I’ve been playing with Google Maps Mobile (also known as Google Local on Mobile) on my Blackberry 8700g – and it’s outrageously good.
Crisp, clear maps just like the web, on which you can annotate locations of interest.
Or switch to a satellite view, where you can zoom in enough to read airport runway and taxiway markings – useful for previewing airports when doing flight planning.
Or overlay traffic volume (green, yellow, red) on top of map or satellite views.
The Java app has reasonable performance on EGPRS. I ended up downloading about 1.5 MB of data while playing around with it.
There are a few different packages: generic Java J2ME, all color BlackBerry, Palm OS 5 and above, and Windows Mobile 2003, 5.0 and above.
And it’s a free download.
Above: Screenshot of map view with overlaid traffic flow data from the online web simulator.
Above: Screenshot of zoomed satellite view of Reid-Hillview Airport, San Jose, from the online web simulator.
Google Map Mobile Keymap for Blackberry
On most mobile devices, there are arrow keys to move the map. On the Blackberry, you can use the scrollwheel or the following keyboard keys:
q = overlay traffic volume on map or satellite views
u = move map down
h = move map right
j = move map up
k = move map left
i = zoom in
o = zoom out
a or * = mark up to 9 locations
PC Magazine Preview: Google Local on Mobile (Beta)
google.com: Which phones does Google Maps support?
google.com: Google Maps Mobile Online Tour
