I recently noticed it was showing traffic density, like my Tomtom live services does, and routes accordingly. Of course after I just paid 47.50 GBP for another annual subscription of Tomtom Live (which I have throughly enjoyed to date).
But since it doesn't do speed cameras (even though I'm a very infrequent speeder), and the truely awful quality of the the phone speakers for hands-free calling, I'll likely be carrying my dedicated car GPS for some time to come.
Oh and Tomtom - it has not been lost on me, that I have to pay 95GBP for a map of the Middle East / Asia / etc, that Google will supply for free!
I agree. I started using Google Maps to see if it worked and I was surprised how accurate it was. Although when it was in beta it gave me wrong directions sometimes. It does use a lot of data if you use it everyday.
There might be another new feature. I just got a prompt asking me if I wanted to 'turn the screen brightness down between turns to save on battery'. Android L DP N5. Has anyone seen that before?
Maybe google should worry about usability for a while, but instead they seem to follow the good old Microsoft example: If its still working, it doesn't have enough features yet. It would help more to be able to show the scale not just when zooming in and out but all the time so you know how far something is and similar stuff... It used to work but Google enhanced maps until such basic features didn't work anymore...
It would be nice if Google Maps brought back map caching. would make my nexus 7 a useful GPS and helpful when you are going to travel into areas without network coverage.
It still has map caching (for 30 days). They just buried it in a completely non-obvious place. You have to drop a pin marker on the map, select it, then one of the options (underneath save and share) is to save a local copy of the map. Once you tap that, it'll let you drag and resize the map.
But still, whenever I search for something I know is right around the corner, it provides me with results 30 miles away. This happens is certain areas, not all the time.
Wings near me: Some wings 30mi Closest, some other wings, 2 mi(NOT EVEN ON THE SEARCH RESULTS)
Same search in a web browser works perfectly. It's repeatable on other devices and I have opened a bug report that was closed with no reply.
In short, I DGAF what you add when the base operation is a failure.
We’ve updated our terms. By continuing to use the site and/or by logging into your account, you agree to the Site’s updated Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
8 Comments
Back to Article
Notmyusualid - Friday, July 18, 2014 - link
Google Maps just keeps getting better, eh?I recently noticed it was showing traffic density, like my Tomtom live services does, and routes accordingly. Of course after I just paid 47.50 GBP for another annual subscription of Tomtom Live (which I have throughly enjoyed to date).
But since it doesn't do speed cameras (even though I'm a very infrequent speeder), and the truely awful quality of the the phone speakers for hands-free calling, I'll likely be carrying my dedicated car GPS for some time to come.
Oh and Tomtom - it has not been lost on me, that I have to pay 95GBP for a map of the Middle East / Asia / etc, that Google will supply for free!
Gotta love competition...
icetorch - Friday, July 18, 2014 - link
I agree. I started using Google Maps to see if it worked and I was surprised how accurate it was. Although when it was in beta it gave me wrong directions sometimes. It does use a lot of data if you use it everyday.ryanmt - Saturday, July 19, 2014 - link
There might be another new feature. I just got a prompt asking me if I wanted to 'turn the screen brightness down between turns to save on battery'. Android L DP N5. Has anyone seen that before?AnnihilatorX - Sunday, July 20, 2014 - link
It has that quite a white ago. You must have clicked do not asked me again on your old Google Maps installation.loony - Sunday, July 20, 2014 - link
Maybe google should worry about usability for a while, but instead they seem to follow the good old Microsoft example: If its still working, it doesn't have enough features yet.It would help more to be able to show the scale not just when zooming in and out but all the time so you know how far something is and similar stuff... It used to work but Google enhanced maps until such basic features didn't work anymore...
GruntboyX - Sunday, July 20, 2014 - link
It would be nice if Google Maps brought back map caching. would make my nexus 7 a useful GPS and helpful when you are going to travel into areas without network coverage.Solandri - Monday, July 21, 2014 - link
It still has map caching (for 30 days). They just buried it in a completely non-obvious place. You have to drop a pin marker on the map, select it, then one of the options (underneath save and share) is to save a local copy of the map. Once you tap that, it'll let you drag and resize the map.Cstefan - Monday, July 21, 2014 - link
But still, whenever I search for something I know is right around the corner, it provides me with results 30 miles away. This happens is certain areas, not all the time.Wings near me:
Some wings 30mi
Closest, some other wings, 2 mi(NOT EVEN ON THE SEARCH RESULTS)
Same search in a web browser works perfectly. It's repeatable on other devices and I have opened a bug report that was closed with no reply.
In short, I DGAF what you add when the base operation is a failure.