Google have pushed out Google Maps for mobile 4.1, for Android devices running 1.6 or higher. Among the changes are a new Latitude widget for the Android homescreen, the ability to set a map as the Live Wallpaper, and the ability to swipe through multiple pages of search results.
The Latitude widget shows the people listed as your friends who are geographically closest to you, while the Live Wallpaper – which obviously requires a device running Android 2.1 right now – lets you set a regular map, satellite map or topographical map (complete with optional traffic data) as your homescreen wallpaper. That map automatically moves as you do, using GPS and aGPS to track your position. It certainly looks good, though it has the potential to really hammer both your battery life and data connection.
Google have also reworked the way search results are presented, putting all the information on one page rather than splitting it across multiple tabs, and allowing you to swipe from side to side to see more details. Finally, you can switch between multiple Google accounts on the one device, so if you have a personal Buzz account and a work Buzz account (or perhaps use Latitude with one or both) you can see results for either.
If you’ve an Android device running OS 1.6 or above, you can update your version of Google Maps for mobile by heading into the Android Market and checking the Downloads tab.
Chris