Google has a new release of version 3 for the Google Maps API. While its JavaScript API still looks similar to previous versions of the Google Maps API, much has changed under the hood with version 3, which has been designed to load fast, especially on today's mobile browsers and platforms, such as Android-based devices and the iPhone. Given the debut of the Google Maps API 3, authors Mike Purvis and Victor Sumner felt it was time for an update of their popular Beginning Google Maps Applications.