 "Google Maps races to top spot in free iPhone apps")
It has been just a day since Google launched Google Maps for the iPhone and it already features at the top spot in the free apps for the iPhone. This shows how popular and needed the app is for iOS users. In the Indian App Store, it has already received 790 ratings with a majority of them being 5 stars.
The interface of Google Maps for iPhone is extremely clean and easy to use. If you have not yet downloaded Google Maps for your iPhone, click here to get it.
A very welcome addition to the App Store
Introducing it for the iPhone, Google stated in a blog post that Google Maps is designed from the ground up to combine the comprehensiveness and accuracy of Google Maps with an interface that makes finding what a user is looking for faster and easier.
Google claims that the app shows more of the map on screen and turns mobile mapping into one intuitive experience. Google states, “It’s a sharper looking, vector-based map that loads quickly and provides smooth tilting and rotating of 2D and 3D views. The search box at the top is a good place to start—perhaps by entering the name of a new and interesting restaurant. An expandable info sheet at the bottom shows the address, opening hours, ratings and reviews, images, directions and other information.”
One can also preview where they want to go with the Street View feature and see inside places with Business Photos to decide on a table or see if it’s better at the bar. There are also features such as voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation, live traffic conditions to avoid the jams and if one wants to use public transportation, they can find information for more than one million public transit stops.
To complete the Google Maps ecosystem, they are also releasing the Google Maps SDK for iOS, and a simple URL scheme to help developers use Maps when building apps.
The new Maps app is compatible with the iPhone and iPod Touch (4th gen) iOS 5.1 and higher, in more than 40 countries and 29 languages, including Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. Some features though are exclusive to some countries and aren’t available in all countries.
Google states, “The world around us is constantly changing and, thanks to feedback from you, we make tens of thousands of daily updates to keep Google Maps accurate and comprehensive.”
Google also has provided a hint for the new app, and they state that if something they see is off, all one needs to do is shake the phone to send Google feedback.
With iOS Maps not having features that are up to par, the Google Maps app is a welcome addition to the App Store.
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