November 21, 2008, 5:00 AM — It's here! It's here! It's here! Version 2.2 of the iPhone OS is here! Yes, your faithful Inside the Cult blogger has stayed up to the wee hours to download it and slap it on his precious iPhone. I had been most excited about the update to the Google Maps app. What is the verdict?
Yes, it is indeed pretty creepy to plug your address into Maps and then tap on the little human figure to bring up Google Street View (not a particularly intuitive way to do this, FYI) and see, you know, your own house. The experience is actually a lot more immersive than seeing it on your computer monitor. After running through my address book and creepily peeking at the houses of my friends and business contacts, this began to lose its appeal, and I started to wonder what exactly the point was. Would this really help me not get lost?
The thing I was most excited about was the new transit directions option, which I am not foolish enough to try in the field at 5 am. Still, after some playing around with this it looks pretty solid. There are few things that would transform taking the bus more than being able to whip out your iPhone and figure out where the nearest bus stop that would take you home is, and when you can expect the next bus.
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