It seems like nobody wants to be left behind in the race for developing the best on the go mapping solutions. First it was Google with all their goodness regarding the 3D mapping and taking maps offline, Apple followed by introducing their own application and turn by turn navigation, and it seems now it’s the turn of the third big
player as far as the smart phones are concerned to make drastic improvements to their maps.
Microsoft has announced that Windows Phone 7 is getting enhanced traffic features on the maps. It is well and good that maps show us the right route to travel but what about the volume of traffic there? We may not always want to travel by the most hustling roads. So to solve this Microsoft has made some very interesting changes to the maps.
Scott Barton, Microsoft’s Maps program manager quoted “Depending on where you live, you might see highways and major roads change color. Green roads are clear; yellow and orange roads are congested. And if you’re traveling on a red road, make sure to bring an interesting friend to pass the time with while you wait in traffic. Black roads are closed. If no roads change color, then traffic information isn’t available for your area.”
These traffic improvements will be available in the following countries to start off: Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. We are indeed delighted to see India there and the fact that Microsoft is taking the Indian market so seriously since Indians could really profit from such a thing.
