Google Maps was developed by Google as a geospatial viewing tool. In simple language, it is an app with a mapping interface which does not only give information on the routes but also provides aerial imagery through its satellite view option, provides basic info about any place you click on, gives you a list of nearby restaurants, hotels etc. It is available for free download from the Google PlayStore and can be accessed at any time and any place as long as there is a Wi-Fi, 3G or 4G internet connection available for your device. For new Google Map users, the following tips and tricks are bound to come in very handy.
Google Symbols
Google Maps gives its users the option to mark a particular place they searched for with a symbol like a circle, downward arrow, upward arrow etc. These symbols can be easily accessed by just holding the screen for a few seconds. This is more like a shortcut to searching through all the symbols separately and saves a lot of time.
Google Web History
It is advised to enable the Google Web History on your device. This would auto-save all the past places you have searched for on Google Maps. Therefore, if you just want to look up a place that you had searched for earlier, all you have to do is go to My Places and click the Recent option to get directions to the same place without typing in the name of the location.
Traffic Updates
Google Map also provides the never before heard of traffic updates option through its satellite icon. This icon which appears on the top right corner of the Google Map interface allows you to receive live traffic updates for certain cities so that you can conveniently avoid the roads with heavy traffic and ask Google Map for an alternate route to your destination.
Alternate Routes
If you want to avoid traveling through certain neighbourhoods or want to avoid streets with heavy traffic, all that you have to do is drag any part of the map to another location and automatically Google will provide you with an alternate route which you can follow to your destination.
Multiple Destinations
Google Maps is not meant only for going from point A to point B. Any number of destinations can be entered and linked with each other to form a travel plan of sorts. One can also rearrange the destinations in order of priority.
Offline Navigation
One drawback of Google Maps was that it could be used only if there was an internet connection. However, Google has removed this drawback through its offline navigation options. If you want to save a map, just type OK Maps in your search option and the map which is currently open will get permanently saved in your phone memory. Because of this amazing feature, as long as a map has been saved, one may never need to worry about getting lost and not having the support of Google Maps in case internet connection is not available.