Google Maps 6.7 for Android brings
richer indoor mapping with walking directions. It also incorporates nearby Google Offers and displays those on a map.
The “nearby offers” functionality has been available on apps such as Foursquare and Yelp for some time. Other mobile deal apps, such as Scoutmob or Citysearch, also show you nearby offers on a map. It was also one of the central features The Dealmap, which Google acquired.
Accordingly putting “nearby offers on a map” isn’t groundbreaking or in and of itself a big deal. The big deal is that Google Maps can offer massive distribution and exposure to those offers given how large Google Maps’ user base is. Google Maps is the second most popular app on Android handsets (after search) according to comScore.
The other announcement today involves indoor walking directions. This piggybacks on Google’s indoor mapping functionality that was released with Google Maps for Android 6.0 last year. In the US and Japan, users will be able to get directions inside buildings, malls and airports based on floor plans that have been uploaded to Google.
Google Maps (and Navigation) continues to be Android’s big competitive weapon against the iPhone. By comparison the Google Maps version on the iPhone is like the anemic second cousin of its Maps app for Android.
The following is a video that explains and demonstrates Google Offers on Google Maps.
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