The free turn-by-turn navigation on the Droid is familiar Google Maps unleashed as a mobile navigation tool.
This evolution for turn-by-turn navigation incorporates Google's street view photos that move along with you real-time.
Using a button on the navigation screen, you can toggle between the map view and the street level view that follows you along with important details from the the map layers. Tiny pop-up bubbles appear to give you evolving information about your streets.
You can also swipe your finger across the screen and see around you, change elevation and zoom forward in the street view.
You can request a search by voice recognition.
"Maps of restaurants" will give you restaurants in your GPS location; a map of push pins to explore as well as a directory with star ratings and links.
You can also navigate from a point on the map of your choosing. Look over the map and touch the location. Great if you can't find an address and want to just look at a map and point.
Route searches include transit maps, pedestrian route and traffic condition updates.
There is also a list of turn by turn directions for those who prefer running their brains in manual.
The updates and reroutes have updated without lag over the week I've been using it. The maps have this soothing, liquid transition about them leading you to believe that there is some nice buffering in place, but the reroutes are also immediate leading me to believe there is a good network in place.
The voice is adjustable from the phone's media volume toggle and is amply loud and crisp.
There is also a suction cup windshield mount available as an accessory, that places (it's a magnet) the phone in the mobile mode and alters it's function for driving.
While using the phone for navigation without the mobile cradle, notifications from your multitasking operations continue to come in as a vibration and the subtle blue blinking LED status light.
My monthly cost for using this smart phone is actually $10 less than my previous smart phone due to the fact that I don't pay for navigation now.
Look for this navigation in other phones running Android 2.0.
Free and excellent are a good combination.
Leave a comment