Google Maps Beefs up Traffic, More than Just Highways

Google Maps on the Pre may not have all the features we'd like (hello Street View!), but it does show traffic.  The Official Google Blog, who lets us know that "arterials" (that's major roads to you) have been added to the already-existing US highways, so you now have more traffic information.

Here's a bonus - if you're one of the many people who shrugged their shoulders and has the "Background Data Collection" setting set to ON in Location Services, then you are letting Google know how fast you're moving on a given road if Google Maps is open, which in turn gives them crowdsourced data on traffic conditions.

Of course, location privacy and the Pre has been a contentious issue of late, so Google takes care to let you know that they're anonymizing and deleting this data.  Sadly, their instructions for opting out of providing them this information could use a clarification (they recommend turning location services off completely rather than just the Background Data Collection option).

In any case, more traffic info is good news. Now if we could just get some Latitude and Street View action, we'll start feeling a little better about Google Maps and the Pre.