There is a new Android mobile application that could help you get your way around a large airport, or even the Mall of America. Google Maps for Android has released a new version this week and it adds a feature that supplies you with floor plans of large buildings so that you can find your way around sort of like looking at a “You are here” sign at your local mall. The larger venues that are already included are just a small part of what Google hopes is a large selection of indoor maps of large retail outlets, airports, transit stations and more on a global scale.
The director of product management at Google, Steve Lee, said, “This opens a new mapping frontier for mobile users: indoor public spaces.” Google Maps 6.0 is the new version of the mobile app and it will also place a blue dot where you are located in relation to the indoor map. As you move around the indoor venue, you will see the blue dot move as well, as to keep you aware of your indoor location. If you are going to be moving between floors on an indoor map, the map will automatically refresh to show you the map of the floor you just arrived on.
The new Google Maps application will include labels for bathrooms, store names, where the ATM’s are located and where certain airport gates are. Google is getting into a partnership with some of the companies that offered up their floor plans for the app, but Google also has offered a tool to allow these places that want their floor plans on the app, they can easily upload them via the app. Right now the application is in beta testing mode, so some bugs and weird “wrinkles” might be experienced until they get a full grip on how the upload feature will work.
With the new Google Maps 6.0, users will not be bombed by ads or by coupons and special offers from stores listed on the maps. The application is a tool to help people get around larger locations easier. Maps can be saved internally in case you are one of the few that could lose a cellular signal while inside one of these buildings. The Google Maps 6.0 mobile application will work on Android powered devices running 2.1 or higher.
