I’ve had a chance to use the app for the past 24 hours and can report that it generally works well, although there are a few areas and features that are rough around the edges. Mapquest’s SVP & GM Christian Dwyer told me he is pleased with the app but pointed out that it’s a “work in progress.”

In discussing the performance and success of the Mapquest iPhone app Dwyer said that it has seen “millions of downloads” and is used “at least at parity” with Google’s mapping app on the Apple device. Beyond this, Mapquest reports that 8.6 million people use Mapquest’s mobile site, 1.4 million of whom are on Android handsets. That growing Android user base was the impetus for creating the native Android app.

Here are some screens from the new Android app:

The following are the major features of the app:

• Voice-guided/Turn-by-turn Navigation: The phone speaks directions regarding where and when to make a turn
• Voice Search: Drivers can speak the desired destination for search and directions
• Map Toolbar: Easily find restaurants, coffee shops, gas stations and parking with one click
• Walking & Driving Directions: Recommends the best route and rotates the map based on orientation of travel
• Live Traffic Flow/Incidents: Extensive coverage updated every 5 minutes

The OpenStreetMap feature — Mapquest has created a “parallel universe” of maps online using OpenStreetMap data — enables users to correct and contribute data, as well as providing international maps and directions. Once the device crosses out of the US the OpenStreetMap data kick in, although they’re available to US users as well.

Personalization is one feature not yet present on Mapquest’s Android app however it is present in the iPhone app (“My Places”). Yet it’s coming, as are a range of new features and content, which probably will include deals according to Dwyer. He also told me that third party developers are showing interest  in partnering with Mapquest as an alternative to defaulting to Google’s maps and navigation.

Like the iPhone app, users can search for businesses or points of interest by keyword or category. They can also browse by using icons at the bottom of the screen (pictured above). Each business profile page features rich content and the ability to call or navigate to a business. Some of the data on these pages are from IAC’s CityGrid.

As a viable navigation app and substitute for some of the paid products in the market, Mapquest, together with Google Navigation and Nokia’s free Ovi Maps, put further pressure on the PND vendors and paid subscription model (e.g., VZ Navigator) and force companies such as TeleNav to become more creative and inventive to justify their pricing. Android users can get the app by scanning the QR code below:

There’s a wealth of information here (as one might expect from the CIA) about populations, culture, the economy (and of course the military). There are numerous charts and photos. There’s also an interesting “compare countries” feature. Those interested can click the “find the insurgents” button to locate political agitators in each geography (just kidding about that last one).

You can get information about climate, languages, religions and other data on a global basis. For example, you can quickly discover that Mandarin Chinese is spoken by 13 percent of the world’s population or that Buddhists constitute 6 percent of the world’s religious populations.

Ultimately if you drill down you get to Mapquest’s Open site (featuring OpenStreetMap data).

My one criticism is that the data aren’t available at the level of individual cities or population centers (e.g., New York). Otherwise it’s a valuable and easy to use site, perfect for its intended audience of students.

It’s great to see new stuff coming out of Mapquest, which Tim Armstrong & Co. at AOL appear to recognize is one of their “crown jewels.”

Having spoken to the relevant regulators, we have decided to start Street View driving in  Ireland, Norway, South Africa and Sweden again starting next week. We expect to add more countries in time. Our cars will no longer collect any WiFi information at all, but will continue to collect photos and 3D imagery as they did before . . .

Despite this effort, it’s not clear that European privacy authorities are ready to let Google completely off the hook. But the company should get points for quickly admitting the mistake and promptly addressing the issue.

Back in America, however, one entity that’s not ready to let Mountain View off the hook is Consumer Watchdog. The advocacy group is back with “Wi-Spy” allegations. Those assertions argue that Google has potentially — emphasis on the word potentially — captured sensitive information from several members of Congress whose homes were on Street View routes:

Google’s WiSpy snooping could have sucked up and recorded communications from members of Congress, some of whom are involved in national security issues, an investigation by Consumer Watchdog’s InsideGoogle.com has found.

Rep. Jane Harman, D-CA, a current member of the Homeland Security Committee and former member of the Intelligence Committee has at least one wireless network in her Washington, D.C., home that could have been breached by Google, Consumer Watchdog said.

The consumer group has written Harman and 18 other members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee whose homes are pictured on Google’s Street View which suggest their WiFi networks were scanned, and called for immediate hearings.

As others have pointed out, it’s unlikely that there were state secrets or national security information in Congressional Members’ private home email accounts or stored on their personal computers (let’s hope not). According to the persistent Google critic, below are the Representatives’ homes Google captured on Street View (see the full list here.)

