Five years after launching its free Google Maps for mobile service – and just over a year after turning it into a free sat-nav application – Google has updated the latest version of its mobile maps with 3D interaction and the ability to work offline.
Over 100 cities worldwide (including Cardiff and Birmingham but not currently London) can now be shown with 3D buildings to gain a new perspective.
Automatic caching will store maps from the areas a user visits most. This will take place when the phone is plugged in and connected to WiFi. There’ll also be offline rerouting to guide users if their mobile internet connection fails during a journey.
These new features are currently available on the Android version of Google Maps for mobile 5.0. The 3D and offline features require Android version 2.0 or higher.
[Google Mobile blog]