Google Map is one of the most popular services today. It provides users with the opportunity to observe our planet (and not only) from a satellite online in high quality and in real time (sights of the planet in). At some point, the primacy of the schematic map view was captured by the Open Street Maps application. Where everyone in the know can edit a map in Wikipedia style, but this does not change anything and today Google Maps is the most popular online map service. The popularity of cards from this company has been in first place for many years due to good quality satellite images in any corner of the planet, even Yandex could not provide such quality in its homeland.

Google Maps online

Google continues to improve its brainchild in the form of visualization of our planet, improving the quality and detail of surfaces. More recently, the company has improved its services using the new Landsat 8 satellite, which can photograph the surface of planet Earth with a resolution of 15/30/100 meters per elemental point. The database of satellite images in real time was previously updated only in 2013. At that time, the application used images taken by the Landsat 7 satellite, which was also known for introducing some bugs and glitches into the maps. To compare the quality of images taken by different satellites, pay attention to the screenshot below.

Images taken by different satellites

In the examples given on the screen you can see that the image of the new satellite shows not only improved detail of earthly objects, but also more natural colors. Representatives of Google announced that about 700 trillion pixels of graphic data were spent on assembling a mosaic of the earth's surface of a new generation. Almost 43 thousand powerful computing machines in the Google cloud worked for a week on gluing together pictures.

How to use Google Maps online

Anywhere in the world you can use Google Maps online in high quality using a tablet, mobile phone or computer. Just follow the link https://google.com/maps/ or use the embedded map below and you can find the country, city, and even the route to the museum by entering the desired search parameters. And for mobile devices you can download a special application that is more convenient to use.

To find the way to a laundromat or a cafe that you often visit, simply enter the addresses in the program line and you will no longer need to enter this data every time. At the same time, you can not only view the route to the establishment, but also get acquainted with information that relates to this establishment, for example, opening hours, contact details, etc.

Let's try using Google's satellite map 2018 as an example.

1. Go to the website or open the app on your mobile device.
2. All you have to do is point or touch on the touch screen and you can view the details of that area.
3. In order to find out the distance between cities, right-click on one of them and select “Measure distance” from the drop-down menu. Now the second point can be specified with the left mouse button. If necessary, you can drag the point with the mouse to another location, and the distance information will be updated.
4. To select the “Relief”, “Bike Paths”, “Traffic” mode - select the menu sign (three stripes) and press the right option. If you are using Apple devices, click on the diamond icon with a layer and also on the desired option.
5. To take advantage high quality 3D images, click on the quadrilateral in the lower left corner. It will say "Satellite", if you need to return to map mode, press it again.
6. To select Street View mode, drag the yellow man onto desired area maps or simply enter the exact location in the query bar, preferably including your home address.
7. Google Maps high resolution allow you to view streets in historical mode, i.e. how they have changed over time. To do this, throw the little man to the desired place on the map. Select the clock icon and move the time slider to select the desired date.

Amazing Facts About Google Maps

Features and benefits of online maps in real time

From the first days Google Maps became a revelation for all users. They made it possible to look at cards in a new way, to pay new attention to this tool in general. Everyone who accessed the Internet back in 2005 sought to immediately take advantage of online maps and see your city or country from a satellite.

It seems unthinkable, but today it is possible to view other planets solar system in the Google Maps app!

Planets in Google Maps

To do this, go to the web version of the program and zoom out the Earth image with the mouse wheel to the maximum. Other planets will appear in the block on the left that you can select to view. There are all the planets of the solar system and several additional satellites. For example, Callisto is a satellite of Jupiter. True, the photographs do not allow us to look at other planets as closely and in detail as happens with the Earth.

Google Maps from satellite in 2018 will allow you to view the surface of the earth and settlements in excellent quality, which cannot be done using a regular card. When compiling paper and other versions of maps, natural colors, clear contours of the banks of rivers, lakes, colors of areas of the earth, etc. color schemes are lowered, which makes us poorly oriented. Viewing the desert area on regular map one can only guess what kind of vegetation or relief there is. By accessing Google Maps in real time, you can even see the color and shape of the fence at any address on another continent.

