Google Maps has come a long way from its early days. With support for layers, satellite view and street view, Google Maps is as full-featured an app as we could hope for. The latest Google Maps 3.3.1 update takes things a bit further with support for the HTC HD2’s digital compass. Rather than just pin-pointing your location on a map, Google Maps will now show you which direction you and your HD2 are pointed. The feature turns your blue “My Location” dot into a blue arrow, indicating the direction your phone is facing.
Google Maps with compass support on the HTC HD2 sounds like perfection, right? Well, there’s a catch. You’ll need to disable GPS positioning in Google Maps in order to get directional data from the compass. Since Google Maps was already capable of extrapolating your direction of travel by analyzing data points, we presume Google doesn’t want to have the digital compass conflicting with your direction of travel. For example, if you’re in a car headed south, but your HD2 is pointed east, there’s no point in using the digital compass for directional data.
Find the updated Google Maps app here.
[Via: WMPowerUser]