Google Maps now includes traffic in drive time
We all know that online maps have their faults. One of them is that they tend to be optimistic.
Google and Yahoo maps offer real-time traffic data with color coding on the map of the congested areas. But we all knew that the driving time given on the map was not reliable because it wasn't factoring in the actual traffic conditions.
Well, Google has fixed that. Now, Google Maps offers a time estimate if driving in heavy traffic, such as rush hour.
For instance, if I plan to drive from the CNET offices in downtown San Francisco to Google's headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., (which I do often) the map tells me it's 35.8 miles and should take about 41 minutes, but then underneath that estimate it now says "up to 55 mins in traffic." That also sounds a bit optimistic, but at least it's more realistic than 41 minutes. In reality, I give myself an hour.
Google Maps directions from CNET offices to Google headquarters.
(Credit: Google)Unfortunately, other than red, green or yellow highlights on the maps, they don't (yet) show you exactly what the roadway looks like and where exactly the blockages are. For the traffic obsessed, there is a way to simulate traffic congestion, according to Winding Road blog. The site warns that the microsimulation Java applet is slow and somewhat buggy.
Elinor Mills covers Internet security and privacy. She joined CNET News in 2005 after working as a foreign correspondent for Reuters in Portugal and writing for The Industry Standard, the IDG News Service, and the Associated Press. E-mail Elinor.
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for something.
Live Search for Windows Mobile completely blows away anything you can do on your iPhone with Google Maps. The GPS features paired with a GPS enabled phone or Bluetooth GPS receiver turn any Windows smartphone into a GPS navigation system; except that you do not need a DVD, the maps come to your phone through the air automatically as you move (and fast with 3G). And it is a free download.
Try that with your iPhone.
And that say that Mac heads are fanatical...