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Tag: mapquest

  • MapQuest Changes Business Listing Management

    MapQuest announced that it has made some adjustments to the way businesses can manage their listings. The AOL-owned company says the changes make the process of handling information corrections more streamlined.

    In other words, it’s now easier to change contact info, hours of operation, addresses, etc.

    “For nearly two decades, MapQuest has been helping people get from A to B,” MapQuest’s Laura Maxwell said in a blog post. “We’ve introduced tools, we’ve improved the interface and, after observing how people interact with our products, we iterate again. One such instance is how businesses are using the MapQuest Local Business Center (LBC).”

    “This has always been and will continue to be a free service. For businesses looking to amplify their presence, whether it be monitoring customer reviews, adding enhanced content to a listing or syncing content with their business Facebook page, MapQuest will still offer business solutions there, too,” Maxwell added.

    At the end of the month, MapQuest will be retiring the basic LBC version, though it will continue a partnership with Yext, which provides listing enhancement tools.

    Image via MapQuest

  • AOL’s MapQuest Launches Travel Blogging Feature

    AOL has launched MapQuest Travel Blogs for the web and iOS (via a dedicated app). The feature lets users create blogs of their trips with photos, stories, reviews, etc. According to the company, the Travel Blogs will automatically map out your entire trip.

    “Free travel blogs are the perfect way for you to seamlessly capture all of your memories from your journeys and share your adventures with friends and family,” says MapQuest’s Anke Corbin. “It’s easy to set-up and add photos, stories and more, making it possible for everyone to create their very own travel blog!”

    The offering, of course, includes features to let you share your stuff on social networks or with automatic email updates. The iOS app features offline access.

    Additionally, you can read journals from other people, which might be just as helpful while you’re traveling as keeping your own. There are privacy settings that allow you to share with only who you want to.

    “Travel Blogs is not just a tool to help users document their recent day trip up the coast or two week cross-country excursion,” says AOL’s Brian McMahon. “As part of our library of over 24,000 blogs from Everlater, now part of the MapQuest family, our goal is to help give people valuable and authentic stories that inspire them to set out on their own adventure.”

    No word on a possible Android launch.

  • MapQuest Helps You Find The Best Gas Prices With New App

    Google Maps is the go to app for most smartphone owners, especially on Android. One of the original mapping services, MapQuest, is still hanging in there though. Their new app may even prove to be most useful for travelers this holiday season.

    MapQuest announced that its new Gas Prices app is now available on both Google Play and the App Store. The best part is that the app is completely free so users can check up on local gas prices without having to pay a dime. Here’s what users can expect to get out of the app:

  • Find the cheapest gas price in your area
  • Prices frequently updated
  • Sort gas stations based on lowest price or distance from you
  • Add stations as Favorites, and check which one has the lowest price in an instant!
  • Supports many fuel types: Regular, Mid-Grade, Premium, Diesel, and even E-85
  • Launch the MapQuest Navigation app to get voice-guided directions to a station

    • As expected, MapQuest ties the new app into their own dedicated maps service. It’s strange that they created an entirely new app just for the gas prices when they could have just integrated the feature into their maps app.

    So does MapQuest have a chance of competing with already existing gas price apps? Gas Buddy is obviously the most popular app, but it relies on user reports. Without those reports, the gas prices may not be updated as frequently. MapQuest is promising frequent updates without the input from others. Beyond that, there’s not much difference between the two.

    It’s really up to whatever maps app you currently use. Gas Buddy uses Google Maps whereas MapQuest Gas Prices obviously uses MapQuest. It does seem strange that Google hasn’t made their own Gas Prices apps or integrated it into the current release of Google Maps. Maybe a Google Now update can add the feature.

  • As Apple Maps Flounders, MapQuest App Gets Updates

    Though the new Apple Maps app has caused a bit of frustration and laughter, but the software is still usable for everyday purposes. I suspect most of the complaints lobbed at Apple over Maps is part of the shock of going from the feature-rich (and developed and maintained by 7,100 people) Google Maps experience to a newer, buggier Apple experience. That simply doesn’t happen often, and it’s widely suggested that Apple should have left its new Maps app off iOS 6 until it was truly ready.

