As we mentioned last week, Google is now allowing German residents to opt-out of having buildings shown in Google Street View Germany. The removal request page begins by saying that it’s “a pity” that the user wants to make a building unrecognizable in Street View.
Bing Maps has been doing some cool stuff lately on the functionality side of things, but the look-and-feel has been pretty stagnant for about a year now — since Bing’s launch last summer. To remedy that, Bing has announced the full launch of its new Maps experience. Here’s what Bing Maps looked like in June […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Street Slide: Microsoft’s Next Killer Maps App? At the SIGGRAPH 2010 event this week in Los Angeles, Microsoft researchers showed off a next-generation tool for browsing street-level imagery. It’s called Street […]
It's that time of year when many of us turn to the internet for information, advice and maps to help plan a getaway for some rest and relaxation. Although search engines may be an obvious place to start your quest, they often aren't your best bet for useful information, helpful advice or savvy planning tips. Here's why—along with an in-depth look at more useful alternatives.
The world of sport is still largely focused on the World Cup, now in its semi-final round. However biking enthusiasts know that the Tour de France has started and is already in its second stage. Bing has introduced a “Map App” that provides a wealth of information about “Le Tour,” including stats and standings by […]
You might not have thought of it this way but the old MapQuest was mostly about driving directions. The new Mapquest (launching today) is about local search and an expanded range of capabilities and use cases. There’s a new look and feel, a new back end, a single search box and a new “brand.” Mapquest […]
Microsoft announced today that app developers can now download the Bing Map App SDK and start building applications to submit to the Bing Map App Gallery. Developers can download the maps SDK at connect.microsoft.com/bingmapapps. Then once you start developing your apps, you can test the app in the new maps developer sandbox. Make sure to […]
Yahoo and Nokia made their anticipated partnership announcement this morning in New York. The public elements of the deal include the following: Nokia will be the exclusive, global provider of Yahoo!’s maps and navigation services, integrating Ovi Maps across Yahoo! properties, branded as “powered by Ovi.” Yahoo! will become the exclusive, global provider of Nokia’s […]
If you’re traveling by car this summer, Bing has added three new tools to Bing Maps that should make your trip a little easier. Above is a screenshot of one of the three — a Distance Calculator tool. Let’s say, for example, that I’m thinking about driving to see U2’s concert in Oakland next month […]
Google has started to combine its Earth and Maps products with the announcement that Earth view is available to all Google Maps users. To see 3D imagery in Google Maps, you’ll need the Google Earth plugin which anyone can now use; it’s been available to developers since 2008. There’s also a new “Earth” tab on […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Bing Maps Launches Foursquare Everywhere, World Tour & Oodle Rental Apps Bing Maps is keeping busy at the Where 2.0 conference today, making several announcements and product rollouts. Here’s a rundown […]
Last night Google announced the inclusion of bike directions to car, public transit and walking directions options on Google Maps. According to Google Maps’ Shannon Guymon this was one of the most requested missing features on Google Maps. The new bike directions also provide a new view on maps (see below), one that is more […]
Both Google Maps and Bing Maps offer ways to see the devastation caused by the earthquake in Haiti. Below, a look at how to see before and after images, taken by satellite. Plus, several 360-degree ground level videos you can view. 360-Degree On-The-Ground Video Immersive Media has released a number of 360-degree view videos of […]
Microsoft is taking the beta tag off its innovative Bing Maps Silverlight site, which we wrote about previously when it initially launched. According to Microsoft users will be transitioned to the new site and prompted to download Silverlight if they don’t already have it: First off, if you go to the Bing Maps AJAX site […]
MapQuest or variations on its name represent five of the top 22 search queries in the travel category (in November) according to Hitwise. However Google Maps is solidly in first place now as the top mapping site online. That puts MapQuest in the position of having to figure out whether to be content with its […]
We’re more than two years in with street-level photography, although Google was the only game in town for most of that time among the majors. There were also less-well-known independents such as Everyscape and MapJack. Then two weeks ago, Bing made a big splash with a very enhanced Silverlight version of Bing Maps and national […]
Microsoft has had a collection of mapping tools and assets that haven’t been fully utilized or received the play (or usage) of Google Maps. But in an announcement today Bing Maps breaks new ground in online mapping even as it plays a bit of catch up with Google. First, Bing Maps is introducing “Street Side” […]
You may not have known this but the Microsoft Maps experience in the UK was totally different than in the US. The former was based on multiMap, a company Microsoft acquired in 2007. Here’s what the UK experience looks like with multiMap: Here’s what a Bing Maps version of London looks like: The Bing version […]
Google has now added Hawaii to Street View, making it the 50th and final US state to be included in the Maps image database. You can also get these images in Google Maps for Mobile. Google launched Street View a little more than two years ago, in May 2007. Since that time there has been […]
