The new Google Maps is pretty fun and smart. I have been testing it since it was in beta and though it’s hard to get used to it, I have grown fond of the new design and features. As it goes with Google services, though, the progress is nowhere close to ending. Today Google has updated Maps with some features we have been begging for, and others that are simply treats.
Waze data
Google acquired Waze last June, a great Navigation app with a social twist to it. Waze is ran by a great community that inputs information about traffic all over the world. Waze is not completely merging into Maps just yet, but the Search Giant is using the app’s info to make Google Maps better. Google Maps for desktop now uses Waze’s traffic data and takes it into consideration.
Pegman is back!
Remember good ol’ Pegman? It was so simple to use Street View in the older Google Maps. Just pick the yellow fellow up and drop it anywhere in the map. This feature was taken away in the new Google Maps, something many of us disliked. Mostly because it’s harder and less intuitive to click in the map in a specific way.
We don’t need to be confused and worried anymore, though – Pegman is back! And if that wasn’t enough, now Maps also includes user-uploaded Photospeheres.
See the world with Earth Tours
Earth Tours is pretty much like Tour Guide in Google Maps for mobile. It displays 3D imagery of popular places across the world. Just click on the Earth Tour button when you see it and you are set! You can go ahead and test this feature with the Alps. Enjoy!
You can learn more about the update from Google’s official announcement post. Which feature are you most excited about? I am loving Pegman right now!
[Google]
