Just in time for Google’s Android One rollout in India and other developing nations, Google is opening up Maps to millions of native speakers in India today with localized Maps on both the web and Android that show Hindi for the first time alongside English:
Next time you’re in Jaipur and looking to find your way to the Amer Fort or the City Palace Google Maps can lend a little help. Starting today, we’re launching Google Maps in Hindi, in the hope that we can provide more useful and comprehensive maps for Hindi-speakers in India. This means that if you’re looking for a historical monument such as the Hawa Mahal in Jaipur, or the famous Lodhi Gardens in Delhi, you’ll be able to see the place’s name in both Hindi and English.
Google noted that Hindi is initially supported for cities, localities, important roads, and other popular points of interest such as public parks and schools. It also said it created the Hindi maps by “transliterating English names to Hindi, and ensuring the text resonates with local dialects,” but it’s encouraging users to submit corrections if they discover any.
The Hindi version of Maps is available to those using Google Maps for Android version 4.3 and up as well as through Google Maps on the web. You’ll have to set Hindi as your language preference to access it. Here’s how to do it:
From a computer, you can change your language preference to Hindi on your Google account settings or by selecting the “Hindi” option at the bottom of the page on the google.co.in home page. On Android, simply select the Hindi option within the “Language and input” menu found in your phone’s Settings menu.
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