Both Bing and Google have updated their maps imagery. The Bing blog announced an additional 9,460 square kilometers of imagery added to Bing Maps. Not to be outdone, Google announced that not only are they updating their imagery, but they will increasing the frequency of those updates. In addition, Google Transit recently added more partners, […]
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Targets Spammers With New Local Business Listing Guidelines Google has tweaked its guidelines for local businesses that use the Google Maps Local Business Center. The new guidelines are listed on […]
Google’s outreach last week was all about Street View. This week it appears to be Google Maps’ turn in the spotlight, thanks to a new page that touts the benefits of using Google Maps on your web site, and shows the various ways to do it. The mini-site offers step-by-step instructions with two options — […]
Remember that Google Street View bike that was unveiled in May for use to map footpaths in Britain? Turns out, Google has a number of them, and they’re also operating in Japan, Italy and the US. In fact, imagery from them from three spots in California has recently gone online and more will be coming […]
These days it’s hard to remember that at one time Yahoo was the pioneer in dynamic mapping. It introduced enhanced local search features and capabilities into the map before Google, Microsoft and MapQuest. At a certain point, however, Yahoo opted out of the map feature wars that erupted between Google and Microsoft (StreetView, 3D, aerial, […]
Virtual Earth, which has been somewhat in the shadow of Google Maps and Earth released a large volume of new images for Live Search Maps for a range of countries and cities around the globe. The imagery allows you to get in very close, so you can see how far your hotel is exactly from […]
As part of a wave of new features, MapQuest late last year introduced My MapQuest, a personalization tool for the PC side of the business. It subsequently renamed that offering “My Places” and has now launched it in mobile. My Places for MapQuest4Mobile offers a rich user experience and the ability to save maps and […]
Forthcoming January traffic data will reportedly show that Google Maps has taken the lead from MapQuest as the top mapping site in the US. According to the numbers that I received (I’ve asked comScore to verify), MapQuest’s January monthly unique visitors were 41.5 million and Google’s were 42.2 million. This is the first time that […]
Google Maps and MapQuest are neck-and-neck in the fight to be the most popular US mapping site. A new report issued today from Hitwise shows the continuing ascent of Google Maps and the simultaneous decline of MapQuest traffic during 2008, with MapQuest pulling away again in the last few weeks: In November, we wrote how […]
Already recognized in some quarters as the most feature-rich of the major mapping sites, Google Maps has announced the addition of public transit data in more than 50 cities around the world. The new Transit Layer is available as a choice under the MORE button on the Google Maps interface: Once selected, the Transit Layer […]
As Google Maps continues to roll out new features that competing map services don’t have, web users are rewarding it with big gains in traffic. A recent analyst report says Google is the number one maps site in terms of features and usability, and new Hitwise.com traffic data just shared this week with Search Engine […]
Microsoft has announced three new enhancements to their mapping solutions with Virtual Earth. The first are new features in Live Search Maps. The second is a new Virtual Earth Web Service and Virtual Earth Map Control 6.2. The third is a new version of Microsoft Virtual Earth 3D and 3DVia.
Chris Pendleton posted details about new improvements made to the Live Search Local Listings Center. The Local Listing Center is the place to go to add your business to Live Search Maps. Here are the changes and additions made to the local listing center:
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
AOL’s MapQuest remains the top brand in online mapping and is still the most visited mapping site, despite recent gains by Google Maps. However, as the “incumbent” MapQuest has been somewhat resistant to experimentation and slower to adopt new features. But this morning the site is launching what promises to be the first of many […]
Yahoo announced that they have added some features to Yahoo Maps. The main improvements include better local search integration, usability enhancements, and printable view changes. Here is the full list of features:
Google Maps (Earth) is far and away the company’s most successful product after search. It is now the second most popular mapping service online (Mapquest still leads) and the most popular mobile mapping tool (Mapquest Mobile is second), according to comScore. Every few months, it seems, Google “tweaks” the service, adding new features here and […]
Earlier this month, I reported that Google Maps was testing walking directions on a small subset of users. This morning, I noticed that Google Maps now is offering walking directions for all Google Maps users. For example, conduct a search for 200 Madison Ave to 200 Lexington Ave and you will see the option to […]
The Virtual Earth Blog announced that they have released a bulk of new imagery to Virtual Earth and Live Maps. I am not going to list out all the new locations where you can find the new satellite, ortho, and bird’s eye imagery, but here are a few:
The LiveSide Blog reported that Chris Pendleton,Virtual Earth Evangelist, posted the news that Ask.com has now dropped their own mapping product for Microsoft’s Virtual Earth. Virtual Earth can now be found on Ask Maps, Ask City, and within Ask’s search results as Smart Answers. It is a shame to see Ask.com dissolve the mapping service, […]
A new version of Microsoft’s Live Search Maps has rolled out (after yesterday’s major traffic and routing upgrade). There’s an enormous range of feature and functionality upgrades, which are explained in some detail on the Virtual Earth blog. There’s also a discussion at CNET. At a crude level, what it means is that Live Maps […]