    It’s too late to go back though, and iPhone users will have to somehow deal with distorted satellite images, poor location search, and misplaced buildings. Apple is on a hiring spree, hiring even former Google Maps engineers to work on their new software. Google, meanwhile, hopes to get a stand-alone app store version of Google Maps out before Christmas, though progress is slow. One other fallback option for iPhone users that may not be immediately considered is AOL’s MapQuest app for iOS.

    MapQuest today announced an update to their iPhone app that includes a few new features. Perhaps it senses that its app is about to get a lot more use and it wants to impress, or perhaps this is just part of its regular update cycle. Either, way, MapQuest now features “drop a pin” and favorites. “Drop a pin” will allow users to mark any location on the map and receive directions to it, without having to know the name of the location. The favorites feature allows users to bookmark places the travel to often (or are planning on traveling to) for easier access.

  • MapQuest Goes With TomTom On Mobile Apps

    MapQuest Goes With TomTom On Mobile Apps

    It looks like TomTom is having a pretty good year. First, Apple dropped Google as its primary Maps provider, only to switch to TomTom (along with some other sources). Now, MapQuest announced that it has selected TomTom Maps to power its iPhone and Android apps.

    “As the world’s leading supplier of in-car location and navigation products and services, TomTom provides coverage for more than 7.5 million miles of roads across North America,” MapQuest’s Jennifer Asbury said in a blog post. “That’s like going to the moon and back about 16 times. That’s like traveling the length of the Great Wall of China over 1,300 times. That’s like running well over a quarter of a million marathons. Basically, it’s a lot of mapped miles any way you look at it.”

    “With MapQuest and TomTom maps, you could drive virtually anywhere there’s a road in the United States with our app as your travel companion (No need to panic if you forget to print off directions before leaving your house.),” added Asbury.

    Earlier this month, in an effort to lure developers from Google Maps, MapQuest launched free and unlimited APIs.

    Google, meanwhile, continues to enhance its Street View imagery. Today, the company announced some new State Park and other California imagery.

  • MapQuest Offering Free & Unlimited APIs to Lure Developers from Google Maps

    Now that MapQuest is stepping out with some sharp new threads thanks to the release of 3.0 for iPhone last month, it really wants developers to try their hand at building maps with its API. To entice developers, MapQuest is offering up all of its geocoding and routing APIs to developers and businesses for free with unlimited access.

    By signing up for MapQuest’s free Community Edition license, developers will have unrestricted access to all of MapQuest’s APIs. The change to MapQuest’s licensing terms seems strategically planned since much news has been made recently about Google Maps changing their rates so as to charge smaller businesses for using its API. Google recently backpedaled on the decision and announced that it was dramatically reducing the usage fees for its APIs, but the exodus of developers and businesses had already begun.

    MapQuest has also relaxed the terms dictating what developers can build with its API. Developers are now able to build paid mobile apps and can use SSL. MapQuest has also raised the limits on service calls and now offers 5,000 each of geocodes, routes, and search calls per day, which is actually twice what Google allows – well, for free, anyways.

    Here’s a chart MapQuest put together detailing the new free usage limits of the API.

    MapQuest Free API

    As mentioned, Google Maps drastically reduced the cost of its new usage fees but it remains to be seen whether developers and businesses will continue to have a sour taste in their mouth and opt for other mapping services. OpenStreetMap and deCarta have already enjoyed an influx of new developers from Google Maps, so it’s possible MapQuest could replicate that success as well. The only possibly snag to MapQuest’s announcement is why it didn’t make this decision sooner, like earlier this year or at least sometime that would have been sooner after Google Maps said it would begin charging more fees.

    At any rate, it’s still good news for anybody looking for a reliable and less costly alternative to Google Maps.

