14 DAY TRIAL // Owners of devices running under Microsoft’s Windows Phone operating system can now enjoy better traffic coverage when using the Maps application.
The app, which delivers maps data from Microsoft’s Bing Maps service, can provide users with info on traffic conditions through the Show Traffic option in its menu.
The feature was there before but, given the recent enhancement that Microsoft brought to Bing Maps through getting data from Nokia’s Maps service, it was improved a bit.
According to Microsoft’s Scott Borton, the partnership with Nokia resulted in traffic conditions being offered for an increased number of highways, as well as for secondary streets, so that users can be better informed on planning routes.
For those who never used Maps on Windows Phone, we should note that highways and major roads are colored depending on the traffic conditions on them. As traffic changes, so does the color, to keep users on top of what lies ahead.
Thus, green roads are clear, while yellow and orange roads are congested. There are also red roads, where traffic is heavy, and black roads, which are closed.
“If no roads change color, then traffic information isn’t available for your area,” Scott Borton also explains.
The new traffic information is available for major cities in the United States, and it would soon become available for Windows Phone users in other markets around the world as well, Microsoft announced.
Soon, the new traffic data will be available in selected cities in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, 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.
“If you live in any of these countries and the Windows Phone Maps app doesn’t currently show a traffic option, expect to see it become available sometime in the next few weeks,” Scott Borton continues.
