Google Maps Street View Now Available for the iOS Web App

Maps – one of the biggest pain points which has come up in any iOS upgrade so far – has already got much negative publicity because of the menace it has caused!

It was so huge that Apple’s CEO Tim Cook had to issue an official apology to the iOS 6 Maps users wherein he even suggested users to use alternative app from the app store till Apple sorts out the issues with the latest stock maps app.

iOS 6 (which came along with the iPhone 5 launch) features the new inhouse Maps by Apple replacing the earlier stock apps of the earlier stock maps app powered by Google. The new maps include turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps.

Unfortunately, there were a lot of issues reported with the Maps after Apple released iOS 6 and with this moves, there were also rumors about Google releasing its own iOS app for Google Maps. Well, that hasn’t happened yet but Google has started gaining some users on the company’s web app for iOS devices.

Yesterday, Google released the Street View feature for the Google Maps App for iOS via the mobile website upgrade. This upgrade allows you to switch to street view mode in Google Maps right on your iOS device. The Google Street View mobile experience is quite similar to that of the previous Google Maps stock app for the iOS devices.

This move from Google should help the frustrated iOS 6 users for the time being, till Google comes up with a native Google Maps app for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

You can check out the Google maps web app by simply launching it in your safari browser.

Once you have launched the Maps app, enter the city, or other destination that you are looking for. The site highlights the location and its surrounding area.

Now, tap on the mini person icon that appears in the botttom right corner on your phone. If the location has got the Street View feature enabled, a separate tab opens in the browser with the Street View panorama.

Like you see on you Mac or PC, you can tap on the arrows to walk along the streets and check out the place you are after.

Do check it out and let us know what you feel about the web app for Google Maps.

If you are a  regular Google Maps user, you need not open it everytime in safari. You can save an icon for the web app right on springboard which would make it look like a regular app icon and you can launch it whenever you want it.

It’s quite easy to creat an icon – check out this link where Apple shows how to add an icon to homescreen.

So, which app do you prefer using – the stock Maps app by Apple or web maps app by Google?