    [Via MapQuest Blog.]

  • Bing Tops Google, Ties Yellow Pages for Best Local Search

    Bing’s local search tool recently received a 500cc injection of good, wholesome vitamin Yelp to boost the quality of search results for local businesses. The Bing Local “Powered by Yelp” combo looks to go a long way in improving local search, especially as it continues to become available for more businesses and more locations. However, according to a recent study, Bing was already doing pretty good work before that Yelp team-up.

    Search Engine Land cites a new study by Implied Intelligence that compared 19 different local search services, including Bing Local, Google Maps, several services under the Yellow Pages umbrella, Foursquare, Yelp, and Mapquest. Implied Intelligence looked at criteria such as record coverage, phone errors, address errors, duplicate listings, and more with each service in 1,000 local businesses in the United States. Of all the services included in the study, Bing tied for the top spot with both Superpages and Yellowbook, both of which belong to the Yellow Pages collection of directories. Google Maps wasn’t far behind at fourth and Yellowpages rounded out the top five (SEL has bar graphs along with the full scores of the rest of the search engines if you’re interested).

    Implied Intelligence completed a similar study prior to this most recent one in which Bing actually ranked fourth behind Google Maps; Superpages and Yellowpages were ranked first and second, respectively. Comparing the two studies, Implied Intelligence deemed Bing the most improved local search service (at least among those included in the first study).

    Since Bing and Yelp just announced their new local search partnership all of five days ago, I’m presuming that the data in Implied Intelligence’s study does not include any of the “Powered by Yelp” results that are beginning to show up for local businesses. However, Yelp placed at the #8 spot on the most recent study and #6 in the first study. I’m deducing that the quality of Yelp’s local search didn’t diminish in the time between the two studies so much as two new services, Yahoo and Whitepages, were added to the second study and simply outscored Yelp, thus pushing it down a couple of spots.

    Of course, no single local search service is going to be the one directory to rule them all because if that were the case, this kind of comparison would be unnecessary. Still, in the shadow of this report, the question for Bing is whether including Yelp in its local search will actually devalue the search engine’s local results or if Bing will be able to maintain a top score among local search services. I would think that Bing’s search algorithms would be smart enough so as to not have the partnership actually result in an inferior quality but rather include from Yelp what Bing might initially have been missing. At least, that’s what my hope is.

    We’ve asked Implied Intelligence to confirm whether or not the Bing Local Powered by Yelp data was included in this study, but have yet to receive a reply.

    At any rate, that Bing was able to best Google in accuracy of local search results echoes what Bing’s VP of Program Management Derrick Connell recently said when comparing the two search engines. Speaking at a Q&A at SMX Advanced 2012 earlier this month, Connell made the claim that Bing was at least as good as Google in some aspects and possible better in others.

    This results coming out of Implied Intelligence’s study would confirm Connell’s claims.

    Update: According to Implied Intelligence, the tests on local search quality were conducted around May 15th, 2012, meaning the Yelp data wouldn’t have been included in Bing Local results.

  • MapQuest 3.0 for iPhone Gets Superbly Remade from Scratch

    MapQuest announced today that it’s released a completely overhauled version of its app for iPhone with a total redesign that hosts a much improved user interface that should make your next trip a little easier to figure out.

    The most notable improvement to the app, at least in my nowhere-near-comprehensive first impression, is the directions feature. In virtually every map service, whether its Google Maps, Bing Maps, MapQuest, or whatever, the directions always contain way too much information for certain junctions in your trip. Really, nobody needs to know the state route number and the multiple names of a street – one will suffice. It’s less to juggle around in the head while you’re trying to, y’know, drive an car safely. The new MapQuest app for iPhone remedies that vexing amount of information by giving you one name for your turns/exits and also presents it in a large, easily readable font.

    Below is a before-and-after comparison of MapQuest 3.0 and the previous version, both of which display the same step in the same directions. In the new version, which is on the right, it is clearly apparent what street I should be on the lookout for during this trek without muddling my already-divided attention with superfluous transit details.

