Google promises tight Maps integration on Android

The Google Maps application for the Android mobile operating system promises to fully exploit the touchscreen, accelerometer and GPS features of T-Mobile USA's upcoming G1, the first commercial Android-powered handset. Writing on the Official Google Mobile Blog, Android Team product manager David Conway notes Google Maps for the G1 also capitalizes on the deep system integration inherent in the Android platform, connecting with email, IM and the mobile web to offer users their choice of viewing maps in the phone browser, within the Maps app or over any other application that supports Maps functionality.

According to Conway, users require nothing more than their thumb to pan around and zoom in and out of maps on the G1 touchscreen--a switch to Street View mode offers panoramic, street-level images, complete with a Compass view that goes up, down and sideways in concert with the movement of the handset. Another feature, My Location, relies on GPS or nearby cell towers to alert users of their current whereabouts. Conway adds that any developer can build location-based Android apps based on the platform's MapView and location APIs, citing Cab4me and Locale as two of the Android Developer Challenge winners [1] delivering location services.

For more on Google Maps:
- read this Official Google Mobile Blog entry [2]

Related articles:
Google touts platform-wide Android [3] search integration
T-Mobile USA launches Android [4] emulator