Comparison of Web Map Services
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[edit] Web Map Services
Recent developments in web technologies and design trends have had a great impact on the user experience. Today, a variety of web map services exist, each of them providing a similar interface to extensive mapping and other GIS data.
[edit] Comparison
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| Feature | Sub Feature | Google Maps | Yahoo Maps | Live Search Maps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| URL | http://maps.google.com | http://maps.yahoo.com | http://maps.live.com | |
| Image |
 |
|
|
|
| Availability | Full Extra Functionality | Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, UK, United States. | United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and most European countries. | United States, Canada (with the exception of the rural northeastern provinces), United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, |
| Limited Extra Functionality | Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia (Moscow only), San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey (Istanbul only) | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Directory Listings | Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Japan, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, the UK, and the United States | Unknown | Unknown | |
| Officially Supported Web Browsers | IE6+, Firefox 0.8+, Safari 1.2.4+, Netscape 7.1+, Mozilla 1.4+, Opera 8.02+ | Unknown | IE5.5+, Firefox 1.5+, Safari 2+ | |
| Viewing Interface | Degrees of Motion | Vertical, Horizontal, Depth, 360 Panoramic (Street View) | Vertical, Horizontal, Depth | Vertical, Horizontal, Depth, (3D Mode: Tilt, Pan, Rotate) |
| Map Zoom | 19 (via user-interface), more levels available through parameter | 17 (via user-interface) | 19 (via user-interface) | |
| Mouse Scroll Wheel Map Zoom | Yes | Yes, not consistent. | Yes | |
| Direct Mouse Interface (Draggable etc) | Yes | Yes (Low Bandwidth Version: No) | Yes | |
| Dynamic search results based on dragging on the Map | No | No | Yes | |
| Keyboard Shortcuts | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Map Types | 5: Map, Satellite, Terrain, Street, Traffic | 3: Map, Hybrid, Satellite | 6: Road, Aerial, Hybrid, Bird's Eye, Traffic, 3D | |
| 3D Mode | No | No | Yes (ActiveX only) | |
| Technologies | Technologies Used | Javascript, XMLHttpRequest (AJAX), Hidden Iframe, XSLTProcessor, JSON, XML | Flash, Javascript, XMLHttpRequest (AJAX), XML, Flex | Javascript, AJAX, Microsoft Virtual Earth, Microsoft Mappoint, Microsoft TerraServer, .NET |
| Front | DHTML | Flash | DHTML | |
| Backend | JSON | Flex | .NET | |
| Backend Providers | deCarta (formally Telcontar) | Yahoo | Microsoft | |
| Data | Age of Map Imagery | |||
| Age of Satellite Imagery | 1-3 years old | 2-3 years old | ||
| Map Data Providers | NAVTEQ, TeleAtlas, DigitalGlobe, MDA Federal | NAVTEQ, TeleAtlas, i-cubed, Public domain | NAVTEQ, Intermap, Pictometry, NASA | |
| Directory Data Providers | Google, ThomsonLocal.com | Infoserve - Powered by SmartView | Live Local Listings, Yellow Pages | |
| Searching | Location | Post Code, Street Name, Town, Neighborhood, City, Long/Lat | Post Code, Street Name, Town, City | Post Code, Street Name, Town, City |
| Entity | Business, Places of Interest, Airport Code | Business, Places of Interest, Airport Code | Businesses, Collections, Directories, Postal Codes | |
| User Created | Yes | No | Yes (Collections) | |
| Levels of Filtering | 1 | Many - SmartView | 0 | |
| Directions | Directions | Yes | Yes | Yes, Except Japan |
| Reverse Directions | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Public Transport Integration | Yes | No | No | |
| Multiple Destinations | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Send to Device | Email, SMS | |||
| Live Traffic Information | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Personalization | Set Home Location | Yes | No, but remembers last location | Yes, via Microsoft Location Finder ActiveX Control |
| Save Maps | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Printing | Print Option | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Scale to Print | No | No | No | |
| Crop to Print | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Notes | Yes | No | Yes | |
| Retains Overlays? | Matched Searches, Directions | Smartview, Directions | Matches Searches, Directions, Collections | |
| Collaboration / Embedding |
Send hyperlink to email |
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Embed HTML Iframe link | Yes | No | No | |
| Application Integration | Google Earth, BMW Assist | Mercedes-Benz In Car System | Microsoft Office | |
| API Available | Yes | Yes - Javascript and Flash | Yes, SDK | |
| Other | Save to del.icio.us | Blog on Windows Live Space | ||
| Sharable Maps | Yes | No | Via Blogging | |
| Readily Available Overlays | Yes | No | Yes (Collections) | |
| Advertising | Business Advertising | Yes | No | |
| Mobile | Mobile-Specific Website | Yes | No | Yes |
| Mobile-Specific Application | Yes | No | Yes, Windows Live Search (Windows Mobile Only) | |
| Contact Integration | Yes | - | Yes | |
| Voice Integration | No | - | Yes | |
| GPS Integration | Yes | - | Yes | |
| Directions | Yes | Send directions via SMS with hyperlink | Yes | |
| Interactive Maps | Yes | - | Yes | |
| Types of Map | Map, Satellite, Terrain | - | Map | |
| Cell Based Location | Yes | - | No | |
