How to access google maps on iOS6

Hi guys,
The iphone 5 and iOS6 has released and people have mixed feelings. One place where most iOS6 users are upset is the Apple maps application.

The maps lack quality, detail , neatness and precision. The locations are yet to be updated and looking back at google maps it certainly feels that we have moved 3 steps backward with maps after upgrading ourselves to iOS6.
The Apple maps currently are powered by Tom Tom and Tom Tom is trying to improve itself from probably orders from Apple. Well which is good but Im sure that will not take anywhere less than 3 to 4 months.

All said and done, I love a couple of google products and one of them is their maps. After upgrading to iOS6 I desperately searched for having google maps on my iphone and to some extent got it. Ok so here is how you can get it.

Go to safari and go to http://maps.google.com

Once the page loads, in the bottom a message appears asking of you want to make this as a bookmark. If this message does not appear for you, click on the options on the bottom of the screen (The icon with the arrow) and a dialog box would appear asking what do you want to do with the page, tap on "Add to Home Screen". The bookmark would be created on your spring board (home screen) and when you select it, google maps open on your safari browser which is almost as good as having it in the app. Well, definitely better than using Apple maps.

Once you have done this you will be able to see the bookmark for google maps like this (image below) on your spring board.

Tapping on it will take you to the browser with a sweet Google maps you have always wanted. 

Most of the features that you have been using in the iOS5 google maps are here. Search, directions, Locate yourself. The only thing I didnt find was drop pin feature but I think I can live without it. 

An additional feature which you will be access here (which was not available in iOS5 google maps) "My places". You can browse and see all your saved places here too. You would need to sign in to google for this. 

P.S you will not be able to access google maps in other applications like foursquare or facebook. The other applications will still use Apple maps as default.

Connect iOS Device to Wireless(wi-fi) Printer

Im sure lot of iphone and ipad users must have tried printing wirelessly but have failed even after having a wireless printer at their workplace or at home.

Apple has kept its print capabilities only possible with the Airprint Printers.

Im sure they are costly so there are other solutions to get this done if you have other wireless printers.

One brilliant option I found out was Fingerprint

Finger print sits on you PC or a MAC and lets you print images, documents and webpages remotely to your wireless printer.

Here is how you can get it done:

Hardware requirements:

1. An iOS device (Obviously)
2. A wireless (wi-fi) printer 
3. A PC or a MAC.

All you need to do is download and install Fingerprint on your MAC or a PC.

Once you are done installing, open the finger print app on you computer and you will be able to see the list of wireless printers connected to the same wi-fi network. Well, you dont have to do anything if you want to keep the default settings but if you need to change some settings like the default paper size, colour etc.. they can be changed from here. 

So the final step, the print step.

Select an the photo or the document you would like to print on your iphone and select print. 

The print dialog will appear and you will be able to select the printer from the list. Select the printer to which you want to print the document and alas.... You should see your printer beep and print the document/image you printed. (Please see image above)

This would definitely save some money buying a new Airprint printer but this comes with a cost itself. It costs 20$ which is still lesser than the cost of getting a new printer. 

But the best part about this is that you just need to install it on one computer on the wifi network and it will work for all the iOS devices in that wi-fi network. I have installed it on my computer and there are around 70 people in my office who can see the list of printers on their iOS devices which is a pretty neat feature of this software and which makes it very cost effective too.