I finally got the mapping feature on the new T-Mobile G1 Google phone to work. It’s just like using Google Maps on a computer — zoom in and out, get driving directions and get the ‘street view‘ to see an actual picture of the street. The bonus is that this phone includes a GPS chip so it can pinpoint your location in the world, a feature turned off by default as a security measure. 

But in order to access the Google maps, it needs serious Internet. This didn’t work for me for two days and every time, the 3G Internet access appeared spotty.

The first day, all I got was a blank screen. The third day, it finally pulled up a map. But it couldn’t access my location, according to the message that popped up on the screen.  Finally today, the map feature was fully functional, although at one point, it pulled up a map of France (see image below). Whether the successful connection was related to T-Mobile finally turning on 3G in Orange County or my complaint to the company’s media guy, I’m unsure. 

The bummer is that this is just like Google Maps — it’s not a GPS driving device that will vocalize turn-by-turn directions while you’re on the road. This gives you just printed driving directions.

Another bummer is that since I was signed into Google, I expected the mapping feature to already have all my saved destinations. Nope, I had to retype everything in.

Still, having Google Maps on a cell phone is convenient. Plus the quality of the images, the speed of searching and great interactivity for a phone were more than I had expected. 

Previously:

• Google phone? Yep, we got one — photos and first impressions
• See lots of pics of the new Google phone, the T-Mobile G1 (slideshow)
• Finally, T-Mobile speaks: 3G Internet coming to O.C.
• The Google phone is coming, here are your options

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