Business
Google Kenya launches turn-by-turn navigation in the country – maybe extended to region
Owners of smart phones in Kenya will now be able to enjoy an advanced version of Google Maps following the launch of the application’s turn-by-turn navigation feature.
The turn-by-turn navigation feature, demonstrated to journalists by software technicians at Google Kenya, allows a user to move from one location to the next with accuracy as the information giant has integrated more data on roads within the capital Nairobi, and the country as a whole.
“We have 75 percent of all roads in the country covered under the turn-by-turn navigation feature which allows ease of movement,” said Evans Arabu, Program Manager at Google Kenya.
Arabu added that with advancements in mapping, users of the application on either the android or iOS platform can assist in mapping the areas that are not yet covered through collaborative mapping.
“Through the map maker feature of Google Maps (mapmaker.google.com) users are able to plot more points on the existing maps,” Arabu said adding that over the last three years there have been over 500,000 changes made by over 15,000 map makers.
The turn-by-turn navigation feature that is optimized for users as it is voice-enabled can also be used when walking. It is however only hosted on smartphones which are compatible with GPS.
Feature enabled phones cannot use the turn-by-turn navigation feature though they can utilize the basic Google Maps feature.
