Windows Mobile and S60 get Google StreetView

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 12 Dec 2008 at 11:35

iPhone owners have one less bragging right after Google extended support for its StreetView maps to Windows Mobile and Symbian S60 devices.

StreetView provides street-level photography of selected areas in Google Maps, allowing users to get a 3D preview of the roads they are being directed down.

The feature has, until now, been restricted to select handsets, such as the iPhone and the Google Android-based G1.

But version 2.3 of the Google Maps Mobile software includes StreetView support for Windows Mobile and S60.

Our brief tests of the software on a Nokia E71 were very impressive, allowing us to get a finely-detailed, 360 degree panorama of streets and junctions in New York.

The big drawback is that the limited bandwidth afforded by 3G means it can take several seconds for StreetViews to appear, and even then they are heavily pixellated until the phone has enough time to drag down enough data.

Google only recommends StreetView to those on "unlimited" data tariffs for that very reason.

The service is of limited use to UK users, as Google has yet to offer StreetView photography in this country.

Visit Google Maps Mobile on your phone to download the new software.