Google
on Tuesday announced the launch of Google Maps in Hindi. While the
search engine giant has been working on improving Maps and localising it
for populaces across the globe, it is only now that the company has
come up with the Hindi version of
Google Maps.
The updated Google
Maps with Hindi language support, available both in the Android app and
Web-interface for desktop, can now show users Hindi names of cities,
localities, important roads, as well as popular points of interest such
as public parks and schools, all alongside their English names.
Speaking
about the same, Suren Ruhela, Director Product and Program Management,
Google, says, "We wanted to remove the geographical boundaries that come
in the way of Internet users across the globe. That was one of the main
reason as to why have been working on expanding maps. The Hindi version
of Google maps will help remove the language barrier for a huge section
of people in India."
To view Hindi name labels on Google Maps,
people must enable Hindi as their preferred language on their device.
For the desktop-interface, users can change the language preference to
Hindi on their Google account settings or by selecting the Hindi option
at the bottom of the page on the google.co.in home page. On the Android
app, users simply need to select the Hindi option within the Language
and input menu found in their phone's Settings menu.
Ruhela
however does agree that with the kind of ethnic diversity that India
boasts of, serving the app with Hindi as the only regional language
option is not the ideal solution. "That is one of the reasons why the
default language is still English," adding that once the Hindi language
is selected, the names of the places will be displayed "in Hindi as well
as English."
Ruhela says that the only reason for giving both
Hindi and English names is to ensure that users do not become confused.
"There may have been a chance that we may have gotten the translations
wrong. We have kept both the names because we want users to have clarity
regarding its usage. We have only kept the names of places of
prominence, and widely searched places on the translated lists as of
now," he says.
While Ruhela hasn't given a timeline as to how
long did it take to develop the Hindi version or whether there are newer
versions of Google Maps due with support for other regional languages,
he does say that that is the direction they want to head in.
As of
now, Google Maps in Hindi is available to desktop users and on Android
devices that run Android version 4.3 (Jelly Bean) and upwards. Ruhela
says that the Hindi-supported version of maps is not yet available on
other platforms, or even older versions of the Android OS. "The idea is
to create a complete eco-system eventually. As of now we also want to
see how we can integrate devices running the older versions of the
Android OS. Eventually the idea is to come on the App Store, the Windows
Phone Store, and the BlackBerry World store," he says
Android 16 Developer Preview 3 Reportedly Enables Screen-Off Fingerprint Unlock on All Pixel Phones24 March 2025
Search
![Gadgets 360 With Technical Guruji: Ask TG [ March 22, 2025]](https://c.ndtvimg.com/2024-12/5s52e4k_-ask-tg_640x480_14_December_24.jpg?downsize=180:*)
