Google Maps for Android Gains Voice Search & Transit Directions

YouTube video courtesy of Phandroid.com

Google announced three enhancements for Google Maps for Android…

Search by voice and transit directions come to Google Maps on Android

1. Voice search using English in American, Australian, and British accents. I’ve found voice searches to be of limited use because the various implementations I’ve tried only seem accurate in very quiet environments.

2. Transit and walking direction. This, on the other hand, is a feature I think is very useful – especially when you are visiting an unfamiliar city and just want to wander around on foot.

3. Latitude Updates lets you communicate with friends and post messages. This seems to resemble the Dodgeball service Google bought and then let disappear.

Note that this Google Maps for Android update needs to be manually selected and downloaded in the Android Market. It is not an automatic update.

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