam L said...
Can't rename starred items from the handheld? Really? C'mon!
April 9, 2010 at 9:14 AM
afidel said...
Agreed with the comments about wanting Navigation on BB and that being able to re-label starred items is a must, would also be nice if those labels could be searched by voice (for instance be able to label your home address and be able to voice navigate there).
April 10, 2010 at 1:14 PM
Anonymous said...
Is there anyway around this not being able to rename a saved favorite besides downloading old google maps using it then resetting it to new google maps?
April 10, 2010 at 1:18 PM
Anonymous said...
why would a company purposely downgrade their product and upgrade only some of their features. Very mad, I know they just did it so they can have an upgrade with it and call it a new feature. honestly, get a brain. thats plain terrible!
April 10, 2010 at 1:20 PM
KBrosnihan said...
Storm 2, Storm 2, Storm 2, Storm 2, Storm 2, Storm 2, Storm 2, Storm 2, Storm 2... Not Working. Official VZW OS- .607 Let's get this fixed please.
April 10, 2010 at 9:49 PM
ratradu said...
Hello, I actually had Google Buzz integrated in Google Maps and it was a very fine and useful feature. But suddenly it disappeared from my Nokia E71. Now I see that it is not available in my country (Romania) and I was wondering why is that. If it worked why don't just leave it like that? I would really appreciate an answer. I know it is a little offtopic, but I couldn't find a post related to this change.
April 10, 2010 at 11:52 PM
Unknown said...
Google: Do not disappoint Nokia Symbian phone users. Otherwise the "Buzz" will fizz out for us. roll out a Symbian app for "Buzz" ASAP.
April 11, 2010 at 12:36 AM
John said...
I downloaded the new 4.0.1 version, and it doesn't allow me to go beyond the permissions screen. Lots of error screens later, and a total loss of patience, I give up! Can I have my old version back? Loved the layers, and it worked on my 8350 (or at least I think that's
April 12, 2010 at 9:14 PM
Unknown said...
when will google maps 4.0 be fixed for storm2 607?
April 14, 2010 at 8:16 AM
Unknown said...
Absolutely gorgeous! Finally a SCALE BAR!!! I've been wanting that since I first started using Gmaps on my Berry two years ago! Terrain maps are cool, I Like being able to save favorite locations linked to my account, and voice search is great!
April 16, 2010 at 10:15 PM
Ted said...
This was my favorite app on my storm. Now it is completely useless. C'mon Goog I expect better from you.
April 18, 2010 at 3:50 PM
grunz said...
unfortunately, the v4.0.2 link for blackberry enterprise server deployment is currently broken. please provide a fixed link or an alternate download location asap!
April 19, 2010 at 4:08 AM
Alex said...
Not working on 9700 with OS 4.6 and 5.0
We're on BES 4.15 and default permissions and the maps will not even start due to permissions. Permission changes fail work, same as with Google Mobile App but at least Mobile App gave you an option to ignore and start anyway. Maps will not start at all.
I'm the BES admin and there's nothing in the policy blocking this. Older Maps work great. Had to downgrade back to 3.2.1
April 20, 2010 at 12:27 PM
Susie said...
I've loved this update from the first day! Thank you, Google, for not forgetting about us BlackBerry folks. The only two LITTLE things that I didn't quite like were- I find the new My Location arrow to be a bit too big, and I don't like that my starred items keep rearranging their order.
I have a couple requests for the next update:
- Can we get the ability to create new My Maps and add new points to existing maps from the BlackBerry?
- I would love to have a "breadcrumb" feature. (Though, I just discovered the tracking feature through Latitude, so I'm going to try that out next. Maybe that's good enough.)
April 20, 2010 at 6:19 PM
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