Google to Mapquest, "Thanks for the idea..."

This is becoming about as common as a Microsoft security patch. Google has announced yet another web service: Google Maps.

Searching for a business in the area that is centered on the map provides a nice way to find, say, a Sushi restaurant in San Francisco. Unfortunately, what it doesn't provide is a way to do a second search without hitting the back button. This returns you to the Google Maps home page and clears any map searching you've already done. It would be nice to have a "New Search" button or similar functionality available with the search results so that the city does not have to be located every time you want to find a business.

Overall, I see this as a step in the right direction. I imagine Google Maps will see a few changes between now and the time it is actually moved out of Beta. I also imagine it will never get moved out of Beta just like everything else in Google Labs.

This brings up a good question: why do Google's Beta software builds demonstrate more functionality and polish than most other companies' Public Release builds? Could it be that *gasp* Google realizes that people actually want good software?