Google maps is one of those apps that those of us who have been using Android for a while take for granted. The seamless integration with Navigator and Places is so convenient that its easy to forget that iOS users languished for years without turn-by-turn directions. I still remember a friend of mine seeing me double-tap on an address in an email and watching Navigation open and show me how to get there and gasping. Sadly he is still living in the dark land of Apple’s cartoonish OS, but you’d think that seeing the incredible capability/flexibility of Android would have won him over. But Apple’s marketing and culture brainwash the average isheep into thinking that if iOS doesn’t have a feature, then it must not be important. Multi-tasking wasn’t important until the iPhone got it. Panorama pictures were pointless until Apple added it to an update and then made commercials that acted like they invented panoramic pictures altogether. That is the crazy topsy-turvy world of Apple’s customers. But don’t belittle them… pity them.
In Google Map’s latest update an APK tear-down revealed something interesting. The apps problem-reporting feature includes text for “What’s wrong with this lane guidance?” and “Bad lane recommendation.” So obviously this new ability is coming to Maps in the near future. Could this be something we see announced at Google I/O in May? I’d say that’s a safe assumption. This may seem like a small thing to some of our readers. But for those of us who live in major cities (Chicago in my case) that have complex interchanges between major highways, knowing what lane to be in and when can be a massive help. Especially if you live in the Washington DC area, which in my humble opinion has the worst traffic on the east coast, this feature could save you an immense amount of time and frustration. It is always possible that we will see this feature rolled out before May, and as Google Maps continues to humiliate the competition, we will keep you informed on the latest developments.