In the past, traveling to a new or unfamiliar location typically required you to carry around a local map and/or ask locals for directions. Getting lost is becoming a thing of the past, as we can conveniently carry in our pockets a map of not just the whole planet, but one that will show you where you are, give directions to where you want to go, the estimated time it will take to get there, let you mark points of interest and save them for later, enable you to search for places that are close by and much more.

In this article, we’ll look at the Google Maps Android API which enables you to add maps based on Google Maps to your application. The API automatically handles access to Google Maps servers, data downloading, map display, and response to map gestures. You can use the API calls to add markers, polygons, and overlays to a basic map and to change the user’s view of a particular map area. These objects provide additional information for map locations and allow user interaction with the map.

We’ll create an application that will show some of the features available in the API. We won’t cover everything as that would take several posts, but we will cover common features like adding a map to the view, changing the map type, adding a marker to the map to mark a location and configuring the camera which will affect how the user sees a map.

Continue reading %Adding Maps to an Android App with Google Play Services%

Source: SitePoint