Andrew
07-25-2006, 11:27 AM
Google offers real-time traffic info for cell phones (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060725-7343.html) -- Ars Technica, 2006-07-25
Those living in cities know that commuting—or even just running to the store—during rush hour can be an absolute nightmare during rush hour. Even during off-peak traffic times, traffic jams can unexpectedly pop up, leaving you sitting behind the driver's wheel cursing traffic instead of where you need to be.
Google is adding another weapon to the driver's arsenal with the launch of a new Google Maps for Mobile feature that provides real-time traffic information (http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/07/saving-galaxy-one-traffic-jam-at-time.html). Users can find a destination using Google Maps on their cell phones and then select the new "show traffic" option. The map is then highlighted depending on traffic conditions: red for traffic jams, yellow or orange for some congestion, and green for little or no traffic.
Additional info: Google Maps for Mobile (http://www.google.com/gmm/index.html) and supported devices (http://www.google.com/gmm/devices.html) on google.com
Google Offering Live Traffic Maps via Cell Phones (http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/07/25/1315214&from=rss) on slashdot.org
Unfortunately for me, Google Maps for Mobile doesn't work on Palm devices including my Treo 650. The suggested workaround doesn't seem to apply, but that may be an issue of huge demand after the inital announcement; I'll have to try again later.
Those living in cities know that commuting—or even just running to the store—during rush hour can be an absolute nightmare during rush hour. Even during off-peak traffic times, traffic jams can unexpectedly pop up, leaving you sitting behind the driver's wheel cursing traffic instead of where you need to be.
Google is adding another weapon to the driver's arsenal with the launch of a new Google Maps for Mobile feature that provides real-time traffic information (http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/07/saving-galaxy-one-traffic-jam-at-time.html). Users can find a destination using Google Maps on their cell phones and then select the new "show traffic" option. The map is then highlighted depending on traffic conditions: red for traffic jams, yellow or orange for some congestion, and green for little or no traffic.
Additional info: Google Maps for Mobile (http://www.google.com/gmm/index.html) and supported devices (http://www.google.com/gmm/devices.html) on google.com
Google Offering Live Traffic Maps via Cell Phones (http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/07/25/1315214&from=rss) on slashdot.org
Unfortunately for me, Google Maps for Mobile doesn't work on Palm devices including my Treo 650. The suggested workaround doesn't seem to apply, but that may be an issue of huge demand after the inital announcement; I'll have to try again later.