Reports are coming in that Google Maps Navigation, the search giant’s free satellite navigation app for Android, is now available in and supports much of mainland Europe.
The list of countries confirmed so far include Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, and Belgium. This follows support for the UK and Ireland rolled out in late April after initially only being available in the US.
The free turn-by-turn solution requires phones running Android 1.6 or higher and provides full voice guided and dynamic navigation, including voice-activated search and the slick streetview, but does require a persistent data connection rather than side-loading the relevant maps first. It competes with a slew of GPS-based Sat-Nav solutions but perhaps most directly with Nokia’s free offering – Ovi Maps – which runs on almost all of the handset maker’s most recent devices.
See also: Navmii brings Sat-Nav to iPhone for €3.99, GPS race to the bottom continues