Google’s Android Maps App Now 100x Faster and in 3D [Google]

Google has just unveiled their new, refreshed Maps app for Android. What’s new about it? Well it renders buildings in 3D, loads faster, works offline and should automatically rotate the map in step with the phone’s compass.

Thanks to the small file size and scalability of the recent vector graphics in Maps, the app now renders in realtime, and maps load about 100 times faster. The recent 3D building models will start to seem as you get to street view level, and you may even tilt the phone and this may alter its vertical orientation to provide a sense of a building’s height. 100 cities can be supported from the outset.

But perhaps the good portion of the updated app are the rotation tools. that you should rotate the map using the multitouch screen, or let the app rotate itself in accordance with the compass. So in the event you’re walking through a busy city, the map will turn as you turn, hopefully preventing the user from losing their sense of direction. And in order for you an additional study the map, which you can move two fingers in a circular motion to rotate the map in your liking.

Also included inside the update is an offline mode, so one can remember areas you’ve visit essentially the most, and download those maps inside the background so that if one’s connection should drop out, they won’t be without navigation. Google says that this should make amends for 90% of the times the app currently fails when the connection is bad.

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This post is tagged: building models, multitouch screen, sense of direction, vector graphics, vertical orientation