Well, after playing with a few free GPS Navigation and Mapping stuff for the T-Mobile G1, I’ve recently gotten an update notice on my phone for Google Maps. The new version includes GPS Navigation (in “beta” like so many of Google’s products) which I started playing with.

I am thoroughly impressed! Google Maps now will act like a full featured GPS Navigation and Mapping software. It’s easy to use, has voice prompts, remembers locations and so on.

Pros:

  • The map auto-orients itself so it is always showing what is ahead on the top of the map screen (unlike Google Maps regular mapping feature where North is always the top of the screen)
  • It gives good voice prompts that are fairly understandable for most street names, and very understandable for all directions such as “Exit right in 1/4 mile”
  • It’s maps seem to be variants of Google’s excellent maps, including showing exit ramps, service roads, etc
  • It is very good at recalculating routes if you make a wrong turn or decide to take a different route along your trip
  • It’s on screen directions are clear and easy to read
  • Unlike some of the other software I have used, it seems to take into account speed and GPS accuracy a lot better, so when it prompts you that you have an exit in 1/4 mile or 300 feet, you are that distance away from the exit (other software I have tried is usually off by the sampling rate and speed you are going and mis-places you on the map. Inotherwords, if you are travelling 60mph, it is off by 90-270 feet depending on how often it samples… not a big deal, but nice that Google seems to have gotten it right)
  • It auto zooms depending on what appears to be either speed or location (ie: near an exit) so you can see where you are and what you should be doing a lot better
  • The map is in a “3D” type of view as if you are looking at the road
  • The software automatically disables screen timeout (meaning, your screen wont go black in 10 seconds or whatever your default timeout is set to). With that in mind, you should have your G1 plugged in for longer trips and/or be aware you may need to put it on a charger when you get to your home or office.

Cons:

  • The default American English voice is probably the worst quality of the voices that work with the GPS Mapping software (not really an issue… it’s still decent – just not as good as the others).
  • There is still no easy route selection via dragging and dropping like on the computer version
  • If you forget to exit the GPS Navigation mode when done, it keeps running in the background (I didnt notice this until I went inside of a building and into the basement and kept getting the voice prompt telling me “GPS Signal Lost” every few seconds)
  • While not an issue on the computer version, the color selections of roads could be improved… a white background with grey secondary roads is not always the most easily viewable combination… not a problem if you only travel on highways (they are yellow), but who travels exclusively on highways?

In addition to the above, there are other “pros” to the software, like the ability to select certain points of interest such as restaurants, gas stations, etc; as well as the ability to use satellite or traffic views. And of course, the screen auto-orients depending on the G1′s orientation.

And a final thing that I cannot decide whether I like or hate; the status bar at the top of the G1 is visible in GPS Navigation mode. It’s nice to have there so one can easily see updates for email, text messages and everything else that gets updated to it… but the extra screen real estate would be nice to have in GPS Navigation mode. So, I’m not entirely sure which would be better… the lack of the status bar or having it. Perhaps an option to hide it would be a nice touch.

That’s about all I can think of at the moment. All in all, a great bit of software, and I am truly happy with it.

I’d rate it an 8.5 or 9 out of 10.