Google Maps 4.2 steers Navigation to Europe, Canada

Google expands two popular mobile features to Canada and to some European countries: voice navigation and voice search.

Jessica Dolcourt Senior Editorial Director, Content Operations

Jessica Dolcourt is a passionate content strategist and veteran leader of CNET coverage. As Senior Director of Content Operations, she leads a number of teams, including Thought Leadership, Speed Desk and How-To. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on iPhone and Samsung. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica led CNET's How-To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones and home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick (UK).

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Jessica Dolcourt

June 9, 2010 4:22 p.m. PT

I've definitely come to rely on Google's turn-by-turn voice navigation to guide me through some twists and turns of California's coastline. Starting Wednesday, Canadians and some Europeans will similarly be able to ditch their satnav systems and fire up their Android phones instead.

Google Maps 4.2 with Navigation will pop into the Android Market apps in Canada, and in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland--as long as your smartphone runs 1.6 of the Android operating system or higher.

That's not all the localization love Google has in store. Those who speak French, German, Italian, and Spanish will likewise get a chance to try out a beta version of Google Search that's activated by your voice. However, Google warns that its localizations are limited to one-country language models, so the app's digital ears may falter in interpreting Mexican-inflected Spanish, Swiss-German, and Caribbean French, for instance.

Voice search that recognizes Spanish, Italian, German, and French is now available for Android, iPhone, BlackBerry, and Nokia Series 60 smartphones.

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