    Mapqyest 3.0 for iPhone

    Another improvement in Mapquest 3.0 is the layout of the menus. As you can see in comparison above, or maybe you just know from using the app yourself, the main menu (where you type in your search or directions) has been consolidated from a full space-consuming menu bar at the bottom of the screen to a single “Menu” button in the lower left-hand corner. Now that the menu has been liberated from the bottom of the screen, you’ll find a few more options in the Menu with 3.0, like live traffic conditions and options to easily clear the map or edit your location/directions.

    Where the menu had previously been you will now find a collapsable menu of options to conduct quick searches for places like gas stations, hotels, rest stops, drug stores, theatres, banks and, yes, even ice cream vendors. You can view more than one of these categories at once, so if you really want to find a hotel that is within walking distance to bar, you can choose both of those options to satisfy your every need.

    Mapquest 3.0 for iPhone

    The menu bar at the bottom is also collapsable now so you can see a great area of the map. Oh yeah, and if you didn’t notice in that last example, there’s now a landscape view for MapQuest, too.

    Other fun inclusions in this update easy searches for gas prices at nearby stations and an overall better, faster search function when trying to figure out just where the hell you wanna be going.

  • MapQuest’s Going to Trust You Know How to Get Out of Your Neighborhood

    Whenever you look up directions with a map service – it doesn’t matter which one you fancy, be it Google Maps, Bing Maps, MapQuest, or whatever – if you enter your address as the starting point, the directions will invariably tell you to head out of town by some route that surprises you. Maybe it’s because your natural disposition isn’t to take that particular route, maybe it’s because you know that route is clogged with traffic around the time you plan to leave, but regardless, you hopefully know better than any online mapping service the best route of egress from your ‘hood.

    Apparently getting directions out of one’s own neighborhood is enough for people to vocalize their complaints to mapping services, but MapQuest is the first to actually heed those critiques and announced today that will allow users to get directions that simply skip ahead to a nearby major road that you’re familiar with.

    There is one catch to this nice feature: in order to enter your address and bypass the tedious directions out of your stomping grounds, you have to sign in to MapQuest using your Facebook account info. Depending on how you feel about sharing that info, and presumably linking together your Facebook information with your exact home address, carry on as you see fit. However, MapQuest assures you that it won’t post anything to your wall without your specific direction.

    If you’re undeterred by sharing such information in close proximity to your Facebook profile, you can also enter the type of vehicle you have and MapQuest will generate an estimated fuel cost for your trip. MapQuest will provide you with multiple routes so you can decide if taking the scenic route this time is really worth the financial commitment.

    So here’s hoping you know what you’re doing when you pull out of the driveway.

  • Microsoft’s New AOL Patents Could Help Combat Google Maps

    With Microsoft recently acquiring about 800 of AOL’s patents, it has been speculated that the software giant might have just upped its ante against Google Maps. The $1.056 billion deal also got Microsoft pending patent applications, and also included shares of an unnamed AOL subsidiary (some are pointing to Netscape), which allows AOL to take a loss for tax purposes.

    There’s been some competition regarding online maps of late – Wikipedia, FourSquare and Apple all stopped using Google Maps and switched over to OpenStreetMap, primarily due to the fees Google had been charging. Mapquest, which has 239 patents registered at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, has been a backer of OpenStreetMap, supplying tilesets, APIs and other tools. Surely some of the Mapquest patents were acquired in the Microsoft/AOL deal. Conveniently, AOL bought Mapquest in 1999 for $1.1 billion, and could claim one of its aforementioned tax losses on that deal.

    In early March, Mapquest stated on its developer blog, “Is 2012 the year of Open mapping? We’ve been ecstatic to see the energy around OpenStreetMap, and have noticed several applications recently convert to using MapQuest-OSM tiles and other companies like foursquare embrace OpenStreetMap as a foundation of their business.”

