Many people seem to take Google maps for granted today, and it’s without doubt one of the more useful services on the Internet. And yet, just a little over a decade ago, we didn’t have access to this luxury. And even when Google Maps came out in 2005, it was still far from its today version in terms of functionality and polish.
Google have taken Maps a long way, and they continue to release updates to the service even today. Recently, for example, they’ve made lance guidance available in some European countries, including Austria, Belgium, Greece, Netherlands, Sweden and more. Some countries are notably missing from the list, though they’ll probably be added in a future update.
Lance guidance is a special feature which improves the service’s precision when the user is navigating along a complex road with multiple lanes. For large cities where such roads are a common occurrence, the feature should spare the user a lot of time and annoyance, at least for those who can make use of it in the current state of Google Maps.
Some publications have taken the opportunity to take a step back and look at how exactly Google Maps has affected our lives. And once one thinks about it, Google Maps has had a profound effect on how we go about our everyday lives. For one thing, it made sure that people don’t get lost again, while also helping make sure that street guides and directories slowly became obsolete.
At the same time, driving with Google Maps often means that the user is able to avoid heavy traffic, even when conditions are really bad. Street View has also played a large role in revolutionizing many aspects of our lives, such as real estate and travel, while also helping broaden people’s knowledge about the cultures of the world.
Last but not least, Google Maps has been a very solid platform for the development of additional tools and apps, many of which have become tightly integrated with the service and rely on it completely. And Google, on the other hand, are quite open about sharing certain types of access to Maps with interested developers, as they realized a long time ago that this can only help to promote their own services. And so far, this is exactly what has been happening, as Google themselves have been able to enjoy a leading position in the market for mapping services, and for a good reason. They do have solid competition from various other companies, but they’re also putting a lot of hard work into their development and they pay attention to user feedback.