By Google Maps has come a pretty far way since its first incarnations. Real-time navigation has expanded to include public transit and walking directions, once 2D map data has turned 3D, and now the app is taking us inside buildings for the first time. Indoor maps are a fresh addition to Google’s web version of maps, but the mobile counterpart doesn’t have to wait to take advantage of the new feature. Zooming in on a location will bring you a look at the indoor layout, including floor plans based on your exact location to within a few meters. The service should be expanding to more locations, but for now can be experienced in various airports and shopping malls around the country.
Other updates include an Ice Cream Sandwich-tuned UI that makes navigating between features within the app all the easier. Places also gets a refreshed home screen displaying popular local searches based on location. You can download Google Maps 6.0 from the Android Market now for your Android 2.1+ device.
Android Market Link: Google Maps
[via Google Mobile Blog]
I’m sorta confused. Are there really android phones out there that can get GPS inside a building? Mine can’t. And I understand about location by wifi ip addresses, but…
I’m definitely trying it though!
i have the same question about the gps indoor
You need to see at least 3-4 satellites for GPS to fix your position. Unless the roof is glass or there is some sky visible, you won’t get a GPS lock indoors (unless close to a window). However, if you use wifi, it can get a lock on your position based on the location of the router/accesspoint. Also it can triangulate your approximate position via cell towers.
My sidekick did and sometimes my sensation
as a member of the Google Mapmaker community, I must say, this is absolutely freaking awesome news!
Yes this is awesome.
Would be great to see companies given an API/format to follow and allowed to post internal company floorplans and campus maps on an internal server, define the area on the public map where they apply and then tell Google that internal URL. Then users on internal WiFi networks at those locations could open Maps and it would try to access the ‘detailed’ floorplans/maps. Wonder if the layers APIs are sophisticated enough to do this?
Way cool!
I love the menu button on the top left. Took a minute to figure out that was clickable though.
I love the menu system!
Here is hoping we get the new ICS Gmail soon without having to wait for full blown ICS!
:)
Darn! CM9 Alpha 11 will not allow for the Update. I guess I’ll just wait until the next CM9 includes it as stock.
Neat! My local Home Depot has inside maps enabled!
The Hospital across the street however doesn’t……
Atlanta Int Airport has the tram level as a separate clickable layer. Pretty neat.
It can not be the GPS signal that is used indoors, but triangulation between micro bases for mobile phone and wifi access point. Remember Google have a map of wehre they found different wifi bases (mac adresses is unique), can the phone see at least 3 bases or access points is it easy to calculate current position. This uses internet connection to get data from the google database.
They never show actual navigation indoors, just the map. If you can’t figure out a map without a gps, well you have larger problems….
This maps thing is getting border line creeeepyyyyyy
US only, as always. What a joke
the gps on my samsung infuse works indoors. it doesn’t get a lock as fast but it does work. Are you guys saying the gps doesn’t work at all?
Did they bring back the navigation volume? I had to revert back to an old version because they used the media volume which caused problems while navigating and listening to music. I don’t want to upgrade and have the same problem again.
Can someone please tell me why on Android based phones, you can’t select a location from a map and choose whether or not you want “directions to” or “directions from” this place like you can on web. It blows my mind that something so simple is available on iPhone “maps” program (which I always assumed was Google maps, but as I’m writing this I realize how silly that sounds) and it hasn’t yet occurred to the good folks at Google to add such a feature for Andriod.