Google has added downloadable maps to its Android software for mobile phones.
With downloadable maps, people with smartphones that run Android will be able to find their way even if they have a poor wireless signal or they don't want to pay roaming data charges while traveling internationally. That is, if they thought far enough to download the maps in advance.
"We say that if you use Google Maps for mobile, you?ll never need to carry a paper map again," said Chikai Ohazama, a director of product management at Google, in a Thursday company blog item. The new feature was developed in Google's research labs and is experimental.
Android competes with Microsoft's Windows Phone and Apple's iPhone software.
Google said maps can be downloaded starting Thursday. The downloads take 1 to 2 minutes, the company said. You will still need a wireless connection to search for directions and places.
You can zoom in on the downloaded maps and you can measure distance between two points.
The downloaded maps do not contain satellite views or 3-D street views.
The maps will be deleted from your phone automatically after 30 days.
You will need to have Android version 2.1 or later installed on your phone to use this feature and the latest version of Google Maps, version 5.7.
You can download the latest version of Google Maps by pressing your phone's menu button while you have Google Maps open, clicking on "More" and selecting "Labs."
Update 12:09 p.m.
I just tested it on a Samsung Galaxy S from T-Mobile and successfully downloaded a map that works when the phone is in airplane mode without a wireless connection.
Some other notes that might be helpful: You have to click on to a location that's listed in Google Places on the map, such as a restaurant.
On the restaurant page, you will see a button that says "More." If you click on that button, you will get a menu and at the bottom there's an option to "Download Map."
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