Navteq offers free traffic updates on your mobile phone

It's a good day to drive in San Francisco.

(Credit: CNET/NAVTEQ)

Navteq announced today it has released a new version of its free Navteq Traffic mobile Web site.

The mobile site is accessible from any Web-connected device (mobile phone, PDA, etc.) and offers free up-to-the-minute traffic flow and incident information and travel times for over 50 major cites and their surrounding areas. Data is displayed in map form as familiar color overlays of major highways. Green indicates unobstructed traffic. Red is congestion, with shades of yellow and orange between.

In addition to map data, users can view traffic hot spots, complete with Navteq's Jam Factor numerical measurement and color coding, as a list in order of most congested or alphabetically. Registering with the MyTraffic service on Traffic.com allows users check for congestion along their saved routes.

While this is a free service, some of the pages feature unobtrusive banner advertisements. Navigating the map was a little odd (for example East and West are on the wrong sides) and the interface won't compete with the Google Maps app on our iPhone or Windows Mobile phone for usability, but Navteq's site offers much-more-detailed information about traffic flow and incidents. Plus, it works on any phone with a browser.

Drivers can access the site at http://mobi.traffic.com on their mobile Web browsers.