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This is a guest post by Charles Zink.

One of the best additions that Google put in Android 1.6 and above, was Google Maps Navigation, bringing iPhone quality navigation right to the Droid. Using the same maps software that Apple uses in their iPhone Maps application, the detail and features are limitless.
This is just a short list of some of the neatest features from Navigation.

#1: Home Screen Icons: With the Maps & Android integration, you can add a short-cut right on your home screen to navigate directly to somewhere. For example, I have an icon on my home screen that says ‘Go Home.’ As soon as I tap it, Google Maps Navigation comes up and starts instantly routing me from my current location to my house. Shortcuts only take a minute to set up, and can either be set ‘from A to B’ or ‘from current location to B.’ So the ideas there are limitless.

#2: Google Street View: One thing that scared the hell out of me when I first began using Navigation, was that when you pull up to your destination, it gets a picture of it from Google Street View, and shows you an image of your destination. The first time I used Maps, I was headed home and when I pulled in my garage, it showed me a picture of the front of my house, thus scaring me for the rest of the evening, until I figured out it was Street View.

#3: Voice Recognition: On the go? Go to voice search and say ‘navigate to Pizza Hut in Seattle, Washington’ and you’re there! You use the same voice search that’s used for everything else too, so no navigating to special menus. Hit the search button, and tap the microphone.

#4: Views: Not only do you get the standard map view, but you can also use Satellite view and Traffic view. Want to know the traffic levels? Switch to Traffic view. Want to see where you really are (although you could just look out the window)? Switch to Satellite view, using the same HD imagery that Google Earth uses.

#5: Dock: Last thing. If you have a car-dock for your phone, Android will sense that it’s docked and pull up a special app just for on the go music, calls, and navigation. From here, getting somewhere is even easier.

There are many more features than just this, so I suggest you go use it yourself!

Charles Zink is the Founder of The Nerd TV.  He is very passionate about technology and enjoys blogging about it.  Charles runs a live stream on his site as well as an Android Development team along with his staff.

Further reading:

Which Platform For Mobile Devices Do You Prefer?

10 Reasons You Shouldn’t Say No To Technology

Google – We Want You

Will Google Voice Revolutionize Technology?

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