On Tuesday Google had announced the launch of the highly awaited service, Navigation in India. This feature comes pre-loaded on most of the Android mobiles and tablets as it provides turn-by-turn assistance to the commuters, regardless of the mode of transit. A voice guided navigation is also possible after you dowload the free application SpeechSynthesis Data Installer available on the Google Play store.

The feature is not a new one as it was present in most phone based on the Google's Android OS but this feature would prompt a message saying "this service is not available in your region". It only showed the route earlier.

Though Google had launched the service, Navigation is still in the Beta testing stage and users should excercise caution while trying out "Navigation". High end Nokia mobiles earlier provided the voice navigation services for free while a few other devices like Tom Tom or the MapMyIndia were other popular navigation systems used by Indians but they come at a price. Other third party navigation systems were not accurate but for Sygic Navigation.

Live traffic updates can also be understood from the same Navigation service. Traffic information is displayed in a color coded scheme: red for significant congestion, yellow for minor slow-downs, and green for free-flowing traffic. Google Maps Navigation would also take traffic data into account when calculating directions.

(AW- Anil)