Google Maps is one of the best features on Android phone but that does not mean it cannot be improved upon. For me there are many minor things that could make a better experience, but for many friends the missing features prevent them from using Google Maps for navigation all together.
Recently Visited (History) and Favorites
I have to say the biggest glaring omission in Google Maps on Android is the lack of recently visited or history/favorites. Now, before you all pile on, I am fully aware of the search history, so let me explain. If I was in Maui staying at the Four Seasons, then finding my hotel is easy, as there is only one Four Seasons on the Island. But what if I am somewhere else where there are lots of choices. To be realistic, consider this, you eat at a TGI Friday’s and the next day you want to play miniature golf at the location across from the TGI Friday’s you just ate at. Problem is when you found TGI Friday’s in Google Maps you searched for TGI Friday’s and went to the closest location. Today you’re 20 miles away, so how do you find that same TGIFriday’s? The search history only shows what you searched for “TGI Friday’s” not where you went.
If you could see the future you could have flagged the location, but you did not. On a traditional GPS unit they store a history of the addresses you previously visited. The only flaw is that most GPS’s only retain the address, so you don’t have a name of the location or phone number despite this information being available if you searched for the location, unless you are anal like Brent and make sure you save it with a name.
Call me silly but I believe an update to Google Maps could add support for maintaining the history of visited locations and the meta information about those locations, like name, phone number, date and time visited.
Routing Options
If you have come to rely on Google Maps, then there is no doubt you have been taken on a route that makes you realize how stupid (or literal!) computers can be. I laughed at Brent as he used a traditional GPS unit despite having the best GPS unit designed into a mobile phone to date. The value of options on most traditional GPS’s are the routing preferences and avoidance options.
Routing Preferences
- Faster Time
- Shorter Distance
- Less Fuel
- Off Road
Avoidance Options
- U-Turns
- Highways
- Toll Roads
- Traffic
- Ferries
On Monday July 5, 2010, I used Google maps to take me from Nantasket to Providence Airport. This was about 5 miles out of the way of the direct route and ultimately made no sense but I had to trust the GPS as I did not know the directions. I have dozens of examples of questionable routes, but most could be resolved if I could say must use freeways.
Directions to friends
I know Maps provides a Layer for Latitude but it would be useful to have that integrated with the contact. For example: I want to get driving or walking directions to Chris or Brent’s current location. Rather then selecting them via turning on the Latitude layer I could select them from my contact list and select current location. My point is that my contacts should be linked to my Latitude friends. I would go so far as to say Google should find a way to support the contacts you have that share location via Four Square or Gowalla. Again these are advanced social networking uses, but they would make the experience better.
Where To?
When you specify where you want to go, it is not always possible to just give an address. Or, perhaps, the street is too new or for some reason doesn’t show up as an option. For those times, being able to specify an Intersection of two streets is a great way to get into the area. However, Google Search/Maps is all about searching and searching where I am right now is not always the most helpful. How about this list?
Search Near
- A Different City
- A Favorite Destination
- A Recent Destination
- Along My Current Route
How many times do you find yourself driving to the airport to turn in a rental car and have no idea where you might find gas. Have fun trying to find some after you get to the airport. There are all manner of things that would be great to insert into your trip as a waypoint.
Driving Log
If you’re a heavy driver, due to business travel like Brent is, then having a driving log comes in handy for tax time. All my friends that are driving road warriors connect their GPS to their computers to pull down the driving log. It would be nice if I could click a button in Google Maps and tell it to email me a log of my trip once I arrive at the destination. The nice thing is it would include all re-routing, missed turns, fuel stops and other various aspects of a trip. Call me lazy but if technology can prevent me from connecting a device to my computer, then I am all for it. While this is a unique need, it is not complex to log and then email you the driving information.
Brent Adds A Note
After reading this, I should probably note that I have used Garmin GPS units for nearly 10 years. I have NOT had the same unit for that length of time. And yet, I have the saved addresses of every customer, friend, hotel, restaurant, and attraction I have visited over those year. (And yes, I believe that I can accurately say that I have nearly every Fry’s Electronics store in the country saved.) They are presented in a sorted list based on my current location. This is possible because I can move the current.gpx file from unit to unit. This is just one of the many reasons why I cannot afford to rely on Google Maps yet. It is there as a backup, should I need it, but to date, it has been used just to find the nearest BestBuy where I bought a new GPS. I will seriously consider using Google Maps when most of these options are available, and I can talk on the phone AND navigate at the same time. Just not possible today on Verizon. And yes Rod I know if you let the maps download you talk and navigate but I need up-to-date traffic information among other things.
