Bing Maps Driving Directions
Microsoft’s answer for online mapping users, Bing (MSN) Maps, powered by the Bing Maps for Enterprise framework, is keeping up with the competition from Google, Yahoo, and MapQuest, among others. Today, many more users are aware of Bing Maps. Bing can be added to Firefox and all you need to do is install the add-on. To begin with, Bing Maps has co-located its data in order to provide easy access to users. It has a user-friendly interface with perfect mapping for routes. All you need to do is enter your location and destination and Bing provides you with the easiest route available, which means there are no chances of getting lost. Yes, driving directions on Bing is something you must try out.
Bing Maps can be embedded in a web page, which works out to be a great marketing tool as well. One of the best features of Bing is an isometric view, Street Side, similar to Google’s Street View. You can virtually walk down a street and explore neighborhoods in any city. To aid navigation road names also pop up around the screen. You can add photographs and have them integrated on Bing Maps with Photosynth. You will be impressed by its great satellite and areal imagery and the fact that you can view locations from all four angles. Bing has gone a step further and allows developers to create applications that cover location data on Bing Maps map imagery.
Get Directions with Bing Maps
Bing Maps enables you to search by business, person, address, and public collections. All you need to do is enter the keywords and Bing will provide the precise location on a map. Street maps are topographically shaded and you can zoom in on various locations of interest such as metro stations, hospitals, stadiums, and more. Most global cities are well covered with a detailed map. If you are into 3D mapping, then go ahead and install the plug-in for a true 3D experience thanks to Photosyth and Silverlight technologies, and teaming up with Navteq, who provides road data on a 24-hour basis.
So, is Bing Maps a Google killer or is it trying to catch up with Google and jump ahead? The debate is wide open. But, frankly, what we see is an ideal mapping service that has managed to keep up and remain among the toughest competition. This isn’t a battle, but we as users get to benefit from each one striving to add on new features and provide greater coverage.