Use your voice to get info from Google Maps

Google has added voice commands to its Maps app for Android phones and tablets with the aim of letting you use it more safely while driving.

The update makes further use of the company’s ‘OK Google’ voice-activated tool. For example, you can dictate text messages and start a phone call using voice commands, without having to tap or even look at your screen.

You can also ask the app to show the locations of petrol stations or shops, although you will have to stop your car before looking at these on your screen.

You should also bear in mind that although it’s legal to use ‘hands-free’ phones while driving, the police can penalise you if they think you’re “distracted and not in control of your vehicle”.

To set up this feature make sure you’re using the latest version of Google Maps ( www.snipca.com/22010), then tap the three vertical buttons at the top right (what Google calls the ‘overflow’ menu). Next, tap Settings, ‘‘OK Google’ detection’. A white microphone icon appears in the top-right corner when vovoice commands are activated.

Google has published a ‘cheat sheet’ of commands you can speak ( www.snipca.com/ 22009). These include ‘Call Mum/dad’, ‘How’s traffic to home?’, and ‘How do I get to [name of place]?’. The instructions insist that this only works in the US, but the voice commands worked fine for us in the UK.

Read Google’s Lat-long blog for more details on the update: www.snipca.com/22008. It doesn’t say whether the voice commands will be coming to the IOS version of the app.