Not Just Highways Anymore

Google Maps just got more high tech. We all remember how awesome it was when Google Maps first came out...you could scroll in and out to see as much (or as little) detail as you wanted. Next came traffic, yes actual traffic on major highways! Green was good and Red was bad. Thanks Google. That actually was useful. Why didn't anyone think of this before? Plus, don't forget the satellite images, street view, and public transportation trip planner.

Now Google is taking it to a whole other level. What's the point of avoiding the red highways when you have no idea what the traffic is like on all those other (they call them 'Arterial') roads? Well as of today, you no longer have to worry. Google maps now gives you traffic information for these other medium sized high traffic roads so you can plan your trip accordingly.

What's actually cooler is that Google Maps is now using crowdsourcing to get traffic info. What do I mean? Say you're using Google Maps on your iPhone and you turn on 'GPS enabled.' This actually sends data back and forth letting Google Maps know how fast you're moving, ultimately updating the traffic you're viewing on Google Maps...Imagine if everyone 'GPS enabled' themselves...everywhere. You'd have a pretty accurate traffic asseseement wouldn't you? Oh yeah, you can also now get live traffic updates, view the average traffic patterns on a specific day and time too.

Google maps does it once again...Aside from google search I think Google Maps has been one of (if not the) most useful pieces of technology our favorite company has produced. Keep up the good work!