I’ve already been a Google Maps user on my Windows Mobile-based Treo – it really is a great little application. You use it just like on your desktop to find locations, plot directions and even search for generic things like “chinese restaurants” or “hardware stores.”
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Using Google Maps on your cell phone while you are out in the world is a revelation – that’s how useful it is.
A new beta version of Google Maps, which you can download at google.com/gmm, adds an interesting twist: it uses technology already part of your regular smart phone to figure out your location – just like GPS!
The trick is tapping into the location of cell phone towers, blah, blah, blah – who cares, it just works and gets you GPS for free. It worked well for me though I’ve seen reports of it misplacing users – Google claims it is accurate in the 50 to 5000 meter range. I’d have to experiment with it more to see if it holds up to that claim.
How useful will this be? With car-installable GPS systems coming in at just over $100 for the holidays, GPS is cheaper than ever. But they’re not free and not integrated into your phone (one of Google Maps’ best tricks is one-click access to phoning the location you just tracked down).
So definitely worth a look.
You can read more at GigaOm, which has the best take on the news.
