Web search giant Google, inc. on Tuesday released an update of its Maps for Mobile service, a software system that will turn a cell phone into a vehicle navigation system,

The product will have comprehensive functionality in 30 urban centers in the United States, but will come with less than full functionality elsewhere. However, it will include a crucial feature: the ability to store frequently used searches and driving directions.

The software, installed on phones capable of supporting such applications, allows the user to access up-to-date traffic information, said the Mountain View, a California-based company.

Cell phone users must download Google Maps for Mobile software from the web through their phone's browser, and then they can see driving directions, along with the current traffic conditions and the expected driving time.

The information is color-coded so the user has a quick way of recognizing which routes are congested and which are free. Red represents traffic jams, yellow represents slow conditions, and green is the driver's cue to hit cruise control.

In a related announcement, Google said mobile users would now be able to personalize their home page, making the all-important web navigation to oft-used sites and services easier.

Users of Google's personalized mobile home page can now determine what shows up on the page and also the order in which the content is served.

It will be a product that appeals to the gadget lover, the urbanite, and those who have a phobia about asking for directions, analysts said.

"Being able to invoke stored routes makes things a lot easier," Roger Kay, principal analyst of Technologies Associates, told IT magazine Red Herring.

"It means fewer clicks to find and update the information. It's another example of Google figuring it out, and getting a product out there with the right kind of feature set."

Source: Xinhua