It may not be hacked for global navigation, like the Google Maps 5.2.1 mod we looked at earlier today, but now Google has an update available for the official Google Maps for Android, with new ties to Latitude and additional rating controls for Places reviews.

Google Maps 5.3 adds the ability to name custom aspects when evaluating locations for Google Places. While you can easily tap a happy or sad face to let other users know how you felt about a restaurant’s food, service, or ambiance, maybe the category you really feel strongly about isn’t one listed. With this Maps update, you can finally enter in new aspects by which to rank places.

Most of the Maps 5.3 changes have to do with location-based services through Google Latitude. You’ll now be able to specify a home location, either using GPS or by address, so that it’s added to the list of nearby attractions when you decided to check-in. That will come in handy, thanks to the other Latitude-related change in this update: the addition of your history dashboard. You’ll be able to check stats about how much of your time is spent where.

All-in-all, this update contains relatively minor changes to Maps, but is worth a look if you’re a fan of Latitude.

Source: Google