Google Maps Voice Navigation Now Officially in India


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NEW DELHI: Google on Tuesday launched its much-awaited navigation service in India. The feature, available on Android phones and tablets for free, would allow travelers, whether they are driving or walking, to get directions to a place through turn-by-turn voice instructions.

While Navigation app was always a feature of Android phones in India, the service was not supported officially. It used to show just the route and lacked support for voice instructions. Currently, the Navigation feature is in beta and Google tells users to exercise caution while using it.

We tested the app as soon as it went live and found it to be very accurate. In case of any deviation by a user in the middle of the way, the app automatically reroutes the coordinates. There are various options. Users can select whether they want walking instructions or driving directions. They can add or remove layers to change view from basic to the one that is more detailed. They can also save routes.

Navigation, that uses GPS chips in a device, is one of the most popular features among smartphone and tablet users across the world. In India, however, only Nokia offered this service on its high-end phones for free. TomTom and MapMyIndia were among other companies that provided the navigation service through paid apps.

Several third-party apps like Waze, available on both iPhone and Android devices, offered the service for free though they were not as accurate as Nokia Maps or Google Navigation.

Given the importance of navigation and map related features, Google is quietly bolstering its offerings in India. Along with the navigation, it also offers basic map services and Local, which is a kind of directory of notable places around a user.

Recently, the company brought Transit to several Indian cities. Transit, which uses the data supplied by public transport authorities like Delhi Metro, allows a user to get information on routes covered by public transport and the time at which buses or trains can be boarded. Transit is available in several areas of Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Ahmedabad.

The turn-by-turn navigation may help Android devices stay ahead of iPhone in India. Apple, which recently decided to not use Google Maps in its devices, would be using its own map service in iOS 6. However, building an efficient map service takes time, especially in a country like India where roads and routes are not as organized as they are in the US or European countries. Both Nokia and Google have spent years perfecting their map service in India and it may take a while before Apple could match them here.


source : Google brings voice navigation to India - The Times of India
 
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I tried it out this morning after reading about it. It takes a long time to figure out a route after the GPS locked on. Haven't tried it on road yet.

Sygic is much faster and is very accurate. I have used it on remote places where there were no cell coverage, like Valparai and had no issues with it. It does not require GPRS.
 
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yes, sygic works offline.
but the main thing is POI. where no one can even touch google maps. it has almost everything on earth [evil]

i am using sygic till now. and Gmaps had irritate me by showing wrong directions (left / right swap) many times. but now its official so we will get better quality of navigation from G.

and the most IMP part is it will not take too much space in your SD card. its only 10MB app, will use GPRS (almost all who have android , has GPRS ) so, its very useful in remote places, subject to GPRS connectivity.
 
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Finally Google have launched it in India! Wonder what took them so long! [evil] Till date was comfortable with Nokia maps. It really did serve the purpose well.

Anyone with first hand report on Google navigation functionality ?
 
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I tried it for a very short drive today, it worked pretty well. need to try out the live traffic update too
 
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i tried this, but actually i didnt get the voice guidance. will this activate only when we drive? have some problem - takes more time for GPS fixing .

OFF TOPIC:
What about street view, another 5 years we have to wait?
 
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i tried this, but actually i didnt get the voice guidance. will this activate only when we drive? have some problem - takes more time for GPS fixing .

OFF TOPIC:
What about street view, another 5 years we have to wait?
voice guidance worked fine for me, just keep driving and it will start instructing

Also traffic updates does exist in pune
 
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i tried this, but actually i didnt get the voice guidance. will this activate only when we drive? have some problem - takes more time for GPS fixing .

OFF TOPIC:
What about street view, another 5 years we have to wait?

Yes, even I felt it takes ages to get connected with GPS! I think Govt did not give permission for Google to go ahead with street view citing security reasons. So Google stopped the street view project. Few months bach had noticed a Captiva with Google camera capturing Bangalore streets. But then it has gone to sleep mode now!
 
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Guys try the Nokia voice guided navigation for 200 countries free on lumia phone once , you can use it without Internet connection amazing stuff .
 

allhyundaicars

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So just used this and i'll say it's awesome.

I connected my phone via bluetooth and it was giving directions flawlessly. Told when to turn in how many meters.
If you take a wrong turn it'll update you with new route [thumbsup]
But yeah improvements have to be done. My screen was not updating with my movement.

I'm sitting at my college and it still says it's 2.8 kilometers from my current location.

20% battery gone within 30 minutes. I used 3G.
 
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The biggest strength of google maps is the comprehensive list of POIs, it nearly knows every building. So the navigation uses that to good effect, e.g :- it tells you of a impending left turn as take a left turn just after the xxx police station - the pronunciation of indian names with an accent only adds to the fun.
 

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