Google: Could I import my custom maps to my iPhone, please?

: Image by niallkennedy via Flickr

This week I’m headed to the Bay Area for an extended visit. I have lots of friends there and there are plenty of cool things to do there. I’ve started mapping all this stuff on a private Google Map — where I’ll be staying, nearby public transit stops, gyms, massage clinics, coffeehouses, music venues, grocery stores, etc. I just assumed that since there’s a pretty good Google Maps app on my iPhone, I’d be able to import all that data easily. Right?

Wrong!

Right now, the closest I can get is to e-mail the link from my private Bay Area map to my iPhone. When I click that link in my iPhone e-mail, the map opens — in the phone’s Safari web browser, not in the Google Maps app. Which makes it much harder to use and far less useful on the go.

I’ve posted a query about this in the Google Maps forum. But so far, I haven’t found a solution.

Does anyone know any tricks for this? Is this something that an iPhone app could be written to support?

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This entry was written by Amy Gahran and posted on January 4, 2009 at 9:55 am and filed under Amy's Adventures, help needed, mapping, mobile. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Post a comment(Latest is displayed first) or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

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4 Comments so far (Add 1 more)

I would love the promo code and would be more than willing to write an honest, unbiased review of the app! Sign me up!!

jason.voyles1@gmail.com


1. jv on August 4th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
All,

I agree with all of you entirely. I was very surprised that neither Google or Apple decided to implement this important functionality. I just finished writing an app that enables viewing and navigating with your Google My Maps. Despite the few hurdles involved, the app is quite seamless and easy to use. More importantly all the html detail you painstakingly added in Google My Maps is visible. The maps are stored locally on your iPhone so they are quick to load. You can create routes between any/all of the locations that you select in your loaded Maps. The app is “My Maps” and here is a direct link (this will open the App Store in iTunes):

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=321930101&mt=8

Although this is a plug for my own app, I definitely think this will address all of your concerns and finally enable us all to use Google My Maps more natively on the iPhone. I am ready to give the first 3 people who respond to this post a promo code for a free download so that the community (via your reviews) can see that the app works well and addresses this issue. Thanks and happy mapping!


2. jruths on July 28th, 2009 at 9:02 am
check out my-maps.appspot.com/


3. Bruno on May 25th, 2009 at 5:59 am
I agree. Completely and unnecessarily frustrating! I’ve been working on a work around all morning. I’ll let you know if I find something.


4. jv on March 7th, 2009 at 4:35 am