G1 News

Rejoice! As we were drowning our sorrows that humble Android phones were unable to sample the delights of the new Google Maps Navigation in the UK, Electric Pig have a solution to get our handsets buzzing!

Simply follow this tutorial to get Google Maps Navigation on Android 1.6 handsets, from the HTC Hero to the Motorola DEXT, you’re covered with a great, and more importantly free turn-by-turn solution!

This solution is here, courtesy of Electric Pig (and friends)!

What you’ll need

• 1 Android 1.6 phone
• 1 microSD card
• 1 microSD card reader or USB cable

Preparation

• If it’s not updated, install the 1.6 Donut upgrade for your Android phone. The device should prompt you to do this itself, once it’s online.
• Download the ApkInstaller app from the Android Market (Search for “apk”).

Method

• You’ll need to download a specially modified version of Google Maps onto your PC, available here [Thanks to partypas for getting it working]. It’s a mere 2MB download so will take just seconds.
• Connect your phone via a micro USB cable, or slip the micro SD card into a reader and plug it into your PC. Copy across the file.
• Disconnect your Android phone from the USB cable, or insert the micro SD card.
• Install the modded Maps by firing up ApkInstaller and opening the file you copied across to the micro SD card.
• You might be prompted to give the phone the OK to install non-Android Market apps if you haven’t already. Do so.
• You’ll now have two Maps icons in your menu screen (See screenshot). Open the second one, and input your directions in Google Maps as you normally would.
• You’ll be given the option to “Show on map”, or “Navigate”. Press the Navigate option and, bingo, you’ve got Google Maps Navigation.
• Finally, download Nav Launcher from the Android Market to quickly jump to the Navigation feature in Maps.
• And that’s it: you’ve now got a free satnav app on your Android phone. Enjoy Google Maps Navigation in the UK!

There you have it! Maps on the cheap!

UPDATE: Ah. This is just for full-on Google experience phones, unfortunately…so the HTC Magic and T-Mobile G1 are the phones in question.