In contact with

Google Maps is a leader among modern mapping services that provide satellite interactive maps online. At least a leader in the field of satellite imagery and in the number of various additional services and tools (Google Earth, Google Mars, various weather and transport services, one of the most powerful APIs).

In the field of schematic maps, at some point, this leadership “was lost” in favor of Open Street Maps - a unique mapping service in the spirit of Wikipedia, where every volunteer can contribute data to the site.

However, despite this, the popularity of Google Maps remains perhaps one of the highest of all other mapping services. Part of the reason is that Google Maps is where we can find the most detailed satellite photos for the largest regions of any country. Even in Russia such a large and successful company as Yandex cannot surpass the quality and coverage of satellite photographs, at least in its own country.

With Google Maps, anyone can view satellite photos of the Earth for free almost anywhere in the world.

Image quality

The highest resolution images are usually available for the largest cities in the world in America, Europe, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Asia, Oceania. Currently, high-quality images are available for cities with a population of more than 1 million inhabitants. For smaller cities and other populated areas, satellite imagery is only available in limited resolution.

Possibilities

Google Maps or “Google Maps” was a real discovery for Internet users and indeed all PC users, giving an unheard of and previously unseen opportunity to look at their home, their village, cottage, lake or river where they vacationed in the summer - from a satellite. To see it from above, from a perspective from which it would be impossible to see it under any other circumstances. The discovery, the very idea of ​​giving people easy access to satellite photos, fits harmoniously into Google's overall vision of “easily providing everyone with access to any information on the planet.”

Google Maps allows you to see from a satellite simultaneously those things and objects that cannot be observed at the same time when observed from the ground. Satellite maps differ from regular maps in that they simple maps colors and natural forms of natural objects are distorted by editorial processing for further publication. However, satellite photographs preserve all the naturalness of nature and the objects being photographed, natural colors, shapes of lakes, rivers, fields and forests.

Looking at the map, one can only guess what is there: a forest, a field or a swamp, while on satellite photography it is immediately clear: objects, usually round or oval in shape, with a unique swamp color, are swamps. The light green spots or areas in the photograph are fields, and the dark green ones are forests. With enough experience in orientation in Google Maps, you can even distinguish whether it is a coniferous forest or a mixed forest: coniferous has a browner tint. Also on the map you can distinguish specific broken lines piercing the forests and fields of the vast Russian expanses - these are railways. Only by looking from a satellite can you understand that railways are much larger highways influence the natural landscape around them. Also in Google Maps, it is possible to overlay maps with the names of regions, roads, settlements on a national scale and the names of streets, house numbers, metro stations on a city scale on a satellite image of an area or city.

Map mode and satellite view mode

In addition to satellite images, it is possible to switch to the “map” mode, in which it is possible to view any territory on the surface of the Earth and study in detail the layout and location of houses of any more or less large city. In the "map" mode it is especially convenient to plan your movements around the city if you have already seen enough satellite views of your city.

The search function by house number will easily point you to the right house giving the opportunity to “look around” the area around this house and how you can drive/approach it. To search for the required object, just type in Russian in the search bar a query like: “City, street, house number” and the site will display to you the location of the object you are looking for using a special marker.

How to use Google Maps

To begin, open some place.

To move around the map, left-click on the map and drag it in any order. To return to the original position, press the centering button located between the four direction buttons.

To enlarge the map, click on the button "+" or roll the mouse roller when the cursor is over the map. You can also enlarge the map double click mouse in the location you are interested in.

To switch between satellite, mixed (hybrid) and map views, use the corresponding buttons on the right top corner cards: Map / Satellite / Hybrid.

IN next year The Google Maps project will celebrate a milestone anniversary - a decade since its creation, and it has a lot to be proud of. Over the course of its decade, it has acquired all sorts of services, APIs, and has become commercially successful and popular all over the world.

