Google on Monday unveiled a massive update to its Android version of Google Maps API (application programming interface), the code that Google publishes for third-party developers (those outside the company) to be able to build apps that use Google Maps data. The new version of the Google Maps Android API contains support for tilting the map in apps, allowing users to move from 2D to 3D views, as well as Google’s indoor floor plans, which it recently brought to the Web version of Google Maps.
The move should further help solidify Google’s dominance over other digital map products, including the free, crowdsourced OpenStreetMap, which is used by many other tech companies to avoid paying Google for massive map data loads (Google charges for over 25,000 loads of Google Maps).
Here’s a screenshot provided by Google of the updated Trulia app using the new Google Maps API: