Sunnyvale, Calif. — Palm announced today a new wireless, real-time traffic service for Treo Smartphones in ten markets.
The service provides traffic updates by Metrocommute every two to five minutes, which may be viewed on a graphical map on the Treo. A traffic incident appears as a blinking icon on the map that the user may tap on to get detailed information such as traffic speed. The Treo then displays alternative map views of less congested roads. The system also displays color-coded alerts with red signifying more severe traffic and yellow indicating a minor delay.
Traffic for Treo Smartphones is not a turn-by-turn navigation system with point-to-point directions. It does, however, offer real-time traffic reports displayed graphically on a map. The user can set the Treo to receive these traffic updates every five minutes, said Palm.
Traffic for Treo Smartphones will be offered initially in Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. Users may download the application and get a free 14-day trial. The service plan fee is $4.99 per month for one city, $7.99 for two cities, or $14.99 a month for all cities.
The new Traffic application is available for the Palm Treo 600 and 650.
