Google Maps for Blackberry / Mobile Phone

I recently installed the latest version of the Google Maps download for a mobile phone / Blackberry onto my new HTC Tytn II Windows Mobile handset and have been further impressed by how well this free piece of software works and how useful it actually can be.

I previously had an Orange E650 (a branded HTC S710 Vox handset) which ran Windows Mobile 6 and as such I installed Google Maps on that, however I must admit that I never really used it due to a combination of slow data speeds (it wasn’t a 3G device) and the fact that the data usage charges on my tariff were quite expensive.

However, once I got my Tytn II, one of the first things I did was to try installing Google Maps onto it which only took a minute or two to do. With my new handset being 3G-capable combined with the fact that I now have a monthly data usage on my tariff, this makes using applications that use the Internet such as this much more appealing.

When you load Google Maps up, you can then choose to “Use GPS” from the menu and assuming you have a GPS device either connected/paired or built into the handset (as is the case with the Tytn II), the map screen will then flip to where you’re currently located.

Once you have your current location established, either by using GPS or setting it manually via address or postcode, you can then take advantage of some of the following functions.

• Search – obviously this is what Google are good at, so this function is pretty well done in my opinion. Once you’ve established your current location, you can then search on items or businesses, for instance, if you’re hungry and want to know where the nearest place you can buy a pizza is you could search on ‘pizza’ or ‘Pizza Hut’ and it would bring back the nearest relevant results.
• Directions – just enter your starting location and where you want to get to and it will work out the route to get there for you!
• Look up Contact - assuming your contacts on your mobile phone have location/address information, then Google Maps can take this information and it can be pinpointed on the map - you can then plot directions to that location if needed.
• Satellite View - still having trouble recognising the surrounding area? Then using the satellite view can really help, particularly if you haven’t got GPS built into your device, although be prepared for much higher data usage from all the imagery downloads.
• Traffic - for certain areas Google Maps can give you traffic information and base any direction routing around that to help avoid congestion, however I’ve yet to find any area in the UK which it works for - I’m guessing it’s just for the US market so far.
• My Location - this takes you to your current location, either determined by a GPS signal or details you’ve entered into the device about where you are. However, if you can’t use either of these options, a recent addition to Google Maps is one that will bring back your approximate location (to a certain degree of accuracy/range) based upon which mobile network transmitter / cellphone tower you are nearest.

Overall, I would really recommend that you try out Google Maps download on your mobile phone / device / Blackberry, it’s a great tool to have, particularly if you’re visiting somewhere new and it saves you looking like a complete tourist carrying around your maps and directions printouts. And best of all it free!

Have you found a better mapping solution? I saw that you can get a TomTom version for mobiles, but that isn’t free, has anyone used this and is it worth the money?

What do you think to Google Maps as a free piece software? Have you got it installed on your mobile phone or Blackberry?