Mapping on your iPhone is very convenient and pretty amazing. As we explore the power of the Maps app in this chapter, you'll see how to find your location on a map and get directions to just about anywhere. You'll also learn how to switch between the Standard, Satellite, and Hybrid views. You'll also see how, if you need to find the best route to somewhere, you can check out the traffic using the Show Traffic button in Maps options. If you want to find the closest pizza restaurant, golf course, or hotel to your destination, that's easy, too. And you can use Google's Street View right from your iPhone to help you get to your destination. It is easy to add an address you have mapped to your contacts. There's also a Digital Compass feature that is fun to play with.
The beauty of the iPhone is that its apps are designed to work with one another. You've already seen how your contacts are linked to the Maps app; just look back at Chapter 18: “Contacts and Notes.”
The Maps app is powered by Google Maps, the leader in mobile mapping technology. Maps lets you locate your position, get directions, search for things nearby, see traffic, and much more.
Simply touch the Maps icon to get started.
When you start the Maps app, you can have it begin at your current location. Follow these steps to use your current location as the default starting location:
We suggest choosing OK, which makes it much easier to find directions from or to your current location.
The default view for Maps is the Standard view, a basic map that shows a generic background overlaid with street names. Maps can also show you a Satellite view or a combination of the Satellite and Standard views called Hybrid. Finally, the List view is handy if you've searched for something that provided multiple results, like local coffee shops. It is also handy if you've asked for directions to a location. You can switch among all the views by following these steps:
Not only does your Maps app tell you how to get somewhere, but it can also check traffic along the way. This feature is supported only in the United States for now. Follow these steps to check the traffic for a given route:
On a highway, if there is a traffic situation, you usually see yellow lights instead of green ones. Sometimes, the yellow lights might be flashing to alert you to traffic delays.
You may even see Construction Worker icons to indicate construction zones.
Maps uses color on major streets and highways to indicate the speed that traffic is moving at:
Because Maps is tied to Google Maps, you can search for and find just about anything: a specific address, type of business, city, or other point of interest, as shown in Figure 21–2. Follow these steps to search for a specific location:
You can enter just about anything in the Search bar, including the following:
To use numbers, tap the 123 key on the keyboard. For letters, tap the ABC key to switch back to a letter keyboard.
Now that your address is on the Maps screen, follow these steps to access the available options:
NOTE: You can also tap and hold the address to bring up the Copy pop-up menu.
Bookmarks in Maps work much as they do in Safari. A bookmark simply creates a record of places you've visited or mapped and want to remember in the future. It is always easier to look at a bookmark than to perform a new search.
Bookmarking a location is a great way to simplify finding a place again:
Figure 21–4. Adding a bookmark
TIP:You can search for bookmark names just as you search for names in Contacts.
To view your bookmarks, follow these steps:
It is easy to add a location you mapped to your Contacts list:
Follow these steps to search for establishments around your current location:
NOTE: If you touch the Home Page link, you will exit Maps, and Safari will start up. You will need to restart Maps when you're done.
You can zoom in and out in the usual way by double-tapping and pinching. To zoom in by double-tapping, just double-tap the screen as you would on a web page or picture.
Let'ssay you're looking at the map, and you find something you'd like to set either as a bookmark or as a destination.
In this example, we are zooming in and looking around the greater Boston area. We stumble upon Fenway Park and decide it would be great to add it to our bookmarks, so we drop a pin on it. Follow these steps to drop a pin on a map:
TIP:Finding the Street Address of any Location on the Map
When you drop a pin, Google Maps will show you the actual street address. This is very handy if you find a location by looking at the Satellite or Hybrid view, but need to get the actual street address.
Dropping a pin is also a great way to keep track of where you parked, which is especially helpful in an unfamiliar location.
Google Street View (see Figure 21–6) is a really fun feature in Maps on the iPhone. Google has been hard at work photographing just about every address across the United States and elsewhere. The pictures are then fed into its database, and that's what shows up when you want to see a picture of your destination or waypoint.
NOTE:Google Street View is in a small number of countries now: much of North America, western Europe, Australia, and now South Africa.
If there is a Street View available, you will see a small orange Person icon to the left of the address or bookmark on the map.
In this example, we wanted to check the Street View of the store of Gloria, Gary's wife, on Cape Cod:
One of the most useful functions of the Maps app is that you can easily find directions to or from any location. Let's say we want to get directions from our current location (Gloria's store) to Fenway Park in Boston.
To find directions to or from your current location, you don't have to waste time typing your current address—the iPhone will assume you want directions from where you are unless you specify otherwise. You may need to tap the Location button a few times until you see the blue dot on the screen.
Now you can do one of two things:
Follow these steps to select a Start or End location and then choose a suggested route:
NOTE: As soon as you touch the Directions From Here button, your recent searches will be automatically displayed (see Figure 21–5). You can also touch the Destination box and type in a destination.
Before you start the trip, you will see a Start button in the upper-right corner of the screen. Tap the Start button, and the routing directions begin. The Start button changes to Arrow buttons that allow you to move between the steps in the trip.
As Figure 21–8 shows, you can look at the route either as a path on the map or as a list.
You can move the screen with your finger to look at the route, or just touch the Arrow buttons at the bottom to show the route in step-by-step snapshots.
You can also tap the Page Curl button on the bottom-right, then the List button, which will show detailed step-by-step directions.
As noted in Steps 6 and 7 of the preceding example, if more than one route is available, the Maps app will mark its best recommendation with a bright blue line and flag it as Route 1. If other routes are also available, Maps will mark them with a light blue line. Tapping a gray line will turn it bright blue and flag it with its corresponding number—Route 2, for example.
If you know from recent experience that construction or something else is making Route 1 less than desirable, or you need to stop somewhere on the way that's off the recommended Route 1, then switching to a different route is a great option.
Before you start your directions, you can choose whether you are driving, using public transportation, or walking by tapping the icons on the left side of the blue bar at the top of the directions screen, as shown in Figure 21–9.
To reverse the route, touch the Reverse button, which is at the top, between the Start and End fields. This can be useful if you're not great about reversing directions on your own or if your route uses lots of one-way streets.
Currently, the only setting that affects your Maps app is Location Services, which is critical for determining your current location. Follow these steps to adjust the settings for the Maps app:
NOTE: Keeping the Location Services switch ON will reduce battery life by a small amount. If you never use Maps or care about your location, then set it to OFF to save your battery life.
The iPhone has a very cool Digital Compass feature built in. This can be helpful when you need to literally get your bearings and figure out which way is north.
Before you can use the Digital Compass, you need to calibrate it. You should only need to calibrate the compass the first time you use it. Follow these steps to do so:
NOTE: The iPhone may ask you to move away from any source of interference while you go through the calibration process.
13.58.44.229