    It would seem that Google Maps will be going up against an OpenStreetMap/Mapquest/Microsoft trio in the near future.

  • MapQuest Makes Pinning Maps on Pinterest Easier

    MapQuest has just made it easier to pin maps onto Pinterest. The social media site has been picking up tremendous steam over the past few months, and this new addition is sure to add a lot more pins.

    People has started using MapQuest to pin the places they have visited, where they are going, and how they are getting there. Road trips can now be given more detail and more insight as people share what they’ve done scrapbook style.

    The method is easy. Just create the map you want on MapQuest. You can choose a single destination, or directions, show the locality in great detail, or relative to the entire country. Once you have what you want, press the Pinterest button in the top right corner of the MapQuest page, and boom, a map image and link is created for you to upload on your pin board.

    This new technology is great for documenting vacations and business trips, letting people know you’re traveling in style.

  • MapQuest Vibe Gaming, Search Features Launch At SXSW

    AOL’s MapQuest announced the launch of some new features for its MapQuest Vibe product (web and iPhone), bringing a gaming element to it.

    That includes check-ins, “neighborhood influence,” which lets users share votes, comments and check-ins across Facebook, Foursquare and Twitter, the ability to compete against friends and other people for said influence, the ability to win VIP badges, and an activity wall, which includes search functionality the company has retooled to provide faster results. Users can now search for businesses by name or reputation, using keywords.

    It uses “Vibe Score” to rank criteria like user votes and MapQuest’s own info on reputation, popularity, edginess, walkability and other metrics.

    “What nudges someone through the door of a restaurant when unsure of the potential outcome is usually a friend’s opinion,” said Michael Iams, principal product manager, MapQuest Mobile. “The MapQuest Vibe iPhone app unites and organizes the shared wisdom of a person’s social network when hunger strikes and neighborhoods are unfamiliar. Even locals sometimes need a little coaxing to make a decision on where to go, which mqVibe answers with quick, real-time recommendations.”

    MapQuest says mqVibe’s algorithm generates real-time rankings in 50,000 neighborhoods, 30,000 cities and 50,000 “hotspots” around the U.S.

    “MapQuest Vibe is very useful during an event like SXSW, where you need to be able to find the best places in Austin to eat, grab a drink or just hang out,” said Vijay Bangaru, VP of product at MapQuest. “Our initial launch of mqVibe introduced the neighborhood as a new context for local discovery. This latest version layers in the expertise of the community and sets up a framework to rewarding our users with influence and reputation. mqVibe now gives you merchant deals, the ability to have targeted local information, and other new offerings that address a lot of the needs of the SXSW crowd.”

    They’re actually launching a national tour for mqVibe, starting with SXSW in Austin.

    At SXSW, MapQuest is giving users the opportunity to win prizes like cowboy boots, an Austin BBQ dinner and event Austin-brewed beer. Users can show MapQuest’s street team members, who will be sprinkled throughout the town from the sound of it, that they’ve downloaded the iPhone app. The app will feature five daily specials and flash-mob giveaways throughout the entire SXSW event.

    MapQuest currently has 36 million unique monthly visitors, according to the company.

  • MapQuest For Android Can Fix What Google Maps Sometimes Gets Wrong

    Face it, Google: sometimes, you get it wrong when it comes to mapping out directions. In my experience with mapping directions generated by Google, I have taken many an erroneous exist and been directed to intersections that didn’t exist. Once, I even arrived at the porch of a household that was totally not expecting me (because we had no idea who each other were!).

    While Google Maps gets it right most of the time, the margin of error is significant enough that an alternative mapping option would be greatly welcome. iPhone users have had the option of using either Google Maps or MapQuest when directions provoke a spell of second-guessing and now, as of today, Android users will now be afforded the same directional security.

    In a post on the official blog today, MapQuest announced that their mobile app is now available for Android users. The app comes equipped with voice activation and the function to save favorites as well as programmable shortcuts to your favorite destinations. Twice the maps, half the risk of getting lost. Everybody finds a way through life. Nice, yeah?

