iPhone: Google Street View

November 26th, 2008 at 7:30 AM - by Jeff Gamet

iPhone Software 2.2 added lots of cool new features, including the ability to use Google Street View in the Maps application. Using Google Street View, however, isn't quite as simple as zooming in on what you want to see -- there are a couple of extra steps you need to take to get yourself down to street level.

To use Google Street View with iPhone Software 2.2, do this:

• Launch the Maps application.
• Search for the location you want to view at street level.

This orange icon is your gateway to Google Street View.


• Now look for an orange icon at the left end of the location pin's information flag. If you see the orange icon, Google Street View is available for that area.
• Tap the orange icon to zoom into street view.

You can flick left, right, up or down to look around, and tapping the arrows on the street lets you move from your original location. There's also an inset circle in the lower right corner of Google Street View that shows your current direction and field of view. Tap the inset to return to the regular Maps view.

Unfortunately, you can't just zoom in on any spot and jump into Google Street View without first searching for a location, but the feature is still amazingly handy if you need to see landmarks when you aren't exactly sure what a location looks like.