While it’s important to protect privacy and “keep Google honest,” it appears there’s a bit of opportunism here on the part of Consumer Watchdog to inflame fears about Google and Street View. And now on to the less controversial “mapping features” part of the discussion.

Google has introduced what it’s calling 45° imagery. This is aerial imagery showing more than simply the rooftops of buildings and associated HVAC equipment. Below are a couple of representative shots; compare the unsatisfying satellite image with the more useful 45° photography:

I’ll get the call from Microsoft PR if I don’t point out that Bing Maps (rather its predecessor) has offered this type of view (“Bird’s Eye”) since late 2005.

The even more venerable Mapquest this morning introduced a new UK-based site built on OpenStreetMap, which will “live side-by-side” with Mapquest’s other UK site. Called Mapquest Open, it uses the crowdsourced maps and data of the open-source mapping project. AOL also contributed a million dollars to support the effort.

Here are two images that compare traditional (though recently redesigned Mapquest) with Mapquest Open (Open is first):

Mapquest Open is the direction that the company wants to go longer term. According to the release out earlier today:

“We believe that open source is ultimately the future for AOL’s local and mapping applications.  And we’re very excited about supporting OpenStreetMap, which powers the maps behind Patch, our local news and information platform. We believe community generated maps that are of high quality and accuracy will end up ultimately being the better mapping product for users.

The final item today, to come full circle in a sense, offers a way to visualize your Foursquare check-in history on a Google Map:

The current Google search deal expires in December of this year.

Sure, there are scores of search engines out there but only two that are able to genuinely compete for AOL’s business: Google and Microsoft. Yahoo’s not on the list because its index is going to be Bing/Microsoft before too long and the companies are in that transition process now. What Armstrong is negotiating for is an index and ad revenue share (and possibly revenue guarantees).

On the ad-related side the choice is clear: Google. The volume of advertisers and Google’s capacity to monetize search queries are unmatched, even in the new combined MicroHoo universe. But Microsoft, depending on how aggressive it wants to be, could potentially compensate with revenue guarantees.

Also potentially on the table could be maps. AOL has placed renewed emphasis on local, in which maps would be a critical offering.  MapQuest has lagged both Google Maps and Bing in terms of features and functionality. (Yahoo is now going to be outsourcing maps to Nokia/Navteq.)

I predicted on my personal blog that MapQuest would be outsourced to Microsoft and I think that’s a reasonable scenario and part of any likely negotiation with either party. However, that would make AOL further dependent on either partner going forward. The smart move would be to invest in MapQuest and its technology. However that’s unlikely given AOL’s need to keep costs in line and its decision to invest heavily in personnel and content production.

The company’s new mission is branded content producer, not technology platform developer. (Silicon Alley Insider argues that AOL is really negotiating to sell itself whole hog to Microsoft.)

MapQuest for years had been the leader in Maps and it’s still the top search term in Travel according to Hitwise. But in February of this year Google passed MapQuest to become the top mapping site for the first time. Throughout the rest of the next several months it seemed to trade the lead back and forth with Google. However Google has now established what appears to be a stable traffic advantage over MapQuest.

With the intention of closing some of the feature gaps that had opened up between MapQuest and rivals Google and Bing, the AOL-owned site has introduced “360 View” in 30 cities and 15 suburbs with a promise of more coverage to come. The imagery, I’m told, is provided by Immersive Media, which did some of the early Street View photography for Google.

To initiate the images you check a box “360 view” in the upper right on the map. Orange shading and lines indicate where the coverage is.

While it’s a nice addition to the feature set at MapQuest it doesn’t really break any new ground and will merely keep the site in the game. It’s unlikely to reverse the trend that now exists in the market.

The question now is whether Yahoo will finally decide it needs to play this game. The original interactive mapping innovator, Yahoo opted out of the mapping arms race between Google and Microsoft some time ago and has seen its fortunes decline directly and indirectly from failing to continue to invest in the product.

Now, with former Googler Tim Armstrong at the helm, the company’s independent strategy is focused on “premium content,” local information, advertising and “communications” (IM, etc.). AOL will continue to manage the decline of its ISP business over time. The positioning of the company makes it quite analogous to Yahoo, which is fighting for the same types of consumer usage and display ad dollars.

The company’s new mission statement is “To inform, entertain, and connect the world.”

AOL now employs more than 2000 full or part-time writers creating content across scores of sites. The company has just hired high profile NY Times tech journalist Saul Hansell to run Seed.com, the company’s new content management (and acquisition) platform. He will also be managing all those writers indirectly as well.

