It seems that getting lost isn’t as easy as it used to be.
MapQuest, the Pennsylvania-based location services company,
announced Send to Phone to take the edge off of asking for directions.
For $3.99 a month, the new feature allows
MapQuest Mobile subscribers to send color maps and driving directions from
MapQuest.com directly to their cell phones. MapQuest Mobile is available on an increasing number of compatible cell
phones from almost every major U.S. wireless carrier, according to
the company.
The service, jointly developed with New York-based mobile publisher
Vindigo, requires subscribers to visit MapQuest.com to retrieve
maps or directions. Subscribers then click on the Send to Phone link
and input their cell phone numbers to transfer the messages.
“With Send to Phone, users can request maps and directions from home or
work and have the comfort of knowing that when they turn to their cell
phones for information, the specific maps and directions that they have
created will be ready and waiting for them,” Tommy McGloin, senior vice
president and general manager of MapQuest, said in a statement.
The latest offering expands on existing MapQuest technology, which
enables users to request and access maps and directions directly from their
cell phones.
McGloin said the technology gives users the power and convenience to
choose exactly how, where and what kind of information they receive.
In related news, keeping pace with the trend to electronically map the
world, Yahoointroduced its own service that lets users view live local
U.S. traffic conditions. The company has not released any plans that include
offering the product on mobile phones.