Users of Google Maps are increasingly getting into the site – which offers maps and directions – through mobile devices. In fact, 40 percent of the map service usage is done through mobile devices, according to a report from Digital Trends.
Google’s Vice President of Location and Local Services Marissa Mayer said that on Christmas and New Years Day mobile access of Google Maps was higher than desktop usage for the first time – during the busy holiday travel season.
Mayer reports Google Maps has a total of 150 million mobile users, Digital Trends adds.
Google Maps has led users through 12 billion miles of roads and highways each year, according to Mayer. She also estimates the routing service allowed users to cut “two years per day of time that would have otherwise been spent in traffic,” Digital Trends reports.
As for its future, Mayer predicts the service will offer a feature to inform travelers on how to choose air flights by giving advice on when to leave an airport based on the weather and traffic flow, Digital Trends adds.
Late last year, Google introduced Google Maps 5.0 for Android, according to a report on ContactCenterSolutions. The app can be downloaded and updated in the Android Market.
ContactCenterSolutions’s Susan J. Campbell explains the new option helps users employing Google Maps for Mobile on WiFi-only Android MIDs and tablets. The Google Maps navigation tool works offline, giving users basic rerouting when they are driving or walking off the provided course, she said.
As far as visual improvements, there is 3D-dynamic mapping for Android, ContactCenterSolutions said. Users can view standard map data with a sense of depth, as well as see buildings presented in 3D, ContactCenterSolutions adds.
In recent news, Google Maps now features locations of electric vehicle charging stations on Google Maps. According to a Google.org blog post, the company has been adding information to Google Maps over the past few months to help users find charging stations.
To find locations, search on Google Maps for “ev charging station” plus the appropriate area, for example, “ev charging station near mountain view ca,” according to the blog post from Google’s Cynthia Yeung.
Google says it will add more charging stations on Google Maps, as the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is making more data available to Google.
Finding a charging station is a key to motorists opting to use electric/hybrid cars.