    Of course, however (un)likely Google Maps is to err in the way of mapping directions, the opposite scenario is equally possible and that’s why MapQuest on Android is such welcome news: you can democratize your mapping behaviors! Don’t trust those Google Maps directions? Fact-check it on MapQuest. Feel like MapQuest is leading you astray? Double-check it on Google Maps.

    MapQuest coming to Android is not a forced-opinion poll for your map app preference; it’s a second way to ensure that you get to where you’re going.

  • MapQuest Vibe Launched to Rank Local Businesses

    AOL announced the launch of MapQuest Vibe, which it says generates “real-time rankings of neighborhoods, local hotspots and points-of interests using sophisticated algorithms.”

    “MapQuest Vibe helps people cut through the ratings clutter by providing actual rankings based on key criteria within a richer neighborhood context,” said MapQuest VP of product, Vijay Bangaru.”Presenting neighborhood data in a structure that’s enhanced by geographic context is critical to accelerating exploration of what’s around you. We believe we have a unique platform to give people contextually relevant information that helps them make decisions.”

    The product will automatically populate the user’s current city or neighborhood (assuming that city/neighborhood is available, which mine isn’t, though it is still in beta), and let you search for other neighborhoods and give you the most popular and most frequented hotspots or clusters of businesses on streets, intersections, etc.

    The product determines the best-ranked businesses in the dining, shopping, activities, beauty/spas, local services, health/med, and lodging/accommodations categories.

    MapQuest Vibe

    It operates based on “vibe score,” which is generated by interactions on MapQuest.com, cartographic analysis and “user signals”.

    “When you think about it, neighborhoods are fuzzy by nature – constantly changing as businesses come in and out of service and people’s interests shift,” said Simon Hill, principal product manager, MapQuest. “MapQuest Vibe evolves in the same way, providing current information to help people feel like a local wherever they are and wherever they visit. Additionally, the voting mechanism helps create wider local community purpose that reflects the online, social and physical reality of urban communities.”

    “Our users have long been using MapQuest to discover what’s in and around their area, but with more than 18 million domestic points of interest, we felt there was a need to dive deeper into what we could deliver to our users,” said MapQuest SVP and General Manager Christian Dwyer. “MapQuest Vibe takes that enormous pool of information and helps people make better decisions on what appeals to them using the social heart and wisdom of the crowds.”

    AOL says MapQuest gets 39 million unique visitors per month.

  • MapQuest Android App Launched

    MapQuest Android App Launched

    MapQuest has unveiled a new Android app that comes with voice-guided/turn-by-turn Navigation, voice search, a map toolbar (making it easily find restaurants, gas stations, etc. with one click), walking/driving directions, recommendations for the best routes, rotating maps, and live traffic flow/incidents.

    On the traffic feature, the company says it has extensive coverage updated every 5 minutes.

    "And then there’s this OSM Stuff," says MapQuest’s Michael Iams. "So what exactly is OSM?  Why would I want to use it? OpenStreetMap is a collaborative, “by the people, for the people” mapping movement. It’s basically a living map that is improved every day by people just like you.  Disney World, Dallas (site of Superbowl XLV) or just your own neighborhoods — now you can flip a switch on your Android device and map what’s important to you."

    OSM features OSM Maps, which are user-sourced maps that provide unique, local perspective nad detail, bug logging for OSM, and international maps. 

    MapQuest says millions of its users are already using its mobile site from Android devices, so there should be a pretty fair amount of people using the new app. That means some more competition for Google Maps. 

    The app provides a similar experience to MapQuest’s iPhone app.

  • Walking Directions Now on MapQuest (Transit Too)

    MapQuest announced the availability of both walking directions and transit directions on its service. 

    It’s interesting that it has taken this long for MapQuest to get such features, though to be fair, MapQuest did have walking directions available on its MQ4Mobile and Mobile Web apps for a while. But now they’re available on MapQuest.com. 

