Bing Maps seen wearing creepy mask that makes it look a bit like ... Microsoft’s Bing, still lagging Google by a country mile even with Yahoo!, has unveiled some suspiciously Google-like updates. Destinations on Bing Maps now come with results cards, giving relevant information. That means if you’re looking for a shop or restaurant, you get hours of operation and nearby services. Bing Maps' …
That's because, AFAICS, it's not there. The button to change map style is on the far right - the topmost one of the four circular icons about half way up the screen - but when you click on it the options are Road, Aerial, Birdseye, and Streetside. No OS option.
Posted ANON for obvious reason...
All of these new 'updates' could have been done long ago.
Bing had the POI information, so that if you looked at a store, you could get the hours and other information... What they don't have are ties in to yelp! or other review sites. (Which is as trivial as inking deals with said companies, or to start collecting their own reviews and deal with the legal hassles on how to manage them.
Its true that the presentation layer has improved, but the important fact remains is that Bing, Yahoo! and other companies that used Nokia's HERE map data could have upgraded the maps long ago.
"All of these new 'updates' could have been done long ago."
It's not that easy actually. It still requires a substancial amount of manual labour because the raw data can actually be miseading if it were treated as machine-readable.
Many don't realise the amount of work that Google puts into their maps, because you only see the UI, it works, all the data is laid out nicely and it just works. If you had to do the same, and had the crap that comes out the regular mapping agencies (especially here in Australia) you'll see that.
Remember laughing at the Apple maps thing? Well, here's no surprise, Googled had to address the same issues - the data was crap as machine-raeadable, and had to put the work in anyway.
el Reg publishes an article on Bing, provides link to MS blog on announcement. Obligingly follows links...
Of no relevance or importance to no one, But. A) They used a screen shot of downtown Seattle and the The Pink Door is prominently shown on the map. Cool. I liked that place, many, many years ago.
B) the mobile phone mock up is a Nok... No, Micro.. no, iPhone?! What, no marketing group collusion to use their own MS (Nokia) phones? Huh.
C) There's a Macy's in Seattle?! Where's The Bon? For that matter, Why is the Nordstroms marker the on Frederick & Nelson's block?! Where are my Frangos?!!!
Goes off into to corner to grumble about change and progress and corporate takeovers... ;)
The changes seem to me purely cosmetic and do not (yet?) address the schizoid existence that is Bing Maps. Let me, if I may, take you briefly down memory lane to my Nokia E7, now in use as a bedside clock because the USB port is almost bust (does power but not data). Using Outlook I could create a calendar entry which had GPS data in the location (latitude and longitude or postcode). Using the E7, the calendar entry showed the location and pressing the location gave me the option of “drive there” which jumped into Here Drive. Doesn’t work on WinPhone. As well as not integrating with Outlook – pretty basic I would have thought, Bing Maps keeps separate ‘favourites’ from Here Maps, which can be used in Here Drive. So, pretty as Bing Maps may be, until it is properly integrated into PC Outlook, WinPhone Calendar and Drive on WinPhone (for example, work out a route on the desktop and download it to the phone), it is just that, pretty. </rant>
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