Don’t live in the US but still want to be able to use free Google Navigation? Well, now you can… and it’s pretty simple
You will need a rooted Android device (I have done this on the G1), ADB drivers installed on your computer and to download the hacked version of Google Maps from here. Lets start this now, then once we need it we will already have it downloaded.
With the download running in the background, we will need to uninstall the version of Google Maps already installed
You will need a computer with the adb drivers installed (you can get the drivers from the Android Developers pages. If using an Apple you don’t need to download anything extra), then in a command line or terminal window run the following:
adb remount
adb shell
Then on the # line run
find /system /data -name \*google\*maps.apk\* -o -name Maps.apk -delete
pm uninstall com.google.android.apps.maps
You should see a line that says ‘success’. You now no longer have Google Maps on your phone.
Now, before installing the hacked version of maps, search for ‘SpeechSynthesis Data Installer’ on the market and download. Let this install voice data onto the SD card when done.
Finally, install the Maps APK you downloaded earlier onto your rooted device, either through ADB:
adb install -r <location>/maps4.0.0-brut4.apk (e.g. C:/Maps4.0.0-brut4.apk or /users/<username>/desktop/Maps4.0.0-brut4.apk)
or through Astro after copying the file to the SD card
Now when you’re lost, open up Google Maps and in the ‘Directions’ section, no matter where in the world you are you will find the ‘Navigate’ option to take you home. Or to the pub, whichever’s closest.
Source:Â [Nav Launcher, Mad Cow Solutions]
