Google unveils offline map app

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 6 (UPI) -- Google has announced an offline mode for its Google Maps that will allow its mobile app to work even without an Internet connection.

The offline mode would be available for Android devices soon, Rita Chen, product manager of Google Maps for mobile, told CNET.com

In offline mode, the app would work whether the phone was abroad and without access to a network, or in a subway station with no reception, Chen said, and would still allow a blue dot to track the location on the map on any mobile device equipped with global positioning system capabilities.

Google's announcement comes amid reports Apple is expected to drop Google Maps from iOS as soon as next week, when it holds its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Apple is widely expected to create it own proprietary mapping app for iOS to replace Google Maps, which has been a core part of the iPhone since its debut in 2007.