While the Google Maps Navigation service is free to use, bear in mind that you would need a constant data connection to retrieve the mapping data off from the Google server when you are using it.

[via Android Community]

This new feature comes with everything you’d expect to find in a GPS navigation system, like 3D views, turn-by-turn voice guidance and automatic rerouting. But unlike most navigation systems, Google Maps Navigation was built from the ground up to take advantage of your phone’s Internet connection.

Here are seven features that are possible because Google Maps Navigation is connected to the Internet:

The most recent map and business data
When you use Google Maps Navigation, your phone automatically gets the most up-to-date maps and business listings from Google Maps — you never need to buy map upgrades or update your device. And this data is continuously improving, thanks to users who report maps issues and businesses who activate their listings with Google Local Business Center.

Search in plain English
Google Maps Navigation brings the speed, power and simplicity of Google search to your car. If you don’t know the address you’re looking for, don’t worry. Simply enter the name of a business, a landmark or just about anything into the search box, and Google will find it for you. Then press “Navigate”, and you’re on your way.

Search by voice
Typing on a phone can be difficult, especially in the car, so with Google Maps Navigation, you can say your destination instead. Hold down the search button to activate voice search, then tell your phone what you want to do (like “Navigate to Pike Place in Seattle”), and navigation will start automatically.

Traffic view
Google Maps Navigation gets live traffic data over the Internet. A traffic indicator light in the corner of the screen glows green, yellow or red, depending on the current traffic conditions along your route. If there’s a jam ahead of you, you’ll know. To get more details, tap the light to zoom out to an aerial view showing traffic speeds and incidents ahead. And if the traffic doesn’t look good, you can choose an alternate route.

Search along route
For those times when you’re already on the road and need to find a business, Google Maps Navigation searches along your route to give you results that won’t take you far from your path. You can search for a specific business by name or by type, or you can turn on popular layers, such as gas stations, restaurants or parking.

Satellite view
Google Maps Navigation uses the same satellite imagery as Google Maps on the desktop to help you get to your destination. Turn on the satellite layer for a high-resolution, 3D view of your upcoming route. Besides looking cool, satellite view can help you make sense of complicated maneuvers.

Street View
If you want to know what your next turn looks like, double-tap the map to zoom into Street View, which shows the turn as you’ll see it, with your route overlaid. And since locating an address can sometimes be tricky, we’ll show you a picture of your destination as you approach the end of your route, so you’ll know exactly what to look for.

Other than the layering feature, map search results can now be also displayed on the map as little red dots so that you could find the nearest location from the result map. To download the new version, you can visit this page,  m.google.com/maps, from your mobile directly and follow the instruction.

full release note below

New features

• ayers: Layers (’2′ shortcut key) allow you to view locations and additional info overlaid on the map. You can add multiple layers or remove only certain layers so you control exactly what information you want visible on the map at the same time. Familiar info now available as layers include search results, Traffic (with new traffic incident icons and info), Directions, and Google Latitude. New available layers include My Maps (view-only), Transit lines (w/upcoming station departure info where available), and Wikipedia.
• Browse categories: Browse popular categories from the Search menu to search the map for businesses or points of interest by type. Category searches are currently available only for results in the US and China.
• Additional search results: When you search the map, Maps for mobile will now show you additional search results beyond the top ten results. The additional results will appear as “dots” on the map that you can select to see more info. As you pan the map, more search results will appear. Just zoom in to select a specific dot if there are lots of results for your search.
• My Maps: Add the My Maps layer from the Layers menu and sign in to your Google Account to access your custom My Maps created and edited from your computer. My Maps are currently view-only from Google Maps for mobile. You cannot create or edit your My Maps.

Signing in to your Google Account

You may sign in to to your Google Account from Google Maps for mobile in order to access certain features such as My Maps. By signing in, you will be able to use features like Google Latitude or to access info linked to your Google Account from other places outside of Maps for mobile such as My Maps.

Signing out: Sign out of your Google Account in Maps for mobile at any time by selecting the option from the main menu. Once you sign out of your Google Account, you will no longer be able to access any features that require a Google Account such as My Maps or Google Latitude.