Concerning mobile version for Android, it became available to users simultaneously with the official release of this operating system in 2008, and its work was demonstrated to journalists long before this event. Since then, the functionality of Maps has been constantly expanded, and the application itself has been continuously improved. New countries “obeyed” him, where dozens and hundreds of detailed city maps, street photographs, StreetView mode, satellite and aerial photography, routes using public transport and auto navigation appeared. We will focus on the latter function in our review, focusing mainly on its applicability in Russia.

Pricing and licensing policy

The application is free for the end user. Only the use of API maps for commercial purposes is paid (not in all cases). There are also traffic limits when using the API, and if you exceed them, you will be charged a fee.

System requirements

There are versions for all Android operating systems, but OS versions 4.0 and later are recommended.

Functionality

Main functions of the application Google Maps 7.7.0 reflected in our traditional table:

Interface
Manual map zoom during navigation	Yes
Battery/satellite/GSM indicators	OS status line
Changing the map orientation	Yes
Manual map rotation	Yes
Mileage information	No
Satellite View Screen	No
3D mode	Yes
Map tilt	Yes
Quick Access Toolbar	No
"Trip computer"	No
Night mode	Yes
Augmented Reality	No
Search
Universal	Yes
Address	No
By coordinates	yes (via Google)
POI around / at the point / at the finish	Yes Yes Yes
Voice input	Yes
Working with routes
Save / load / forward	no no no
Simulation of driving along the route	No
Full display	Yes
Working with tracks	No
Operating modes: passenger car / truck / pedestrian / public transport	yes / no / yes / yes
Cards
Map update	online
Ability to download and use offline	yes, separate areas*
Card provider	own
Installing third-party and free maps	No
Editing maps	only error messages
Online services
Traffic display	Yes
Dynamic POIs	from Waze
Friends on the map	No
Thematic news feeds	No
Photo on the map	only for POI
Overview photos of streets (Streetview)	Yes
Weather	No
Ban on Internet access	No

* the function is declared and described in the help section, and was also present in previous versions of the application, but starting from 7.6.x it was not possible to find it and use it

Interface

The application interface is simple, beautiful and practical at the same time. In a sense, it can also be called spartan: there are a minimum of controls on the screen and a minimum of details on the map. Building outlines only appear on very large scales, and there is no clutter of POI icons when scrolling through the map.

Newfangled 3D is present, and many buildings have not only the appropriate height, but also full-fledged 3D models. To evaluate it, you need to tilt the map by swiping two fingers from bottom to top of the screen.

The main menu is also ascetic to the extreme.

And the settings section is almost empty.

It is also very nice that even on low-power single-core systems the application runs very quickly. Scrolling through the map is easy and virtually lag-free.

Brief summary

Liked: asceticism, simplicity, fast and smooth operation.

Did not like: -

Search and work with the map

Who would doubt that apart from a universal search bar, the application does not provide anything else. It is simple and convenient, in addition, it has voice input implemented by built-in OS tools. But the latter is a little hard of hearing. Yandex's recognition is much better.

Of course, the search bar has a subscript that shows the most likely (or popular) options as you type a word or phrase. However, it often contains phrases of 8-10 words. It’s hard to say where they come from.

Text search also has its own “hearing loss”. Although there are no special problems with the buildings, buildings and letters of houses (but sometimes misfires still happen, so you are always waiting for a catch), the system is already confused with possessions. For example, you won’t be able to find “Bulatnikovskaya possession 2” on a map in Moscow, where the Lukoil gas station is located, even if you write “Bulatnikovskaya vl2d” in the line, as it appears in the signature on the map itself, or “Bulatnikovskaya, 2 - D”, as this is indicated in the information about the gas station on the map, or “Bulatnikovskaya, possession 2D”, as it is written in the information about the building, if you just click on it on the map. Confused? Google is also confused. It’s hard for him in Russia. But further - more. If you type “Bulatnikovskaya 4 k2” in the search, the application will start giving you Bolotnikovskaya Street, located in another district of Moscow, where there are houses with similar numbers:

A similar problem occurs when searching for some other streets.

