Google Maps app back and improved for iPhone

NEW YORK – Like a lot of people, I was happy and relieved to see Google Maps return to the iPhone.
I'd been frustrated with the Apple mapping software that had replaced it three months ago. For one thing, it didn't have public transit directions, a feature important for New Yorkers like me. Apple's mapping app also wasn't as good as the old Google app in finding destinations. I often had to type full addresses rather than just the name of a business.
So when Google Maps returned this week as its own app, I installed it. Although it may not be perfect, it is a big step up from both Apple's current software and the old Google-powered Maps app that Apple kicked off the iPhone in September.
For the first time, Google Maps has turn-by-turn voice navigation on the iPhone, and with that, automatic recalculation of routes whenever you make a wrong turn. The new app also offers public transit information for more than 500 cities around the world.
The turn-by-turn driving directions work exceptionally well. It quickly and accurately calculated the most direct route from The Associated Press' headquarters in Manhattan to my home in the Bronx. It offered a variety of routes for traveling from New York to Boston.
The app's voice directions came in the form of a pleasant female voice that sounded much more human than the GPS system my husband had in his car years ago. Google's app usually gives you the choice of a couple of routes. Unlike Apple's app, Google Maps lets you automatically exclude routes that involve highways or tolls. You can also add an overlay showing how bad the traffic is along the way, along with satellite and street-level photography of the area you're traveling through.
To test out the walking directions, I took to the streets of New York. I didn't get as many bells and whistles as the driving directions. The voice directions only work for driving. In addition, the app doesn't automatically recalculate your route if you miss a turn.
Google's mapping service is typically adorned with multitudes of landmarks such as tourist spots, dry cleaners and bars. To test this out, I took a walk up Ninth Avenue toward Hell's Kitchen. I found that while Google knows this neighborhood pretty well, it doesn't know it as well as I do.
Only about half of the restaurants on the roughly 10 blocks I walked are listed. There doesn't seem to be a whole lot of rhyme or reason as to what made the map and what didn't.