Monday, July 28, 2014

New Features of Google Map

Google Maps
If you are a regular Google Map User, then you should be aware that it was further improved to make it more user-friendly and practical.

Considered as the most popular online map to date, Google Map has utilized the expertise of thousands of people in all walks of life to make it better each year. This year is no different.

Some of the constant user of Google Maps has identified some of the latest updates as the most popular features that they cannot do without.

Saving Maps Offline

This is one feature applicable for people who are traveling in areas where they don’t have an LTE or Wi-Fi signal nearby. Essentially, users can now download very large maps onto their device that they can still use to track location as long as the GPS is still enabled. This feature is particularly handy for when one is in another country and they don’t want to pay international data roaming charges when they are looking up directions — they can basically just save all their maps beforehand and use GPS to help guide them. The maps themselves take up a tiny amount of space too — the map of the entire Paris metro area takes up only 6MB, for instance.

Alerts on When to Switch Lanes

One of the annoyances of highway driving comes when the driver in the left-hand side fast lane and they aren’t able to quickly switch over to the right lane for their exit because they are being blocked by other cars. Google Maps has now added a new feature that alerts drivers to when they should switch lanes in anticipation of their intended exit to make sure they have enough time to get over, thus ensuring that they won't miss an exit ever again.

Smarter Traffic Estimates Based on Historical Data

The shortest route isn’t always the fastest, especially if everyone takes it at the same time. With this in mind, Google has started using historical traffic data to give drivers estimates of how crowded certain routes will be at certain times of the day and will also tell them if they need to leave early to avoid getting caught in a traffic jam.

Quick Facts

Google Maps’ new quick facts feature will give users some basic information on nearby landmarks in their area such as some of their history, how to reach them, and also if or when they’ll be open for public viewing. This feature is a definite must to anyone traveling in a new city for the first time.

"Four dimensional" Street View

This feature will help take users into the past by giving them the ability to look at historical Street View pictures from the past several years to let them see how places have changed in recent history. So for example, they can watch the construction of the Freedom Tower in New York as it happened or they can see how communities have rebuilt themselves after being hit with an earthquake or other natural disasters. This feature only figures to get better and better as time goes by and we have more years to look back on.

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