Offline Google Maps for India

BANGALORE, INDIA: With Google announcing the offline maps for Android devices, we did a check on how well it fares for Indian locations

Are you headed for a vacation to an offbeat place or a camping trip away from the city? Well, a map could come handy for you, yeah! But then, chances are that you won't have proper data connectivity in those locations, so you can't use the map application installed on your phone or tablet. This would have been the case until now, but with Google announcing the offline maps for Android devices, the game has just changed.

You don't need to download additional offline map applications for your Android device. No more dependency on data connectivity. Your very own Google Maps app now works offline. This will also cut down your data usage expenses when you are traveling abroad.

You can now select and save a region of a map from more than 150 countries for offline usage. Google Maps for Android can save up to six large metro areas on the app.

Also read: Google's Google Earth Pro for Small Businesses

Setting it up

To use this feature in your mobile or tablet, you just have to follow a few easy steps. Open the Google Maps app on your Android phone or tablet, then enter the name of the place or select the city/location. Next up, tap the Menu button and select 'Make available offline' from the menu and select the area that you would like to save. Now wait for a while as it download the map in your device, you will be able to view the estimated file size of the map. So you will know how much storage space it will consume. Now check 'My Places' tab where you will find your downloaded map. That's it! Now you are ready to move offline with your Google map. What's more, with the GPS activated on your device, you can also navigate real-time on the downloaded map, without any data connectivity. How cool is that!

How does it fare for Indian locations?

We downloaded offline maps for metropolitan cities of India (Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, etc). Additionally, we also downloaded offline maps for some remote locations in Uttaranchal (Nainital, Kasauni, etc). While the map in itself is downloaded in all the details that you can see when you are connected to the Internet, what we really liked was the fact that we could navigate real-time by enabling the GPS feature, and this, while the data connectivity was switched off. We did a stretch from Jharsa Village in Gurgaon to India Gate in New Delhi. The navigation happened as it would if the device was connected to the Internet. 

Source: www.pcquest.www.ciol.com