Google Latitude: Google Latitude is an opt-in feature that requires you to both explicitly join and to be signed in to your Google Account. You may sign in to your Google Account to use features like My Maps, but Latitude will not be enabled until you explicitly choose to join it from the main menu. Similarly, you may turn only Latitude off from its privacy menu and still remain signed in to your Google Account to use other Maps features that require your account. If you sign out of your Google Account entirely from the Maps main menu, all features that require your account will no longer be available, including Latitude.

Fixed issues

• Symbian S60: E61, E61i, and E62 devices: Shortcut keys work properly using the standard numeric shortcuts. Previously, shortcut keys were not working as intended on these devices.
• Windows Mobile: Copy and paste has been re-enabled for most text entry fields (Search, directions, and user name)

Troubleshooting

• Symbian S60
  • N82 and N95 devices: we strongly encourage that you back up your device and consider upgrading to the latest device firmware version (see http://nokia.com/softwareupdate). A very small number of users report experiencing a device hang during installation, and we haven’t yet been able to reproduce this in the lab or determine the exact cause.
  • For some S60 3rd ed. FP2 phones (Nokia 5320 XpressMusic, 6210 Navigator, 6220 Classic, 6650, N78, N79, N85, N96, N96-3), you may need to set a default destination using the following steps: Go to Settings > Connection > Destinations > Options > Default connection. Select “Internet” (if you have it) or whichever APN group you want it to use.
• Windows Mobile
  • If you install Maps for mobile to your memory card instead of your device memory, you may experience issues due to a corrupt memory card or files. Please try a clean install using these instructions if you experience errors during installation:
    1. Uninstall Maps for mobile by going to Settings > Systems > Remove Programs > Google Maps.
    2. Do a soft reset / power off.
    3. Delete any remaining files under “\Program Files\GoogleMaps” (if installed in the internal memory) or “\Storage Card\Program Files\GoogleMaps” (if installed in an external memory card).
    4. Delete any remaining files under “\Application Data\GoogleMaps” (if installed in the internal memory) or “\Storage Card\Application Data\GoogleMaps” (if installed in an external memory card).
    5. After that, re-install the latest version from m.google.com/maps
  • Some users may see scrambled text upon loading Maps for mobile the first time after installation. Please try rebooting your phone first and seeing if this issue persists.

[via msmobiles]

See below for the detail changelog

Symbian S60 devices

Major

• Auto-restart location updates: If you turn off your phone or it ran out of battery with Google Latitude automatic location updates enabled either in the background or with Maps open, Latitude will respect this choice and automatically restart location updates in the background when you next turn on your phone.
• Backlight timeout: The backlight will remain on when the driving directions list is open, routes are being viewed on the map, or the device is moving quickly with an active GPS connection.
• Force location updates: If you manually refresh your Latitude friends list, you’ll also force the update of your own location if automatic detection is enabled.
• When changing your photo icon picture in Latitude, you now have the option to take a new picture using your phone’s built-in camera.

Minor

• Many minor interface and layout issues have been fixed or changed.
• Cell ID (cell tower) location detection near two cell towers has been improved so that your location bounces less if you’re between two towers.
• Map centering when GPS is active has been fixed on some phones. Previously Maps may have defaulted to your location instead of a friend’s after you choose ‘Show on map’ for the friend in Latitude.
• Latitude friend photo icons have been fixed to properly indicate if a friend’s location is recent (blue outline) or old (gray outline).
• Previously, some friend photo icons remained blue even if the location was old. N82 and N95 devices: Installation file changes to reduce potential hangs during installation that have been reported for a small subset of these devices.
• N73 and N75: Maps for mobile will properly call a number when phone numbers are selected in search results. Previously, hangs may have occurred on these devices.
• E61, E61i, and E62 devices: Shortcut keys work properly using the standard numeric shortcuts. Previously, shortcut keys were not working as intended on these devices.

Known Issues

• Errors may occur if you are verifying a phone number in Latitude that has already been registered with another Google Account.
• N82 and N95 devices: we strongly encourage that you back up your device and consider upgrading to the latest device firmware version (see http://nokia.com/softwareupdate). A very small number of users report experiencing a device hang during installation, and we haven’t yet been able to reproduce this in the lab or determine the exact cause.
• For some S60 3rd ed. FP2 phones (Nokia 5320 XpressMusic, 6210 Navigator, 6220 Classic, 6650, N78, N79, N85, N96, N96-3), you may need to set a default destination using the following steps:
  1. Go to Settings > Connection > Destinations > Options > Default connection.
  2. Select “Internet” (if you have it) or whichever APN group you want it to use.

