On the day that iPhone 4’s have started showing up in people’s hands, Google is going all out to convince people that Android isn’t going anywhere, first by opening up Google Voice to everyone and now by significantly upgrading their Google Maps Android app to version 4.3.
The most significant (and cool) feature by far is the “What people are saying about” a place feature. Kind of like a heat map for recent comments about a bar, restaurant or other venue, the feature could best be described as a “trending topics” built around one place. Here’s what it looks like:
Another significant (and highly useful) feature is around public transit: the public transit stations pages now include upcoming schedules where info is available. Here’s what that looks like:
The new version also includes improvements on adding people to Google Latitude as well as to add your location for others to see.
The release is a worldwide update. Obviously, Google is not taking the release of iOS 4 and the iPhone 4 laying down.
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