google_maps_navigation_android_Just realized that the google folks just made their free navigation application available to android 1.6 users. That means G1 owners can now get in on the action! This means Christmas just came a few weeks early for some folks who were thinking that they were going to need some xda action to get there navigation on. I did a video on it and it works great. Here are a few tidbits:

Its a little slow on the G1

Don’t get me wrong here. It works and quite well at that, but it could stand to be a little snappier. However, I’d have to say that beggers can be choosers on this one. Its a free navigation app, with street view and voice prompting.

Different Layers

I liked this part. They offer different layers such as satellite, transit lines, traffic, latitude. They may add more layers in the future, but I’d say they already have a pretty useful bunch to work with as is.

Street View With Compass Mode

Yup, you can see your next turn in google’s street view so that tricky slight left turn that you have to veer to the right for is suddenly not so tricky. You see it coming miles away and can prepare for it. Its also got compass mode, so you can see what your turns look like in real-time as you drive. However, I recommend you keep your eyes on the road, but thats just me.

All in all, I loved it, and can’t wait to test it out for real. Stay tuned for video.

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