Google continues the blistering pace of updates to Google Maps today with the announcement of voice search for Maps on the desktop. Only users of Google’s Chrome browser get the feature. This could speed up queries for hard-to-spell places, and it also returns queries like “Directions from Portland to San Francisco.”
The Google LatLong Team is cranking out features. This month, Google Maps on the desktop has gotten a weather layer, it has become available on over 40 new country domains, and it added shortlinks to make sharing maps and directions easier. Voice search on the desktop adds another new convenience, at least for Chrome users.
Desktop Google search already has voice search (again, only for Chrome users), and mobile users on Android and iPhone can control Google with voice commands as well. Here’s a brief video from Google describing the features of voice search on the desktop:
The new features of Google Maps are powerful, but they’re concentrated on the desktop browser so far. As we reported earlier this year, 40% of Google Maps usage is mobile, and development of the mobile version has lagged behind the desktop. But major services taking advantage of mobile location tracking, like traffic and navigation, have been greatly improved this year.
Do you use voice commands on your mobile or desktop computers?
