Traffic Mapping For Your Mobile Phone
In late July, Google announced that it will be offering live traffic information to mobile phones in more than thirty U.S. cities. Plans to provide the traffic feature to PCs are still in the works. The Google traffic feature will be released as an update to the free Google Maps for Mobile service, which has been available for 18 months for download on the Google web site. Google would not disclose how many subscribers it has, but it says the number is growing rapidly.
The feature expands Google's mapping technology into an area where Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo already have a presence, but in different ways. Yahoo and Microsoft offer real-time traffic information on their Web-based mapping services for PCs. Microsoft has chosen to move into the mobile ?space? by licensing traffic-monitoring technology for mobile devices to a Kirkland-based startup, InRix Inc. Yahoo currently has no mobile traffic service. MapQuest, an AOL property, offers traffic reports over cell phones for $2.99 per month.
With typical bombast, Microsoft announced that when operable, the InRix mobile service will actually predict upcoming traffic problems ? however currently the MSN mobile mapping technology provides no traffic information at all.
In the cities where it works, the Google feature will show traffic conditions on most major highways - indicating green for clear roadways, yellow for medium congestion and red for high congestion or stopped traffic. Google Maps will work on most Java-enabled phones offered by Cingular and Sprint and all color BlackBerry devices. The service does not currently work on phones from other major carriers such as Verizon or T-Mobile USA. Google Maps sends the data ? obtained from an undisclosed source - every five minutes.
Although Google's free service doesn't identify traffic hazards or accidents, it will let drivers know if there is a clogged road. Google also shows the expected drive time for a route when phone users search for driving directions. It has introduced a feature that lets users save their favorite locations and frequently used driving directions for future use.
The three search engines are not alone, however. In February, Rand McNally Traffic began offering a downloadable mobile application that delivers news of real-time traffic flow, accidents, weather conditions and road closures to 94 cities. Rand McNally Traffic is available on Sprint, Nextel, AT&T Wireless and other services for $3.99 a month.
Media giant Clear Channel Communications' Total Traffic Network feeds content in 125 markets in the country to 15 services. One of them provides the information to subscribers with Sprint mobile phones for a $9.99 monthly subscription. That service is relatively new. In addition to weather conditions and traffic information, the service also provides data on gas station prices.
Cell phones are rapidly turning into GPS devices, with localized information as an added feature. It remains to be seen how many people will turn to their cell phone screens for traffic news, one eye on the road and another on the phone. In some states and several local jurisdictions, it is already illegal to use a handheld cell phone while driving. Some of these jurisdictions allow hands free use, but that won?t help with a visual feature. It will be interesting to see if this new functionality is limited by governmental concern over safe driving habits.
Madison Lockwood is a customer relations associate for http://www.apollohosting.com. She helps clients understand how a website may benefit them both personally and professionally. Apollo Hosting provides website hosting, ecommerce hosting, & VPS hosting to a wide range of customers.
Phone Resources:
Cellular Phone and PDA Keypads Are Obsolete Due To New Cursor Control Device
Origo Corporation of Summit, NJ is announcing the development of a Dual-Axis-Cursor Control "DACC" device for mobile handheld Cell Phones and PDAs. Dual Roller miniature mouse is more accurate than all other applications currently on the market, including finger or stylus noperable touch screens and optical IR sensors. Future super sharp high resolution mobile displays need a supersharp cursor control. This new control can be operated with one hand with the same accuracy as a conventional mouse. What you can see, you can pick.
Get a "Virtual Phone Number" - Eliminate Long Distance Charges with VoIP Phone Service
There's a revolution brewing in the telephone industry. But it's not the recent demise of AT&T or the failure of Worldcom.
Free PC to Phone Calls: The Computer is Now The Free Call Making Phone
The technology that is perhaps making headlines in the mediums being used by human beings is VoIP in the present era and the improvements that are being provided with this technology are wonderful enough to entice users all over the world to shift their tools of making phone calls using the VoIP technology.
Cellular Phones – Things to Consider When Buying a Phone
Staying connected with a cell phone has become a way of life for most people. As a result, there are many types of cell phones on the market.
Advantages Of VoIP Broadband Phone Service
There are many advantages of VoIP broadband phone service. Over the next couple of years phone over Internet will be the norm for most homes and businesses.
Cell Phone Terminology - The ABCs of Cellular Phones
If you are planning to take a trip overseas and want to know if your present cell phone will work, you will need to know the meaning of a variety of cell phone terms Most of these definitions deal with cell phone networks and the types of phones that can be used with them
Making PC to Phone VoIP Calls over Dial-Up Internet Connections
There's a lot of hype these days surrounding Internet-based voice communications (VoIP) replacing traditional telephone service. Most of this revolves around companies such as Vonage who coin themselves as the 'Broadband Phone Company'.
Oxygen Phone Manager Series: Bringing Access to a Cell Phone by Means of PC
It has become much easier and cheaper to register for Oxygen Phone Manager Series since the introduction of Software as a Service offer (5.95 Euro a month).
PDA Cell Phones - the New Generation of Wireless Phones
It's time you know what the latest technological gadget is. In fact, this new toy is buzzing everywhere nowadays.
Free PC to Phone Calls: Shrink The World With VoIP
Does the thought of phone bills gives you creeps? Do you still dread the post which may bring your phone bill? Then you surely need the VoIP telephony remedy as it is known to have given relief to numerous others like you smitten with communication expenses.
VoIP Broadband Phone Services Explained
VOIP stands for Voice Over Internet Protocol and it is the technology which makes it possible to make telephone calls over your broadband internet connection instead of through the traditional telephone network. There are a variety of telecommunications companies now providing VOIP phone services which allow you to make cheap or sometimes free telephone calls through your internet connection.
What's Your IQ on Basic PC Phone (VoIP) Knowledge
Short T/F quiz1. T / F You can save a significant amount of money using VoIP rather than traditional telephone/cell phone calling methods.
Sprint PCS Cellular Phones
Almost everyone, in regards to phone services, is familiar with the name Sprint. Founded in year 1899 in Abilene Kansas, by a man named Cleyson L. Brown, Sprint telephone company was then called Brown Telephone Company. Brown Telephone Company underwent a quick growth spurt due to its technical advances, and became great in the telephone industry by the year 1976. However, it wasn't until 1989 that Sprint International emerged as a worldwide name. Sprint's sudden success was in part because of its series of technological advances such as the first nationwide fiber-optic transmission, as well as the first fiber-optic transatlantic phone call.
Voip Broadband Phones - What Should You Know?
The expanded form of VOIP is Voice Over Internet Protocol. The most significant factor that affects the functioning of the VOIP phones is the Broadband Internet Connection, which is a high-speed internet connection and will be used for making and receiving phone calls. As there is a use of broadband internet connection in VOIP phones, they are also known as, "Broadband phones."
Cellular Phone Rental - A New Way To Use A Cell Phone
In today?s day and age, most of us are never without our cell phones. Tucked in our pockets, slipped into our purses, and never out of reach, the cell phone has delivered us to a higher, more efficient level of communication. But as we all know, cell phones and cell phone service come at a price. And for some, that price makes cell phone ownership cost-prohibitive. Luckily, the ability for cellular phone rental gives everyone the ability to use a cell phone regardless of their budget.