Windows Mobile devices

Major

• Background location updates: Google Latitude background location updating has been fixed and allows you to continue updating your location automatically in the background even when Maps for mobile is closed.
  • To enable this, choose to exit Maps from its main menu and when prompted, select ‘Yes’ to continue background location updates.
  • When in background location update mode, Latitude will default to cell ID (cell tower) location detection to preserve battery life. WiFi or GPS detection will not be available in background mode.
• Auto-restart location updates: If you turn off your phone or it ran out of battery with automatic Latitude location updates enabled either in the background (see above) or with Maps left open, Latitude will respect this choice and automatically restart location updates in background mode when you next turn on your phone.
• Force location updates: Manually refreshing your Latitude friends list also forces the update of your own location if automatic detection is enabled.
• Login errors: Several fixes completed to address multiple causes of login errors for Latitude, such as invalid certificates.
• Backlight behavior: Your device backlight should turn off according to your system settings when Maps or Latitude is left open in the background. Previously, Latitude may have kept your backlight on when in the background.
• Internal error: Selecting a friend in Latitude to see more info and options will no longer cause internal errors on some devices.

Minor

• Many minor interface and layout issues have been fixed or changed.
• Cell ID (cell tower) location detection near two cell towers has been improved so that your location bounces less if you’re between two towers.
• Map centering when GPS is active has been fixed on some phones. Previously Maps may have defaulted to your location instead of a friend’s after you choose ‘Show on map’ for the friend in Latitude.
• Friend photo icons have been fixed to properly indicate if a friend’s location is recent (blue outline) or old (gray outline). Previously, some friend photo icons remained blue even if the location was old.
• Photo uploading for your Latitude picture is enabled for .png files.

Known Issues

• Errors may occur if you are verifying a phone number that has already been registered with another Google Account.
• Username or password fields may be off screen or covered by the software keyboard. Login errors will occur if you proceed without entering a password.
• Cannot paste text into fields in Maps for mobile. On some devices, you may be able to use the software keyboard’s CTRL+V command to paste text into Maps as needed.

For example if you key in Starbucks as the End Point, Google Maps will first display a list of the nearby Starbucks for you to choose, and then display the direction base on the location you have selected. Best of all the service is free except your wireless data connection charge. The Google Maps for Mobile can be downloaded here

Now that Google Maps can give you subway, train, bus, and ferry directions in New York City, it’s a handy tool for planning a night on the town. But what if your plans change while you’re at dinner?

Luckily, Google Maps for mobile can give you the same public transit directions right on your cell phone! You can plan trips throughout the New York metro area, including turn-by-turn walking directions. With the My Location feature, most cell phones can automatically set the starting point for your trip, even without GPS. And satellite view and Street View (on selected devices) can show you a preview of where you’re going.

So, don’t miss it!

Source

According to Google,

You can also launch Street View from any address where we have photography, or simply by clicking on the map and selecting “Street View”. You can browse Street View overlaid on the map or in full screen, rotate your view to see more of your surroundings, and move along the street.

Apart from the Street View add-on,  the Google Maps for mobile is now works faster and more accurate on the location. Review links on a business are now also available from the Google maps, allow you to check for review easily. The newest Google Maps for mobile is available now for BlackBerry and many Java-enabled phones here. See a demonstration video below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

via [phonemag]

The Transit Directions is not available for all the cities though, check out this page for the list of supported cities. According to the google blog post

Simply bring up Directions from the main menu and you’ll see a second tab labeled Transit (or Public Transport), where you can request a route using only public transportation. You’ll receive a number of alternatives that take you (car-free) to your destination.

To get this latest version of Google Maps for mobile with Transit, simply point your mobile browser to google.com/gmm

Click here to view the embedded video.

According to the announcement on the team blog, here is the instruction on using the voice search:

1. Press “0″ to center the map view around your location
2. Press the left-side key and hold it while you say the name or type of business you’re looking for (for example, “pizza”)
3. When you’re done speaking, release the left-side key, and our voice recognition technology will figure out your request and find the business you’ve been looking for, no typing needed.

Get it now on your BlackBerry Pearl by visiting http://www.google.com/gmm on your mobile phone

via [googlemobile]