The strategy has many risks. While AOL is one of the top 5 US consumer destinations and owns the largest online ad network in the world, very few of its brands or sites occupies a leadership position any longer. MapQuest was surpassed this year by Google and there are rumors it may even be sold. I’m not sure whether AIM still tops the US IM market, it may. But most of AOL’s marquee properties, save a few, are diminished from what they once were.

AOL doesn’t really have a social media asset (unless you’re talking about IM; Bebo is an also-ran). Its video sites are losing share. Its local assets are many and varied but in a way incoherent; and if the company sells MapQuest (or keeps it and neglects it) it won’t succeed there either. Its share of search is flat-to-declining and there’s very little being done in the mobile arena. It owns mobile ad network Third Screen, but there’s little going on in the way of innovation or competitive offerings on the consumer side.

Tim Armstrong and team have their work cut out for them.

Among other things, they have to decide how much to try and focus on rebuilding the AOL brand or focus on supporting and building individual, subsidiary brands. The latter approach had been the strategy given the “Internet with training wheels” association that had come to be attached to AOL. But it would be unwise to not try to update and reinvent the AOL brand itself, which the company seems to be trying to do.

Another decision that Tim A. & Co. will  need to make is who will support their search engine: Google or Microsoft?

Google invested $1 billion for a 5 percent stake in AOL in 2005 to block Microsoft from buying the company or using the portal to boost search market share. AOL was then Google’s largest partner and the investment made a great deal of sense. Today, arguably, Google doesn’t need AOL as much, even though Bing is better and much  more competitive than Live Search was then. Google wrote down the value of the AOL investment by roughly 70% not long ago, reflecting the diminished value of the AOL property overall. Prior to the spin off, TimeWarner bought it back for $283 million.

Next year Google’s search deal with AOL expires. Microsoft will want to capture that relationship and traffic. Tim Armstrong will want to play both off against each other and start a bidding war of sorts. But I suspect both Microsoft and Google will be reluctant to engage in one. My hunch is that Microsoft, which is the “hungrier” of the two parties, may emerge the victor. But it remains to be seen.

The new iPhone MapQuest4Mobile app offers a rich environment with innovative new features. There’s a great deal of personalization available and the app integrates the online and mobile experiences very nicely. The strategy here involves getting people invested in MapQuest4Mobile through personalization (MyPlaces) and customization (place widgets), as well as PC-mobile integration.

Directions, including multipoint routing, are well executed. Users can easily change the order of several stops on a multipoint trip by dragging one or more of those stops to a different position in the order. The route is recalculated accordingly.

When viewing directions in a list form, users can turn the phone (landscape) and see what MapQuest is calling “max maneuver” mode. Each step in the route occupies the full screen (second image below). This is helpful if the iPhone is on the seat next to you and you’re driving.

Users are also able to access routes and directions initiated on the desktop through the app, providing a high level of integration between the mobile and PC experiences. This isn’t “send to mobile;” it offers a deeper level of integration. Another example of this integration, registered users who have saved locations or directions via “MyPlaces” online can access all that information by signing in on the iPhone app.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the new app is the icon-based “one tap” local search capability. This capability isn’t unique to MapQuest (see Google’s Places Directory, AroundMe, ManGo, etc.). However the execution and associated customization is unique. It’s also an example of how companies are leveraging the phone’s location-awareness to make mobile searching somewhat less challenging.

Located on a carousel at the base of the map are graphical icons that pertain to different categories of businesses (i.e., hotels, theaters, restaurants, cafes, gas stations, etc.). Tapping one or more of these icons shows users all those locations near them. One can then get directions to or from any location accordingly.

Christian Dwyer, Senior Vice President and General Manager, MapQuest told me that the existing roster of “place widgets,” as MapQuest calls these icons, would be expanding and will include more branded widgets as well. Users can customize the carousel by dragging icons on or off:

A disappointment for me was the absence of any rich content or reviews at the level of business profiles (you get contact details and links to external websites). However, a very nice feature of the app is the way activated place widgets populate dynamically on the map as you drag it to new areas. That eliminates the need to do subsequent searches for the same types of businesses in adjacent neighborhoods or nearby towns.

Dwyer hinted to me that a future version of the app might allow users to create customized place widgets as well. The addition of more branded icons, the capacity to create customized place widgets and the addition of reviews would make this already strong app even more compelling.

