Google Maps (India) softly launches Driving Directions

Google Maps India has launched driving directions feature enabling users to look for directions on the map. The feature was first introduced in Mapmaker (around Feb timeframe) and the same is now available on Maps.

While this feature was available for US, it has been made available in India (post Mapmaker launch – which i believe helped Google in collecting data).
It seems as if Google India Maps is feeding data from user generated content produced on Google mapmaker (Mapmaker has ‘Turn Restrictions’ feature that one can edit; the feature allows one to indicate if the turn from one road on to another (or a U-turn) is allowed or not – essentially helping Google in figuring out the right driving direction).

Go Djikstra!

Do give Google Maps’ driving direction (via) a spin and share your feedback.

Other development in navigation space:

Lost in the Middle? Call SatNav (has launched Voice Based Navigation Service)
VidTeq – Video Maps for Bangalore [Fancy or Need?]
Navteq to Power Microsoft’s Live Map Data
Y! launches India maps: Landmark based driving, can calculate auto rickshaw fares too!
Other companies in this space: RouteGuru, MapmyIndia, Rediff Maps, BigMaps.

What does all this mean?

The next wave of monetization is going to be on local search space (see our coverage of local search market in India) -the attempt is to tap local advertisers (who are mainly using print and voice channel for advertising).