The basic interface of Google Trips (Photo : YouTube/Zsolt Pinter)
Google Trips is a new smartphone app that will help people track their progress on the travel offering valuable suggestions along the way. The travel app had been a huge secret until last week leaked screenshot photos surfaced on the internet.
It is reported that a new Google Maps offset called Google Trips is under development by the tech giant. The new app will monitor users' Gmail data for the past and future travel destinations and organize this information to make it more helpful, TechCrunch reported.
Expected to soon to hit the Play Store, the new smartphone app is currently offered to limited test users before going to all Android users while an iOS version has also been confirmed. Google planning to unleash Trips with a surprise, but last week Android Police posted various leaked screenshots of the app which sheds light on its design and usability.
The Trips is part of Google's Local Guides program and currently only registered users of the program have access to the app as test users. The participating individuals are supposed to add correct information on the Google Map, post photos and write reviews about businesses.
Google's Local Guides program was launched last year and directly goes head-to-head against Yelp's Elites. Just like Yelp, the search giant is offering contributing members various perks including access to app pre-releases, which is exactly what is happening with Trips.
The traveling guide app will not only keep the track of users' past journeys but also make helpful recommendations about hotels, restaurants, transport, cafes, and much more. Since Google Trip will use automated collection of users' Gmail data for travel info, it will in advance alert users about flights, seat selection, routes, sharing trips with others, and tourist destinations.
Additionally, Trip users will be to reserve tables at restaurants, find nearby snack shop, food and drink corners, discover interesting places around their current location and get schedules of buses and trains.
Google Maps and Google Trips have a lot in common, but the latter is more accustomed to discovering new things than just navigation. Saved trips are available offline, the interface is more user-friendly,
While the app being tested is available on Android, Google had said that it would be available on iOS, as well. The company has not yet confirmed further details about the app or its launch plans. The following video introduces Google Trips beta.
