Sometimes you come across a feature so terrific and so simple that you wonder how you ever lived without it. Such is the case with a simple little Google Maps trick that makes finding directions on your phone and navigating to your destination easier than ever. Of course, Google doesn’t publicize this nifty feature so it’s something of a secret. Or at least, it was something of a secret until now.
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A BGR reader emailed me this morning to let me know that he found this little trick on Droid-Life, and I knew right away that this was something I would use constantly in the future. At the same time, it’s a tiny bit annoying that something so simple has gone largely unnoticed because Google hasn’t made any real effort to let users know about it.
But the past is the past — here’s how it works:
You’re sitting at home or in your office, getting ready to drive somewhere new. You do some searching on Google Maps to check out the area or to see how traffic is at the moment. Then you power down your computer, get in your car, and perform the same search all over again so you can navigate to your destination with Google Maps on your phone.
Now, there’s a better way.
On your computer, simply type “send directions” (no quotes needed) in the search box on Google.com and hit enter. On the next screen, you’ll see the following box:
Pretty awesome, no? You can now type your destination into that field and hit enter. Then choose the appropriate Android phone from the drop-down menu in the top-right corner if you have more than one, and click “Send directions to my phone” at the bottom of the box.
Before you know it, Google Maps will open on your handset and it’ll be ready and waiting to guide you to your destination.