    "Walking directions will guide you down the most efficient paths and through parks, often avoiding vehicle traffic," says MapQuest’s Scott Steinke. "To use the feature, just click Get Directions, select the ‘walking man’ icon above the Start field, and enter your locations.  It’s as simple as that!"

    Mapquest Walking Directions

    The transit directions are available for the NYC, Chicago, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Boston, and Philadelphia metro areas. These are integrated with the walking directions. 

    "To use the transit feature, just click on the train icon (right next to the walking icon), enter your locations, and select the time and date of your trip," says Steinke. "Your route map will show walking and transit segments in different colors, with icons indicating the mode of travel, station locations, and transfers. Timing information will be included in your step-by-step directions in the left column."

    MapQuest (part of AOL) says this is just the starting point, and that they’ll be adding more cities and transit system/station details, as well as mobile support, bus routing, etc.

  • MapQuest Open Roll-out Rolls On

    MapQuest’s embrace of user-generated content from a topographical perspective continues with the release of additional editions of MapQuest Open.

    By aggregating its data from the OpenStreetMap service, MapQuest Open allows users to interact with their applicable map, which would, according to MapQuest’s blog entry, “indicate rapid change in geographic locations, points of interest and routing.”

    MapQuest Open

    This allows MapQuest to function as a real-time map wiki, relying on user-generated content to maximize its usefulness.  Based on OpenStreetMap’s service — “OpenStreetMap allows you to view, edit and use geographical data in a collaborative way from anywhere on Earth.” — the potential for local advertising is also huge.

    Considering the push for geo-targeting-based local advertising, having a detailed map of the area is valuable to local advertisers because the more information you have, including location and any related information about the area, the more accurate the advertising will be.

    When asked about the local advertising potential, Jennifer Asbury, a representative for MapQuest, responded to WebProNews with:

    Local advertising is a big emphasis for AOL Local, of which MapQuest is a property .  With MapQuest’s open sites, we are primarily targeting user adoption and user contribution, and will only focus on local advertising as the audience grows.  For now, our focus is to represent what is possible with OSM and open-source mapping, encourage users to contribute to make the map better, and build partnerships that accelerate the growth in usage and quality.

    With MapQuest Open already live in the United States and the UK, the latest MapQuest Open introductions targets other popular countries, relative to online map searches:

    * Australia: open.mapquest.com.au

    * Denmark: open.mapquest.dk

    * Ireland: open.mapquest.ie

    * Mexico: open.mapquest.org.mx

    * New Zealand: open.mapquest.co.nz

    * Norway: open.mapquest.no

    * Singapore: open.mapquest.com.sg

    * Sweden: open.mapquest.se

  • MapQuest Launches Free Gasoline Sweepstakes For The Holidays

    AOL’s MapQuest has launched a month-long “Free Gas for a Year” sweepstakes for the holiday season.

    MapQuest will be giving away free gas for a year to 31 people, one winner, everyday, during December.

    Starting today, people can enter the sweepstakes at www.freegas.mapquest.com and fill out the “Free Gas for a Year” form. Each day at 3:00 p.m. ET a winner will be chosen and announced on the site. The last day to enter the sweepstakes is December 31 at 5:00 p.m. ET.

    In addition to entering each day, people can increase their chances of winning by sharing with friends and family. By posting participation in the sweepstakes on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, participants will receive an extra entry for each person, up to 25 people, that enter.

    MapQuest-Sweepstakes

    Winners will receive a $1,220 Visa Gift Card which may be used to buy gas. MapQuest says the amount is based on the average person driving 12,000 miles each year.

    “MapQuest has always been about getting people where they need to go,” said Christian Dwyer, General Manager of MapQuest.

    “With the holidays fast approaching, what better way to say thank you than by giving away gas for a year. We hope you are one of the lucky 31 to win so there is one less thing to consider for your next road trip.”
     

