A few weeks ago during the Google I/O conference in San Francisco, Google announced a new version of the Google Maps app. The app will have a lot of new features and enhancements, and is expected to arrive this summer with an iPad app as well. The new Google Maps iPad app is said to have a new design, improved rating system, in-app offers and a number of new features. The updates were announced by Daniel Graf, Director of Google Maps, and Brian McClendon, (Google VP of Maps, who also said that over 1 million active sites use Google Maps, and that it is accessed by 1 billion unique visitors weekly.
New features were revealed when a login page mistakenly went live, displaying details about the new service. The Google Maps iPad app will have a completely updated user interface, designed to make navigation and public transport directions easier to use. A new "experience" feature to display indoor maps for many places, improved search tools and smooth running are only few features that have been promised.
The Google Maps iPad app will include new locations and restaurants ratings from Zagat along with Google Offers integration. When you search for places in the new Google Maps, a unique map is built with related routes and locations. You can star places to mark them as favorites, publish reviews and see recommendations to help you to find what you are looking for. You can rate restaurants on a 5-star rating system in Zagat, and see others reviews with badges and cards directly in the Maps app. Google Offers is also integrated in Maps app, and it can automatically display discounts and coupons from participating retailers (popular restaurants, retailers like Starbucks and Toys ‘R Us) in Maps, tailored to your search results and current location. The iPad app will also include improvements to rerouting in traffic and live traffic alerts, with live reports of incidents and accidents across the globe, so that you can easily avoid incidents and traffic jams. In order to showcase some of these changes, Google has launched a new version of Google Earth which, for the first time shows a view that combines the 3D experience from Google Earth with Maps, so a whole new perspective on the world is available. Register to preview the new desktop Google Maps. And if you want to find out more about the changes to Google Maps, check out this video:
