I’d like to say this up front: Google Maps is the most beutiful webapp that I have ever seen. It’s thick-client goodness in a plain old browser. It’s gorgeous, it’s clean, it’s interactive, and it’s driven by Google. It also has a killer feature: parmalinkage.
Getting back on topic, has anyone actually trued to use it? For directions I mean. They seem to be about on par with Mapquest, which isn’t a compliment. I was really bummed when I clicked on the Print button. I was expecting a nice clean overview map with a minimap for each turn. I was dissapointed to find a rather huge map with some text directions thrown in at the bottom.
Hey guys and gals, what gives? I love that I can click on each turn number and get a zoomed-in map of the turn. They’ve got this retro nostalgic feel to them. I love them. They don’t really do me a lot of good when I’m on the road though, unless I’m balancing a laptop on the dashboard. For the sake of drivers around me, I’ll refrain from that
I know, I know, it’s a Beta. Unfortunately Google has led me to expect perfection out of their Beta services. I do hope that they give me some options on printing in the future. As much as Mapquest sucks I really like the turn by turn graphics (for when I miss the turn and get lost).
I could probably deal with the printable directions as they are if they didn’t feel like an afterthought. Mapquest does a pretty good job with their little icons (right, left, interstate, route number, etc). I also like no-nonsense approach that Yahoo Maps takes. They mark their turns with clear L and R icons.
Thanks Google, for another awesome tool, even if it’s not perfect yet.
for when I miss the turn and get lost
If I had a dollar for everytime *that* happened… sigh.
Matt Croydon notes that the print capabilities of the service need work, and currently impede the usability of the service:
Hey guys and gals, what gives? I love that I can click on each turn number and get a zoomed-in map of the turn. They’ve got…
Yeah, but we all know that GW is an idiot.
OMG you must be totally retarded.
Saying Google’s point-to-point directions are about on par with MapQuest’s is a compliment. Not sure Google deserves the compliment yet, however. The app is pretty, but try using it for awhile and see what happens to your temp file space. Google uses pre-rendered graphics. Makes results pretty fast, but the other on-line map sites render maps on the fly without a noticeable performance hit. Also, try this gotcha (and it isn’t the only one):
Google takes the scenic route
Cheers!
Google Maps From Point…
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thank you for sharing this review.