Dec 17, 2010 10:45 GMT  ·  By

Showcased by Andy Rubin a little over a week ago during the D: Dive Into Mobile conference, Google Maps 5.0 for Android is now available for download from Android Market. The application was demoed on an unannounced Motorola tablet running an early version of the highly-expected Android Honeycomb platform.

There are two major features that make the application even more appealing: 3D view and offline rerouting.

Even though Google said that the application was compatible with devices running Android 1.6, it also mentioned they would not be able to take advantage of these new features, which are only available on Android 2.0+ devices.

Google Maps 5.0 uses vector graphics to dynamically draw the map on the device, which allows users to interact with it in multiple ways: tilting, rotating, smooth zooming and compass mode.

The most interesting interaction mode seems to be the compass mode, which enables users to center the map on their location and then tap the compass button to flip the map into 3D mode.

Offline reliability is a new concept introduced by Google Maps 5.0 and is based on the ability to use the mapping service even without an active data connection.

Google said that dynamically drawing maps required 100 times less data than the standard method to get maps across all zoom levels, which means that the application is capable of proactively store large areas on the user's device based on where the Maps were used most.

The Offline rerouting feature doesn't work entirely offline, but Android device owners who use the free turn-by-turn GPS navigation feature and lose their Internet connection briefly will continue to get accurate voice guidance for a short time until the connection is re-established.

Google stated that the Offline rerouting feature would be rolled out gradually over the next few weeks.