Philipp Lenssen over at Google Blogoscoped has happened across what appears to be a possible redesign in the works for Google Maps.
The thing is, not everyone can see it. Luckily, he includes screenshots. Philipp had this to say about it:
Google Maps is showing a redesign here, though I don’t know in what occasions it shows and whether it’s experimental or meant to go live for everyone. At the moment in Firefox (but not Internet Explorer, and also not in Firefox on another computer) I’m seeing the orange tabs gone; instead, there’s now a light blue bar on top with plain blue links reading “Get Directions” and “My Maps”. The search examples are now printed in gray inside the input box itself, as opposed to above it. A slight shadow effect makes the map area look embedded in the page, and it’s now spanning towards the right and bottom browser limits without padding. I think the new design looks a bit lighter and simpler.
If this is in fact a redesign, I’m going to have say that I like the old one better. Philipp is right in that is lighter and simpler, but I guess I’m just a sucker for tabs.
Quite frankly, I am more interested in the advancements being made to the maps themselves, and wondering when to expect the street view and the traffic view for our hometown. I’ve heard that they’ve been through here taking pictures for street view probably a year ago or better.
But back to the design. I’m not seeing it in either Firefox or Ineternet Explorer, and nobody else around here seems to be either. I wonder if perhaps geography plays a part being how Philipp is based in Germany. Anybody else out there seeing it?
