Google has now added support for real-time traffic routing to the Maps Navigation Beta on Android. The addition will now let users re-route based on real-time traffic information taken from both historical cached data as well as data taken from other Google Maps Navigation users to find the best way around a jam. The new update also automates re-routing so that no action needs to be taken while driving, further simplifying the process.
Humberto Saabedra
Humberto Saabedra is the Editor-in-Chief of AnimeNews.biz, PhoneNews.com and an occasional columnist for Ani.me. He can also be found musing on things at @AnimeNewsdotbiz
Can someone get this right, Google maps has always had that screen in the post! It gives you one to three routes with traffic, they just moved the button.
What I want to know is re-routing automatic without being able to turn it off, if so that’s going to be a great reason to stop using Google Nav. Yep, I hate fiction and unreported traffic!
Vic,
What has changed is that the routing has improved. Users are now sending live feedback through their driving patterns to help the re-routing.
Also, alternate routes are now auto-queried, so you no longer need to pull up the screen shown in the article, but when you do it will have (even) more accurate drive times.
Christopher,
Thanks, but that’s kind of a vague answer. Fear not I will have at least 10 couriers giving it a shot.
Google Nav’s(GN) routing engine has always been not as good as Garmin’s. I’m talking routes without any traffic intervention. What I fear is what happens if you let a Garmin redraw a route because of traffic automatically happen on GN. You see Google and Garmin are traffic data handicapped by bad traffic data. In point of fact before INRIX made it’s recent policy change it had the most compressive and accurate traffic data in the US. Google traffic on the other hand did start to display some city arteries but is not as good as INRIX, as a mater of fact check for yourself and go from Gmaps to MapQuest to Yahoo maps and tell me.
Believe it or not, but MapQuest(on a PC) beats all currently, I don’t expect Google to provide better traffic, it doesn’t sell adds
I go to one of my customers every day and can run a Garmin and GN at the same time and GN will, every time, take me out of my way and into stop light hell and the distance on both routes is within .1 of a mile!
I have no idea what you mean by auto-Q, but I’ll find out.
I hope they are relying on the cell sites and not Latitude!
Christopher,
I hope I’m not shouting in the wind here, but I am vindicated, Google is junk science. I went from Baltimore to DC and Google tried to lead me astray, but I wasn’t having it. I fired INRIX up and saw no traffic where Google showed what looked like about a half hour of it! So they can adjust some server settings, but without adjusting their route algorithms and buying a better class of traffic data this is nothing more than a bad press release, or worse if you believe them when they say historical and actual data.
Two side notes, searching (to find gas along the way, but probably to sell advertising)while on a route in GN now works, and Google places does once. If you try a second time it fails, the only way to use places a second time is to exit GN!
And INRIX was updated today, check it out, you will have a story. What kind of road blocks and speed cameras are now in there!
Google needs a user that uses this stuff!