Staying connected with friends and family while using Google Maps on the move just got easier and even better. That’s because the official Google Mobile blog has recently introduced an updated Google Maps version 5.2 for Android-powered handset users.
The improved software will feature ‘pings’ for Latitude, hotpot tweets and enhanced search results. Earlier, Google Places enabled sharing recommendations and ratings with hotpot friends only.
With this new version, anyone can post their ratings and reviews of places like cafes and restaurants directly to their Twitter accounts. This can be done by simply choosing the ‘Post review to Twitter’ option from the rating widget.
Instead of texting or calling close by Latitude friends when they are spotted on the map, people can now swiftly ‘ping’ them. The Latitude ping feature will send a notification to the concerned person’s Android mobile device, asking them to check in at a particular place.
This ‘ping’ attribute requires both Latitude friends to use version 5.2 of the app. When checking in at the right place poses a huge problem, accessing the ‘Search more places’ button will quickly do the needful.
Google Maps v5.2 is available for download through the Android Market for devices running on the Android v1.6 OS and later versions.