It is increasingly becoming impossible to get lost in the city. Remember those days when we had an address scribbled on a piece of paper and went around in all directions, except the correct one?

There would be a Besant Avenue, Besant Road and Besant Street — in the same or adjacent localities. By the time we got to the correct Besant, we would have been driven round the bend.

Then map books came to our rescue. Published by companies such as Eicher and Naviga, they had accurate street-level information. Of course, you had to remember to carry the books. It was then only a matter of getting to the correct page.

The books are still available across stores, but what has changed the scene are digital maps. Google, Yahoo and Microsoft have online and mobile maps.

As with other products, Google has been ahead in developing its map software. Its attempt to introduce Street View hit a security block in Bangalore, but that has not stopped it from improving its maps in other areas. It recently introduced navigation (not voice) in its mobile maps. Next could be voice navigation.

But Nokia was one of the first to introduce voice navigation in mobile in India. There are also companies such as Sygic and Navigon that have voice navigation for India. I had used Nokia voice navigation some time ago and it was pretty good. I tried out Sygic last week and it navigated me to the destinations without any problem.

Google has now introduced Google Transit for a few cities. Transit lets you know the public transport you can take to reach your destination (including bus numbers!).

The day may not be far off when you will be able to track the buses in real time — sitting in your house — using GPS.

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