There is also a problem with POI. Do you need to find an OBI store near the Teply Stan metro station? According to Google, he moved to the city of Vidnoye:

Of course, we specifically gave out a selection of crazy things (not all, we save your time). Therefore, we will add that in general the search is not as bad as we described it, but it is also not as good and convenient as that of Yandex.Navigator. When searching for POIs in Google Maps, you come across a lot of garbage, errors, and sometimes there is no information about large shopping stores and centers. But it also has a big plus: user ratings and reviews tied to POI objects. And also photographs.

Of course, you can also leave your review, rating or photo if you want.

Another positive point is that by pointing to any place on the map, you can get the necessary information on it (telephone, website, etc.), including the above-mentioned photographs, reviews and ratings.

Also via viewing additional information You can switch to the Streetview mode.

If you notice an error on the map, you can report it to the developers in a couple of clicks.

And I would like to wish this approach to everyone. True, we still haven’t received any response to our couple of significant comments a week later.

Brief summary

Liked: the presence of a universal search bar, reviews and ratings, the Streetview function, the ability to report an error.

Did not like: from the search you always expect misinformation, average job speech recognition functions, errors and garbage in the POI database, unmoderated reviews and lack of a word filter, crooked interlinear.

Relevance of maps

Traditionally, we make an assessment at this point by studying those places on the map that have recently changed and are well known to the author of this article. And this is the second time in our practice, after a detailed study of the six most popular navigation applications for Android, when we see a map of Moscow in a relatively neglected state. Many new roads and junctions are either completely absent or drawn incorrectly. For example, the interchange between Podolskiy cadets street and the Moscow Ring Road contains only a turning overpass over the Moscow Ring Road, which in fact does not exist. That is, who and from what hangover drew this denouement is a mystery. Just in case, here is a screenshot of this disgrace in comparison with Yandex.Navigator:

But this outcome is most clearly depicted on Yandex.Maps:

Similar problems were noticed on Profsoyuznaya, Yaroslavka and other highways.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that the multi-level interchanges are not displayed in accordance with which road surface is higher (which, logically, should be drawn on top), but is sometimes chaotic and unpredictable.

There is also a problem with addresses. Some of the new buildings that were put into operation 4-5 years ago are not on the map at all. The other part is present in the form of flat contours without addresses.

In general, this is all strange.

Routes and navigation

The application immediately informs you that the auto navigation function is in beta.

And we completely agree with this. The developers still have some work to do here, although, in general, everything functions relatively well. But let's take things in order.

I was very pleased that several routes were built at once, and the user was then given a choice, which indicated the distance and time of travel for each of them, taking into account road congestion. All routes can be simultaneously displayed on the map and compared visually.

Of course, more than one route will only be built when it makes sense.

The routes themselves are quite adequate, and there are no particular complaints about them. At the time of construction, you can set three parameters, the most relevant of which is the exclusion of toll roads.

The navigation process is quite typical. The application shows the distance to the nearest maneuver and its direction, and promptly warns about all this by voice. The route itself is easy to read on the map, and all maneuvers on it are displayed with white arrows, which is very convenient. Also, traffic jams are visible on the route line when viewing it.

When leaving the route, the application uses the “detour” logic and does not play on your nerves with continuous requests to turn around at the first opportunity.

But this is where the “honey” ends and the “fly in the ointment” begins. Firstly, there is no display or warning about cameras, as well as about speed limits on the current section of the route. And although the vast majority of drivers have already trained not to exceed the speed by more than 20 km/h, it still happens that they think or miss a sign, and a navigator would be a good helper here.

Secondly, there is no way to install DPOI - at least, we have not been able to figure out how this can be done. However, DPOIs installed in the Waze app, which Google recently acquired, are also displayed on Google Maps (not in all regions), evidence of which can be seen on maps in other countries.

There are also DPOIs where there is no note that they were placed by Waze users. In general, we do not yet have a normal answer to this question.

Traffic jams in Moscow are also not all smooth sailing. After several days of driving, I got the impression that Yandex has much more up-to-date information, although it is also not without fault.

Brief summary

Liked: adequate routes, convenient choice route options.

