Google Maps Navigation to go offline

According to Dutch tech site All About Phones, they say that Google Maps Navigation will end up with a true offline version before summer is over. This might very well be true, as the Android app received an update last December which allowed it to cache routes and the surrounding areas, but as long as there is no available data connection, you could not enter a new destination. It seems that Google might actually be working on the removal of such a requirement, which is obviously the next step forward for a navigation tool. Apart from that, this makes perfect sense since Nokia’s Ovi Maps will also be delivering its turn-by-turn capability to the Windows Phone 7 platform. While this is not a killer feature to have, it might still make fence sitters lean their decision with Microsoft’s operating system.

The biggest loser out of all this if it were to be true? Dedicated GPS manufacturers such as Garmin and TomTom, since it is very hard to compete with something that is free.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Cellphones
Tags: Google, Google Maps, GPS