WHO: Google

WHAT: Launch of live traffic updates in Google Maps for mobile

WHERE: http://mobile.google.com
   NOTE: For b-roll or video footage of Google Maps for
   mobile, please visit www.thenewsmarket.com/google.
   Screenshots of GMM available on request.

WHEN: Tuesday, June 25, 2006

WHY: Summer's here and people across the country are hitting
   the highways in record numbers. Whether you're traveling
   for fun or for work, Google has a product update that's
   designed to make your drive time easier.

   Today Google announced an update to Google Maps for mobile
   that will enable consumers in the U.S. to view
   comprehensive information on traffic conditions in more
   than 30 major metropolitan areas – and partial information
   in many others – right from their mobile devices.

   After downloading Google Maps for mobile through their
   mobile phone's web browser, users simply move to the
   desired location within the application and select "show
   traffic" in the menu. The most up-to-date traffic
   information will be sent directly to the users' mobile
   device, and will highlight the conditions on the covered
   commuter routes using red, yellow, and green overlays.

   In addition, when mobile phone users search for driving
   directions, they will now see the expected drive time as
   well as any unexpected traffic delays, making travel
   planning much easier and more effective. And another new
   feature – the ability to store their favorite searches and
   driving directions – will allow users to access frequently
   used routes and compare traffic conditions on them.

   To download Google Maps for mobile, users simply visit
   google.com/gmm from their phone's web browser.

   Also today, Google announced that users now have the
   ability to customize the content that appears on the
   mobile version of their Personalized Homepage, making it
   even easier for mobile phone users to quickly get the
   information they need when away from their computers.

   When users log in to Personalized Home on their desktop
   and click on the "mobile" link, they will be able to
   customize the content they see the next time they log on
   to their Personalized Home on their mobile device. Not
   only can they customize content, but users can also
   specify the order in which content on their mobile device
   appears.

http://digg.com/tech_news/Live_Traffic_Updates_Through_Google_Maps_for_Mobile

Corsin you beat me to it!!

LOL,

i did what?

To the news first, I was just gonna post a new thread and I see yours "1 minute ago" ...

http://www.google.com/gmm/tour.html?hl=en
Go to "NY" or an other city and you will see traffic

At work! I have no flash installed!

TOM, can you post some screenshots

Corsin, where do I subscribe to these releases, do you know? I'm subscribed to a normal press release list but this one didn't reach me...

Investor relations

iZeitgeist
This is for you :)

http://cocaman.ch/images/google_mobile_maps_traffic.gif

and it is Java, not Flash

Philipp:

http://www.google.com/press/index.html – box at your right.

AND http://www.thenewsmarket.com/google

For the 1st one I just registred your email =)

Aww! That's so kind of you Corsin! A .gif just for me ;-p

Thanks buddy

does this mean we'll be able to see the traffic information on non-mobile google maps?

Corsin, I cant gett it working on my blackberry.. :(-

I am point to NYC and its not feeding nada....

anone has the list of 30 cities that they are beta'ing ??

Wow, looks great on my PDA Phone (Samsung i730). They even have traffic for Indianpolis. Nobody else has a good implementation of this on the pc, let alone mobile.

http://google.com/gmm/faq.html#7b all I have found so far

I've added a video showing the new mobile maps feature, courtesy of Google:
http://blogoscoped.com/videos/google-maps-mobile.mpg

(The file size is ~28 megs though the video is only half a minute long...)

Just a tip, how about .flv for your videos?

My preference is MPG, a good standalone movie formant, but sometimes I'm stuck with WMV...

PS: If you can convert this MPG to something smaller I'll upload it...

I can't even download it here at the office

This is awesome! They also added a feature to save favorite places, which is cool.

The only problem I had is I had an older version, and this new version didn't overwrite it. It also didn't inherit the search history from the older version, which would have been convenient.

why don't you just upload it to google video and then embed it philipp?

Gnarr!! Google did it again

CORRECTING and REPLACING ADVISORY/Google Makes Drive Time Easier With Live Traffic Updates Through Google Maps for Mobile

In the WHEN section of release the date should read Tuesday, July 25, 2006 (sted Tuesday, June 25, 2006).

