One of those extremely useful features I miss having in my car’s navigation is traffic data. I simply do not want to pay the fees to XM for the every now and then that I need it. But when I need it, it always seems worth while.

Google announced that Google Maps Navigation now has built in traffic support. The free navigation app will now give you the option to go around traffic, if you so desire – and yes, for free.

Google explained:

Google Maps traffic data always seems very accurate and real-time to me, so I suspect this will be a popular feature amongst Android drivers.

Forum discussion at Google Mobile Help.