Google Maps Mobile

Imagine the benefits to your business if you can make it very easy for customers to arrive at your business without travel delays and without getting lost.

The commonly perceived Global Positioning System (GPS) technology for Location Based Services (LBS) is quite expensive. Now Google has come up with a handy technology called Google Maps. It is accessible on the web at http://maps.google.com/. The site contains detailed road maps of almost every part of the world. Earlier this site could be used only with a computer. Now a version of Google Maps, called Google Maps Mobile is available for all mid and high segment mobile phones. The software can be downloaded directly to mobile phones from www.google.com/gmm. After loading, the software connects to the Internet and map images are transferred to the phone. The images are especially designed to be displayed on small screens so they load quickly and are quite clear.

You can mark your business on Google Maps and it will also be marked on Google Maps Mobile simultaneously. This can become one of your very effective marketing tools used for business as a business traveller can access the location of your business on their mobile phone without the hassle of having to call you or to use their computer.

The brilliance of this application is it allows the user to choose two locations on the map and the software finds the road route between them. It provides information on the convenience of taking a certain road, one – way roads, approximate distance and time required.

The software is still in development but soon all countries and territories will be effectively covered. Most US and EU neighbourhoods are already covered. Some cities in the US are presently covered for traffic conditions also. The information is monitored and updated 24/7. So if a customer, executive, stakeholder, partner or any other person beneficial to your business is on their way they can actually be informed of the easiest route to your business.

The software is free. There is a charge for the transferred data while you are online. If you are on an unlimited data usage GPRS plan it is almost entirely free.

Google Maps Mobile is the technology sure to become indispensable to anyone. With a bit of creative thinking, business owners can put the innovation to a great variety of uses not just for enhancing convenience but as a powerful marketing tool as well.

Date Added: July 14, 2007 05:26:50 PM