Here’s what happens when you click the logo for Holiday Inn on a New York map:

Note how Holiday Inn also has the display ad on the right side of the page (see below). That’s very deliberate and will be a feature of advertising on the business locator:

Users can also add multiple layers of business types and locations by clicking the various icons in the locator bar. I’ve added coffee houses in this case. MapQuest will be adding more advertisers by category but says it will limit the number of advertisers in a given category to avoid cluttering the locator bar and user experience.

MapQuest is doing a nice job with these features, but most of this was tested or implemented by Yahoo previously (although Yahoo no longer allows this sort of one-click display of category locations on the map). However what MapQuest calls “corridor search” is unique.

That involves locating businesses or types of businesses along a route. Here’s a hypothetical cross-country trip where I’m locating hotels:

In addition to the simplicity and appeal of the locator bar, this “corridor search” is really useful. And one could imagine how brands would love this too to help reinforce loyalty. There are lots of interesting things that could be done with advertising here (e.g., coupons).

This is yet another recent upgrade from MapQuest, which continues to roll out new features or enhancements on what seems like a monthly basis now.

When.com uses IP targeting to determine default location, but offers personalization when users register.

Zvents content is also integrated into MSN Cityguides. Yahoo has Upcoming, its user-generated events site. Google Calendar allows publishers to add events and allows users to discover/search for them. It’s not clear to me at the moment how widely that’s used, however. Users, publishers and venues can also add listings to When.com.

What’s interesting about Zvents, among other things, is that the site is trying to define “events” broadly to include local retail sales and other non-traditional event occurrences.

There’s more discussion of When.com on my personal blog Screenwerk.

In a report issued this week, the boutique investment bank Cowen and Company says Google is the clear leader with the most user-friendly features among the four major mapping sites. “Google Maps has meaningfully expanded its lead in features and functionality over its competitors,” Cowen analysts say in their report.

As for those three competitors, the Cowen report isn’t very kind: “Since our initial survey in July 2007, innovation at MapQuest (AOL) and Yahoo Maps has stagnated. Microsoft Live Search Maps, which is the least popular of the four, ranks a distant second, but has launched a couple unique features over the past two years.”

The report includes a case study using all four mapping sites to get directions using the phrase, [South Orange community center to Yankee Stadium]. The report praises Google Maps for its “unified search box” because it converted the phrase into “Point A to Point B” directions while allowing the user to choose exact start/end points. The three other services, Cowen analysts say, all failed to provide such a user-friendly experience; Yahoo! Maps and Microsoft Live Search Maps were dinged for requiring the user to provide the exact address of the South Orange Community Center. The report’s analysis of MapQuest says “text and display ads clutter MapQuest pages to the point that it is difficult to find where to click to continue the process of getting directions.”

Google Maps also gets credit in the report for providing easy access to street-level photos, public transit directions, and other features:

Since our last report in July 2007, Google has added a number of unique new features, such as My Location, which pinpoints the location of mobile users to within around 500 meters using cell tower triangulation. In addition, Google has dramatically increased its database of street level imagery and public transportation directions; none of the other online maps sites offer ‘street view’ or public transportation directions.

What About Market Share?

Innovation and user-friendly features aside, Google Maps remains second behind MapQuest in terms of market share — but is gaining ground quickly, according to new traffic data from Hitwise analyst Heather Hopkins.

The image above shows U.S. market share in the Travel-Maps category. Over the last nine months, Google Maps has seen a traffic increase of about 45%. Hitwise stats show Google currently having just over 32% market share among mapping sites. MapQuest, meanwhile, has fallen from above 50% to 44.4% market share at the moment — that’s down about 15% so far in 2008.

Longer trending of these same numbers can be seen by looking at Hitwise stats published earlier this year. At the start of 2007, Google Maps market share was only about 10%, a distant third behind MapQuest and Yahoo! Maps.

Stepping outside the Maps category to overall U.S. web traffic shows similar numbers:

The image above not only casts a wider net, but also shows combined numbers for Yahoo! Local and Yahoo! Maps, as well as combined numbers for MSN Live Local and Ask City (which uses Microsoft Virtual Earth mapping). Heather Hopkins shares more about these charts on the Hitwise blog today.

We’ve noted on Search Engine Land that two factors likely began to change the traffic trends for map sites: First, when Google stopped linking to MapQuest and Yahoo! Maps; second, when Google Maps began to be featured prominently in Universal Search results.

Cowen and Company expects this trend to continue, and to pave the way for success in mobile search: “Google’s aggressive investment in maps positions the company to achieve a dominant share of search in the mobile Internet.”