Two weekends ago in Boulder I used Google Maps to drive from Denver Airport to our hotel in Boulder with no wrong turns, and then to the music venue. We drove up in the mountains surrounding Boulder (a hundred miles or more) and then back to our hotel in one straight shot. When we parked and started exploring on foot, I dropped a pin on the map where we parked so we could find our way back to the car.
Slick.
But this weekend, I was using the map to get to a unfamiliar destination in the south end of Seattle, and as I headed down the freeway, the little voice came on my phone and said, "There is traffic congestion ahead. You could save four minutes by taking an alternate route." So I hopped off the freeway and took surface streets. Sure enough, just as I got to the exit ramp, traffic was at a dead standstill ahead.
This was, to the best of my recollection, the first time the map application had ever alerted me to traffic congestion. I knew it had that capability -- in fact I think I turned it on in the app on purpose -- but what a boon this could be. Imagine, not just directions from A to B, but the quickest route based on traffic. Your own private cabby.
Later, the app told me to turn up a road that was closed that day for some construction, so it ain't perfect yet. But it's coming someday.
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