I just downloaded and installed Google Maps on my Motorola Razr V3 and what a disappointment … but it isn’t Google’s fault …
My reason for loading Google Maps was that recently released a new feature that should be very useful: They now provide traffic information so when you enter a route, Google Maps can now show the traffic flow along the each section (green = OK, yellow = slow, red = L.A. freeways). So I downloaded the application (it works on most Java-enabled — J2ME — phones) and ran it up. The user interface is good, not great, but would appear to be consequence of the phone rather than the application engineering. But when you try to get to a location and load the traffic data — yecch! The Cingular network performance is awful and the RAZR’s performance is atrocious! The Google Map application actually displayed the message “Traffic may load slowly on this phone.” (If you see this message make sure you click the center button otherwise the phone will just sit there waiting … du’oh.) When the data is finally loaded and displayed it is actually very cool but given the slow speed and cost the exercise hardly seems worth it. There’s now no doubt in my mind that until the cellular providers implement decent data rates and the processing capabilities of mobile phones improves vastly the whole concept of mobile phones being more than messaging (voice, IM, texting) devices is a pipe dream.
