Offline wonders
Google is mostly sticking to its guns by keeping Google Maps an internet-connected experience to ensure users get "get the freshest map and place data, search and voice search, live traffic conditions, satellite and Street View imagery," but it has acknowledged that rubbish internet connections can be bothersome.
"So today we're happy to take the first steps toward greater offline reliability, so you can find your way even if you lose your connection," said Siliski.
To avoid a situation where a user gets stranded without a map, Google said has swapped to dynamically drawing maps which need 100 times less data to get a maps across different zoom levels. Consequently it can cache large areas on a user's phone were they use Maps most.
"This way, you can rely on having fast, robust maps available to you where you're most likely to need them," he added.
Instead of having a static set of maps installed on a handset, Google Maps will automatically start caching the areas a user visits the most when their device is plugged in and connected to Wi-Fi.
"We're already hard at work improving the algorithms and technology behind these features, so over time you can expect to see maps work better in more offline situation," he added.
Google said 10 million people now use Google Maps navigation (Beta) where losing an internet connection can be particularly annoying and is consequently introducing offline rerouting.
"You'll still need a connection to start a route, but if you miss a turn along the way, we'll quickly get you back on track, even if you don't have an Internet connection. We'll be rolling this feature out gradually over the next few weeks," said Siliski.
Google said the new features are the first steps in their dynamic map drawing plans to provide a faster, more efficient and more interactive user experience. It reckons viewing maps using Google Maps 5.0 will need almost 70 percent less mobile network data than before.
Google Maps 5.0 will work on Android 1.6+ devices but 3D and offline features will need Android 2.0+ and some handsets might not support the full bag of tricks.
