Google launches live traffic maps on mobile phones

In yet another innovative product, it looks like Google has made live traffic maps available for viewing directly on a mobile phone screen, according to this Reuters story. Google appears to be trying to release a product almost every single week these days. With Google's mobile live traffic maps being offered in 30 major U.S. cities right at launch, this is further evidence that Google is trying to make itself indispensable to the customer from every modern information angle -- personal computer and mobile phones are the top two, yes?

By visiting www.google.com/gmm on a mobile phone with a built-in browser (almost any cellphone these days), the application can be downloaded and immediately used. Even if you don't live in one of the 30 major cities listed as available right now, there is partial information available on many other cities as well. With Yahoo! and Google battling it out on every front -- including the mobile space which will only heat up further -- the battle lines are already being drawn.

By contract, mobile phones in Japan are used more than computers for Internet access (and have been for a while). As wireless data networks become more prevalent here in the U.S., expect more innovative mobile offerings from Google -- a fact that CEO Eric Schmidt has hinted at several times recently.