     

  • AOL Brings Back Local Food And Entertainment Guide

    AOL said today it is relaunching its City’s Best online guide to provide local food and entertainment reviews in 25 metro areas.

    City’s Best local editors and writers in each market have visited and selected the best food,  and entertainment destinations in each city creating directory listings for each. AOL will invite local users to chose the most popular spots.

     

    City's-Best

     

    Users can vote starting today on City’s Best  through November 30. Users can vote on categories including burgers, cheap eats, after work bar, sports bar, pizza, live music and family friendly restaurants.  A winner will be announced for each of the categories in all 25 markets on December 14.

    During the voting, the businesses selected in each category will be featured on  City’s Best. MapQuest will integrate City’s Best content into its site and Patch will promote listings for businesses and communities.

    The 25 markets selected for AOL’s 2010 City’s Best launch include: Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Twin Cities and Washington, DC.
     

     

  • Google Maps Photo Layer Gets Improvements, MapQuest Launches Atlas

    There are a couple interesting things happening with online maps today. Google has updated its Photos layer and MapQuest has introduced Atlas. 

    Google’s update has three main improvements. "Firstly, we have made improvements to the density of the photos on the map, making it easier to see clusters of photos in popular locations," explains Jonah Jones, User Experience Designer on the Google Maps Team. "On the screenshot above, you can now well see that there are a lot more photos taken on the coast than there are inland."

    "Secondly, we’ve made the small thumbnails partially transparent, making it easier to see the underlying map, and helping you to stay oriented," adds Jones. "Finally, we are showing more information when you hover over a photo. Now, you can see a large thumbnail and the title of each image, so you can get a fast preview of what any photo looks like."

    Google Maps Photos Layer Gets Improvements

    MapQuest’s Atlas is an encyclopedia-like service. Atlas lets you click around on places from the map view, and will bring up dedicated pages for those places with additional info, including categories like Introduction, Geography, People, Government, Economy, Communication, etc.

    It’s set up a bit differently than Google’s strategy of including a Wikipedia entry. While Atlas probably has better-organized information about geographical places, Google’s Wikipedia layer probably provides a lot more info about more specific places. Both will no doubt improve over time. 

  • Court Rules Government Must Get Warrant to Access Cell Phone Location Data

    According to the EFF, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia ruled that federal law allows judges the discretion to require that the government obtain a probable cause search warrant before accessing cell phone location data. 

    Reuters reports that the U.S. Justice Department is looking into Google’s acquisition of ITA software. Google made it pretty clear from the beginning that it expected heavy scrutiny. 

    PayPal expects to be a significant part of paying for video content streamed to televisions. In a post on the company blog today, PayPal VP of Global Product Strategy, Sam Shrauger, says, "We’re sure that PayPal will play an important role in removing the friction and letting consumers enjoy their TV and movies, where and when they want."

    Google has been displaying a unique logo today, which breaks apart and moves when you point your mouse to it. You can’t click on it for an explanation, but some have speculated its related to Google’s birthday. The company tweeted this today:

    Boisterous doodle today. Maybe it’s excited about the week ahead…Tue Sep 07 18:04:11 via Tap11A Googler
    google

    CNET points to an announcement from Microsoft "top game employee" Andre Vrignaud that he will be heading to Amazon. Don Reisinger says this feeds speculation that Amazon is planning a gaming push. 

    Mapquest has added some new functionality to its iPhone app, which lets the user rotate the phone and the map along with it. "In our continued quest to be your mapping service of choice on iPhone, your wish is our command.  In other words, with this update, when you start navigation the top of your map will no longer always be North," explains Mapquest’s Michael Iams. "So, if you’re headed SW, the top of the map will be SW (see image on left) allowing your position icon (waving man, dog cow, car, hand dog, etc) to now travel along the road in the same way you do."

    TechCrunch reports that Digg VP of Engineering John Quinn has been let go after three years due to Digg’s implementation of Database Cassandra, which has apparently contributed to the new version of the site going down repeatedly.