Did not like: no camera warnings, no display of speed limits, no DPOI, not entirely adequate traffic data.

All sorts of goodies

Historically, in terms of navigation, the application was more focused on walking, traveling by public transport, and searching for various POIs. And this is his strength. It will not only build a route, but also guide you along it. He will tell you on the bus in advance which stop you should get off at and where to go to transfer to another type of transport, if necessary. Not forgotten commuter trains, and routes are built taking into account their schedule.

The situation with walking routes is a little worse. Google does not have sufficient quantity data on pedestrian crossings above railways and highways.

And if navigation on public transport in Moscow works quite well and, by the way, also offers several route options, which is very convenient, then the diagrams public places for Russia (stations, airports, shopping centers, etc.) - still exotic. There are about three dozen of them in Moscow and St. Petersburg. It is difficult to find them in popular foreign countries, but, as they say, the worst is the beginning.

Testing

Installation

Installation problems will arise for devices that have a regional connection to China. For them, “Maps” are not displayed on Google Play at all. Trying to find a distribution on the Internet may take some time, since distributions are different for different platforms and OS versions. But if your device is not a “purebred Chinese”, then, most likely, “Maps” are already pre-installed in it.

Route planning time

Since routing also happens on a remote server, a lot will depend on the speed of your current connection. With good communication, the typical time for constructing two or three route options of any distance takes 1-3 seconds.

Recycling system resources

On entry-level single-core systems, the application loads in 2-4 seconds. During the route guidance, the utilization of the SoC computing core fluctuates at the level of 50-70%. When scrolling the map and changing the scale, it tends to the 90% mark, but all actions occur quite smoothly. On the one hand, it’s not bad, but on the other, it could be better, since the graphics are very simple, and the detail of the map is extremely low up to the largest scales.

The space in the internal memory is used very sparingly. After a week of travel, studying maps of Moscow and the region, some cities in Russia, as well as some other countries, the map cache took up approximately 65 MB. And it is located here: /mnt/sdcard/Android/data/com.google.android.apps.maps/cache/.

Network traffic volume per trip

During Moscow traffic jams, 5-6 MB/hour accumulates if the map cache was empty before, and you used the search and scrolling of the map at different scales along the route.

conclusions

On this moment Using the Google Maps application as a car navigator in Russia looks like a somewhat dubious idea. There is a lately updated map with a capricious and demanding system for entering addresses, a littered POI database with errors and unmoderated comments, and a lack of warnings about cameras and speed limits. (By the way, Yandex.Navigator also does not inform about the speed limit, but warns about cameras when it has already “spotted” you.) And all sorts of other minor flaws. As a result, if you choose the lesser of two free “evils”, then it is Yandex. Although there will probably be certain regions where some section of the map will be drawn better by Google, and here everyone decides for themselves.

So, what's good about Google Maps? They will definitely be useful for foreign trips. Also, many should appreciate the construction of routes using public transport and guidance along them. Let's add reviews and ratings of POIs and street panoramas here! So Google Maps, of course, will not be superfluous.

Google Maps– a set of applications built on the basis of a free mapping service and technologies provided by Google.

World map from Google
(The map can be enlarged or reduced, moved with the mouse in different directions)

Service Google Maps is an interactive world map that provides personalized maps and information about local businesses, including business locations, contact information, driving directions, and more. An app is also associated with the service Google Earth - Google planet earthI. Google Earth Maps also provides the ability to explore maps of any corner of the world.

To move around the map, zoom in and out of the map, change the image angle, use the navigation in the form of arrows and + and – signs at the top of the map. Also try to control the map by holding the right mouse button.

