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 Nairobi and the country as a whole.
"We have 75 per ceof all roads in the country covered under the turn-by-turn navigation feature which allows ease of movement," said Mr Evans Arabu who is the 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 optimised 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 utilise the basic Google Maps feature. The information giant has so far mapped 80 per cent of the population: 35,000 schools, 7,000 hospitals and 200,000 points of interest such as businesses, is working on availing the application in Swahili.
From: /The Star