The corrected release reads:
....

the second correction within 1 week (2 press releases, 2 corrections)

Google Maps Mobile still does NOT work with Nextel or BREW-enabled phones from Verizon, Alltel, U.S. Cellular, etc. GMM also doesn’t work from any Palm devices like a Treo. If your phone and wireless provider qualifies today’s news also has several new personalization options available.

   A Small Selection of Sources for Mobile Traffic Info
Links to all of these services can be found here:
http://www.resourceshelf.com/2006/07/25/google-mobile-adds-traffic-info-on-google-maps-mobile/

+ Forget Maps. SEE YOUR TRAFFIC. Trafficland.com’s AirVideo Service (DC Metro only at the moment) offers LIVE traffic cameras (see the roads) on your mobile device (including Treo’s and Blackberry’s).

TrafficLand’s web service continues to expand into MORE cities. Cool! AirVideo offers a two week trial. The web-based Trafficland service is free.

+ The City of New York offers a page of traffic cameras optimized for mobile users.

+ California (Bay Area): SigAlert.com offers a mobile service with real time data, cameras, maps, and traffic times. The also provide traffic updates via RSS.

+ Wiresoft Offers Traffic For Mobile Devices (Maps too!) for Several Metro Areas. Details here. Cities include:
+ Baltimore/Washington DC, MD, VA
+ Canadian Border
+ Chicago, IL
+ Denver, CO
+ Minneapolis, MN
+ Phoenix, AZ
+ Portland, OR
+ Salt Lake City, UT
+ San Diego, CA
+ San Francisco, CA
+ Seattle/Tacoma, WA

+ MSN Offers Highly Localized Text Traffic Reports via SMS. Work well.

+ Synfonic Offers Local Traffic (text) for the SF Bay Area via SMS.

+ Traffic.com Offers Real-Time Traffic Reports Delivered RSS to your Mobile Device, Via RSS, and E-Mail. Alerts, too!
They also offer (free) interactive traffic. Speak your routing info and get a report. Free!

+ RandMcNally-Real Time Traffic Maps
Info for 96 metro areas. Available for many wireless carriers and phones. Fee-based.

+ Non-U.S.: UK: Traffic TV Mobile. More here.

UK: GetmeThere.co.uk offers numerous services including text messaging, traffic cams, and more.

++ NOTE: MSN Auto and Yahoo Maps offer real time traffic info. Google Maps does not offer this feature.

Again, links to these tools are available here:
http://www.resourceshelf.com/2006/07/25/google-mobile-adds-traffic-info-on-google-maps-mobile/

For Adam in Indianapolis:

I think WISH-TV does a nice job with their non-mobile traffic service. All sorts of ways to sort the data.
http://www.wishtv.com/Global/link.asp?L=18992&nav=menu35_9

The real-time routing feature is also cool.

This station offers real-time traffic cams (often much more accurate and timely than a written report).
http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=824342&nav=9Tam9fEC
Btw, although far from ideal, the WTHR traffic cams are viewable in my Treo browser. What I would do is bookmark the cams of greatest value before hitting the roads.

It's a pitty that it isn't just an on-line application. It's probably easier to make it more interactive with a java application but just a simple on-line tool to request a road map would already be very interesting to me...

My Windows Mobile doesn't do Java, so ...

Anyone that nows a good on-line map that's viewable on my mobile IE browser? (With European maps, I know I ask a lot ;-))

Anyone know how Google is collecting this traffic information?

> why don't you just upload it to google video and then embed it philipp?

Didn't think of that, good idea... my Windows Move Maker couldn't handle the MPG for some reason... next time I'll do it. For now Corsin came to rescue:
http://cocaman.ch/wp/wp-content/plugins/flvplayer/flvplayer.swf?file=http://cocaman.ch/download/google-maps-mobile.flv

Gary Price, the living web encyclopedia :)

Art-One: One of the side effects of it being a standalone app (I believe) is that it allows you to just select a link that says "Call" to automatically call a business without re-entering the number. That and it probably also handles image caching and search history/favorites in a space-efficient way.

Thx for the info Niraj, I'll have to buy me a java capable machine :P

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/07/26/google_traffic_news_launch/

It can only be a matter of "when" before a Google user drives into a tree, trying to see which roads are congested, on the display of their mobile phone. But probably, traffic message channel (TMC) information users (like Trafficmaster) will already have hit the same tree.

Installed on my Nokia 9500, works like a champ, everytime,...no issues yet,..!!