Google Maps

There are very few services that are as good and useful as Google Maps, in fact I don’t think that there’s a service as good for the same price. G Maps is a free web mapping service that has been helping out people for quite a while now, those who use maps know what this software is capable of, and they wouldn’t dare switching or even trying a new online mapping service, simply because this one has too much to offer, lots of useful tools, and hundreds of cool features!

Google Maps is currently considered the best, the most popular, and the most visited online mapping website in the world, and that’s not all, it is also one of the most used web based applications in the world period. There are many internet mapping sites competing with Google in the web mapping field, the best known competitor that G-Maps has is Map Quest. Mapquest is awesome, I’m not going to argue with that, they also provide high quality maps, reliable directions, lots of great tools, easy to use, etc. But even as great as Map Quest is, I still believe that Google has an edge over the competition, let me tell you why.

Let’s get started with this Google Maps review that everyone has been waiting, you can use this description to compare Google’s digital mapping service against any other online mapping service, after you read the information that’s written on this page you will know exactly what to expect of G Maps, you will find out why this online mapping service is currently considered the best of the web.

When you visit the official G Maps website, you will have immediate access to the standard out of the box version of Google Maps, this version provides basic street maps, which are digital representations of cities, streets, landmarks, and you can also use the amazing G-Maps search feature right away. Google Maps for search allows users to easily find places, reviews, images, restaurants, hotels, shopping centers, parking, or any other thing that you might be looking for, if what you are looking for is in the database, then Google Maps will help you find it!

After you are done with the basic street maps feature, you can move on to explore places with Satellite view, you can use this option to explore the world through high quality satellite images taken to the earth from outer space, this pictures are taken by various commercial satellites that are constantly gathering information about planet Earth and its surroundings. Satellite view only provides raw satellite images, it does not provide graphics or labeling.

After messing around with Satellite view for a while, you can switch to Hybrid View for further exploration. Hybrid view combines satellite view and basic street maps in one, Hybrid view shows Satellite images with streets outlined, that means that you can explore satellite images with an overlay of graphics and labels that will help you identify landmarks, streets, cities, country borders, and even city borders!

What really made Google Maps stand apart from the rest of the online mapping websites was the introduction of a feature called “Google Street View”, when this feature was launched G Maps blew my mind away! Street view changed everything, finding places became much easier, because G Maps allows us to combine driving directions with street view, therefore following the driving instructions provided by the G-Maps route planner became a lot more simple, G Street View allows you to easily navigate from one place to the other in a more efficient way. If you use this tool you will be able to know exactly where to make turns before you even get there, you will know exactly which roads to take, and how you are going to get there, because Street view allows you to virtually travel through the whole route. Street view allows users to view places and directions through 360 degree street level images taken in real time, real life high quality pictures that are constantly updated, I think that the coolest thing about this feature is that you can look and move around in any direction, just as if you where there!

Earlier I mentioned that Google allows you to get to your destination in an easier, faster, and even cheaper manner, it even allows you to do this on your favorite mode of transportation, because G Maps also provides walking, transit (public transportation, bus, train, etc), and biking directions as well. I like the biking directions feature a lot, I was really happy when the biking directions feature was released, because sometimes I like to bike to work, and I also like to go out with my friends on weekends to practice my favorite hobby which is mountain biking. With biking directions my biking sessions have become safer, now we get to plan routes that have very little to no traffic at all, I love safety, and this web mapping software definitely makes things like driving and biking a lot more safe for me, and for the people around me. If you like biking you will love the biking directions feature as well, you will be able to create the best routes, Google has thrown a lot of data into their web mapping monster, and Google Maps is now capable of finding the most amazing biking trails, as I’ve mentioned before the Google route planner is always able to create highly optimized routes, these routes are calculated from elevation change, bike paths, bike lanes, traffic, and preferred biking roads, plus an additional layer that shows different types of biking paths.

If you are a pedestrian and you are planning to visit a place where you have never been before, then please feel free to use the Walking directions feature. First create a walking route, then use the street view to check out the places that you are going to walk by, the Google Walking Directions feature is just as good as driving directions, in fact I’ve heard some people say that it’s better.

Walking and driving navigation is mostly displayed on satellite maps that allow users to easily identify landmarks, streets, roads, etc. Remember to use the Pegman icon to have a closer look at precise areas that you might be interested in.

Google Maps has probably the best app for mobile, it doesn’t matter if you have an iPhone, blackberry, or an Android phone, or any other kind of mobile device like an iPad or Galaxy tablet, if your device has access to the internet, then that means that you already have access to all of G maps tools and features for mobile devices. To use Google Maps for Mobile you basically have two options, the first is to download and install the GMaps app for free, the second option is to access the G-Maps mobile site, just open up your mobile’s web browser and type maps.google.com.

Google also allows you to use a feature called My Maps, this feature enables users to upload or include their own content and/or knowledge to G-Maps, you can edit your own maps, you can even add distance measurements, photos, new roads, etc. Everything that you decide to upload to the site can be easily and quickly shared with everyone through social media sites!

Google Maps is definitely the best online mapping software, it’s free, it’s easy to use, it has the latest advancements in Geo technology in it. G Maps is also a very user friendly and intuitive website, you don’t need any knowledge or technical skills to use this software, you just have to visit the official Google Maps website, and in no time you will become an expert as well.

The information about Google Maps on this webpage has been thoroughly researched and mostly created by the Google-directions.com team. Of course we used external resources to enrich the content on this webpage, below you will find a list of external resources we used, you can use those links to learn even more about Google Maps.

External Resources:
-Tips for Life
-Wikipedia