MapMyIndia has rolled out a refurbished version of its mapping application that includes some much needed improvements. Top of the list is enhanced map readability (and usability), something that I always thought was its achilees heel. The new maps look cleaner and are easier to read. The second big improvement is in the driving directions- detailed, landmark based, anywhere to anywhere in India, driving time estimate etc. The third major announcement is the release of FREE web APIs for third party internet and mobile application developers. I tried out the driving directions functionality and it worked well. Its not as intuitive as what RouteGuru gives you (for Delhi/NCR) but a definite improvement over what they had earlier.
The online mapping space is seeing a fair bit of action with multiple players- YahooMaps, Google Maps, RouteGuru, OnYoMo etc, each of which has a slight twist in the way they approach the problem. For MapMyIndia which has till now largely been a vendor of GIS data to other companies, MMI ver2008 may be their yet biggest step towards interfacing the user directly than through their clients.
Looks Good. Just curious what is the monetization model of these sites. Allthough all are great web apps, in Indian scene unlike US, there are so many people on the road to ask directions from.
Also lack of signs on roads/streets will make it difficult to follow the maps taken from these sites.
Will be glad to hear feedback from some people who have used these maps.
But all in all, a great start for mapping apps in India.
Cheers
Tarun
Tarun,
I wouldn’t say this is a start; mapping applications have been around for a while. MMI itself has been around for 2-3 years.
Problem is online maps are not being used very frquently. Now with MMI focusing on readibility, usability etc, that might start to change.
amit
In that regards Amit, what do you think of monetization aspects of these apps.
I think they will have to be in for a long haul, but i guess that’s true for most of the web businesses in India today.
Cheers
Tarun