New Version of Google Maps Mobile

[Chuong Nguyen]

This has been out for a while now, and TyTN II/Tilt owners should have it on their phones if they recently purchased the phone and downloaded from Google's servers, but for those who don't update a lot, Google Maps Mobile is now up to version 1.7.1.4 and offers some refined look.

There are some nice refinements, such as a new directions view, new iPhone-like pin drops, some landmark labels, among others.

I am not quite sure of the total number of updates/differences as I've been using TeleNav and Microsoft's Live Search (http://wls.live.com/) for Windows Mobile, but if you're interested in getting Google Maps Mobile, you can download it here (http://www.google.com/gmm/) from your Windows Mobile device and report back on the improvements.

[Rainman]

I just downloaded this and the iPhone like pin drops are clever. I also tried searching for Chinese restaurants in my area. Now when you scroll through the list, it scrolls the map until it reaches the restaurant's location.

Another nice update is that in satellite view, street/highway names are now shown. It was not available in previous versions of Google Maps Mobile and was something I loved about Microsoft Live Search.

When you click on one of the search results, it doesn't go to a separate screen now. It opens up a small window in the middle of the screen. Within this window, it now has up to 3 tabs:

1. The first tab is for search results. You can click on and see all of your results again as a scrolling list.

2. The second tab the Address tab. It obviously shows the address, but it also has hyperlinks to the business' website if applicable, directions to and from the location, and send the item as an SMS text message. It also gives you the ability to call straight from this window, instead of an additional two taps to the options and call button.

3. The last tabs is a Details tab that provides additional information about any business you put in. If information is available for the business you selected, then this tab will come up. If not, you will not see it. I looked up the Paris Hotel in Las Vegas and information from Travelocity, Orbitz, etc. came up. It showed best rates available, credit cards accepted and more. This is very cool!

All the other Google Maps Mobile tools are still available. It looks like Google has further streamlined this tool to make it a very fun user experience. I will say that I like the traffice service from Google more than Microsoft's Live Search because they have more cities available. Now, if they would add the Gas Prices, Movie Listing and Voice Search capabilities of Microsoft Live Search, this would be a great tool.

[Deemota]

Thanks for the heads up. I really like the update. I was running version 1.2