If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Image via CrunchBase

Here at Mobilize Steve Lee, Project Manager at Google and responsible for Google Maps for mobile, just revealed that when users have the ability to get their current position either by a GPS-enabled device or through the data network, the usage of the application doubles.

He said this happens especially when people search for a route to get to somewhere, since they don’t have to waste (about) 1 minute to insert their current position manually. This is an important point, since mobile applications must all be about simplicity given that when we are on the go, we are usually  rushing, in our car or, in general, with very limited time, and even one minute is very important.

Google is working hard in this space and yesterday they just announced a new version of Google Maps featuring Street View and Walking Directions, the latter being something I was always looking for. Here is a video.

Again, the main problem any application like Google Maps faces is battery life. Those apps are the future but there’s still a lot of work to be done in the field of power management and the challenge is to make batteries last at least 15 to 20 hours even with an intensive usage of the device, so that device can be recharged over night. What do you think?

Related articles by Zemanta

• Google Maps Introduces Walking Directions and Street View for Mobile Users
• BMW adding Google Maps to more vehicles
• New features in Google Maps for mobile
• Google Maps for Mobile updated?

Technorati Tags: Android, Google, Google Maps, Google Street View, luca filigheddu, Mobile, Mobile phone, mobilize, Street View, Walking Directions