During the conference, Next Dimension, Google announced 2 exciting news for the version of Google Maps for Android mobile devices: the ability to view three-dimensional maps and consult them in offline mode.
According to data on the number of users that have viewed the maps online in March 2012 of 90.4 million users in French, Spanish, German and English well 39.8 million have accessed via smartphones.
It seems that it was precisely this trend to push Google to give precedence to mobile applications in the development of such capabilities.
Maps in 3D
By 2006, Google has begun projects to bring the third dimension in its maps, and now has finally announced the introduction of mobile applications into their 3D visualization of maps, giving first priority to Android.
Using three-dimensional viewing will be possible to better identify and orient a given address. To get an idea of what we’re talking, you can see the video below showing the result that you can get on your mobile device.
As explained by Peter Birch, Product Manager of the project, the development of this feature, currently available only for a hundred cities, has taken much time and resources. Through a small fleet of aircraft have been shot several pictures with inclinations of 45 degrees, which were then used in a process called Stereophotogamitry, and analyzed to obtain full 3D.
Google Maps offline
The other change concerns one of the most requested and expected by users of Google Maps, or the ability to browse maps offline. In practice you can download local maps we need, also relative to other countries (for a maximum of 100 states), so that they can refer to the maximum level of detail even when you do not have to use the internet, as might occur during days of vacation.
In addition, Google is working to make the service more precise, accurate and updated. It has also announced the official blog, part of that future surveys will be conducted on foot using Trekker, a special backpack that contains all the necessary equipment to take images at 360 degrees.