Enter the name of the city:

This is a separate program for Microsoft Windows, as well as GNU/Linux, Mac OS. So does Google Maps.
Program Google Earth allows you to view images of the earth's surface, zoom in and out, and build travel routes. Also, to view Google Maps, use one of the following methods:

• View a web page with an embedded Google map.
• View Google Maps on your mobile device.
• View a personal map created with Google Earth

Google Street View

For example, in the window below you can make virtual walk around the city of Moscow using Google Street View. Use the navigation arrows in the upper left corner of the image. You can change the viewing angle using the arrows on the keyboard. To move around the image, you can click in the image area. Arrows on city streets show routes. You can change your position on the city map by dragging the yellow man in the lower right corner of the image with your mouse:

Google Street View allows users Google Maps travel through a three-dimensional projection of the city or some of its streets without leaving your home. This functionality is achieved using circular photography of real terrain using special equipment in real time. As a result, a 3D photograph is created, which is a photographically accurate model of the city. And if you want to walk around such megacities as New York, Paris, London, Madrid, Rome, Barcelona and Prague without leaving your home, then be sure to check out our articles.

Google Maps service (Google Maps) is one of the most powerful mapping services in the world. Its capabilities allow you to enjoy satellite images of the surface of our planet. You can also use the interactive map, easily plot a convenient route from point A to point B, get up-to-date information about traffic jams and much more. At the same time, not all users are fully familiar with the capabilities of this service, which in a certain way prevents its full use. This material is designed to eliminate such “blank spots”; in it I will talk about Google maps, which are available online in real time and in excellent quality, and I will explain in detail how to use their capabilities.

Studying the functionality online service Google Maps

Google Maps is a web service that provides detailed visual information about geographic regions and places around the world. In addition to displaying a conventional road map, the service also offers aerial and satellite imagery of various locations, including images taken using a variety of vehicles.

This is what the Google Maps start screen looks like:

Google Map includes several popular services:

• The route planner offers the creation of routes for drivers and pedestrians who want to get from point A to point B;
• The Google Maps API makes it possible to insert maps from Google Maps into various websites;
• Google Street View (Google Street View) allows users to view the streets of various cities around the world, virtually moving through them;
• Google Maps for mobile platforms offers the use of GPS navigation of mobile devices to position the user on the map;
• Ancillary services offer images of the Moon, Mars, clouds, etc. for astronomers and just amateurs.

To start working with Google maps in full screen, launch the service google.ru/maps. A schematic map of the world will open in front of you (depending on the user’s location, usually this is a map of Europe).

Instructions for using Google maps

The Google Maps service interface looks like this:

Additional options in the Menu item

Also in the Google Maps menu bar, which opens by clicking the menu button at the top left, the following useful options are presented:

• « Satellite» - switches to photographic map display mode created using satellite photographs. Clicking this option again switches the map back to schematic mode;
• « Traffic jams»—shows current traffic jams in major cities. Color gradation from green to red shows the speed of traffic in the specified traffic jams;
• « Transport» — allows you to display a diagram of public transport movement in the right place;
• « Relief» – will allow you to display the relief of a given area
• « Transfer of geodata» - allows people to track each other's location using Google Maps;
• « My places» — allows you to navigate between places you added in the Google Maps service;
• « Your impressions» - will allow you to add any text impression about any of the places on the map (as well as attach a photo of this place).

Activating Google Maps satellite view

Displaying Google maps using satellite photos is one of the most popular forms of working with the Google Maps service. It allows you to enjoy the view of the desired geographical location created using satellite images, as well as images from special devices, operating at bird's eye height (from 240 to 460 meters).

The resulting photographs are regularly updated (their age is no more than 3 years). They enable each user to enjoy a satellite view of the desired places, visually plot the most convenient road from one place to another, and so on.

Google Earth - allows you to enjoy high-resolution images

Among the capabilities of the Google Maps service is the Google Earth service. In addition to the technology of the already known satellite surface mapping globe, Google Earth allows you to view 3D images of many colorful places, while photos of some famous tourist sites have the highest resolution.

A special feature of this service is also two, in our opinion, main functions:

Conclusion

The Google Maps service allows you to both view satellite maps in real time for free and use various forms navigation to create a user-friendly route. At the same time, Google Maps' competitors - Yandex.Maps, Bing Maps, Apple Maps and other analogs are generally inferior to Google maps both in coverage area and in general functionality. Therefore, we recommend using Google maps to search and visually view the geographic location you need.