GPS, NAVTEQ, Microsoft team up for better 3D maps
By Nilay Patel 
posted December 7th 2009 11:39AM
posted December 7th 2009 11:39AM
P.S.- This is a pretty wonky note, but remember that NAVTEQ is wholly owned by Nokia (although it operates independently) so this is technically the second Microsoft / Nokia alliance announced in the past four months. Ah, young love.
I just tried Bing maps for the first time, it's sickly fast! Like at least 5x as quick as Google, and the bird eye is pretty cool. So anything that makes it better, I'm all for.
@Echuu
I'm actually digging the Bing Maps Beta...except i'm not so sure it's good on my resources.. the cpu usage does hike a bit during fly by...
But otherwise, I actually prefer it and like it because of the visuals and high res images..
Yes no streetview but it's still nice
@Echuu @Echuu
I'm actually digging the Bing Maps Beta...except i'm not so sure it's good on my resources.. the cpu usage does hike a bit during fly by...
But otherwise, I actually prefer it and like it because of the visuals and high res images..
@xirsteon
The rason it hogs CPU and the reason it seems so much snappier than google maps are the same: it does those fancy fade-in transitions and doesn't leave you with grey blocks while its loading.
I agree though, it seems a lot faster than google and I dig the birds-eye view. Here's hoping they expand their streetview cities (something like only 12 so far) and use that lovely Photosynth technology to get more imagery from the web ASAP.
@MrDiSante What fancy fade in? I go to http://www.bing.com/maps/ right now and it loads things in chunks just like Google does...
Every time I've seen a site that uses Bing maps, I usually copy the address and put it in Google because it handles it better and usually works. I've been house hunting and some realtors use it. None of them seem to show the right address or they default to the whole country view.
It's pathetic.
@Andir Bing Maps "Beta" is available at http://www.bing.com/maps/explore/
@(Unverified) Ouch, i don't like that fade in, slow and annoying.
@(Unverified) All I get is a Silverlight install... and since it's not available for Linux and I'm not installing it on my Windows VM just to view a map. I'll stick with the easily available, cross platform Google maps that uses Internet standards (ie: HTML, Javascript)
@Echuu
It loads really quick for me, but my it puts my cpu at an average of 30% with peaking at 70%... I have a quad-core 2.6ghz too, so I can't imagine what it would do to a single core processor. Google Maps on the other hand (using Chrome) only uses about 5-10% of my cpu... huge difference. I personally like the fade and some other minor details about Bing's maps, but I'll probably still stick with Google.
@Echuu
It's only fast because it's less popular than Google's...
IF it becomes as popular, just watch it slow to a crawl.
@daniel142005
Funny thing - I have a dual core penryn that seems to stay at 30-70% usage regardless of whether it runs at 2.53ghz or 1.2ghz (power saver-throttled CPU).
Having developed for Silverlight with a few performance-intensive applications, my guess is that it throttles frame-rates depending on how much processing power you have available. In my experience I've seen it do 16.67, 30 and 60fps depending on how fast it could manage it.
Anyone have a netbook on hand and care to share how well it works?
"Wonky" is now my word of the day.
@Echuu
I'm actually digging the Bing Maps Beta...except i'm not so sure it's good on my resources.. the cpu usage does hike a bit during fly by...
But otherwise, I actually prefer it and like it because of the visuals and high res images..
How about first getting all roads & distances accurately?
@beckhams777 I agree. I have had a Garmin unit for a few years now and even with new map updates they still don't have alot of the highways here in eastern NC. It's very frustrating. I have all but completely switched to my TomTom app on my iPhone.
@beckhams777
Agree here as well. Laredo, Texas is HORRIBLE. I would say it only knows about 75% of the roads here.
I have some questions:
Are you actually digging the Bing Maps Beta?
Are you sure it's good on your resources?
Does the cpu usage hike a bit during fly by?
Do you actually prefer it and like it because of the visuals and high res images?
Navteq is garbage. They make the maps for toyota factory nav systems and should be ashamed at how poor and dated the info is. In a single weeks time across three states it sent me to three permanently closed stores (one of which had burned down 10 years earlier), (tried to send me) the wrong way on a dozen one way roads, and completely ignored "new" roads that had been completed 5 years earlier. I'd hate to see what would have happened if I didn't have a the newest map disc.
@The Biophysicist
Navteq updates their maps several times a year, but toyota is probably still using ancient maps so blame toyota. Personally I think Navteq has some of the best map data. A few days ago I looked up the UPS store on google maps and it took me to a non-existent address. Then I grabbed my Garmin out of the glove box (which has the latest Navteq maps). It did not have that same false hit that google maps had, and instead routed me to a USP store a couple miles away that was in a shopping center that opened up within the past year.
@The Biophysicist
Companies that use navteq maps never seem to update them. My in-laws GPS is over 3 yrs with no updates. You can't get the maps directly from navteq, so they should just buy a new GPS.
Navteq maps on a device is not a selling point for me. In fact I would/have avoided devices for that reason.
I hate the new bing maps look. Trying to find the word aerial, in white, is next to impossible. You can't close the directions panel for a wider view of the map. It's just to busy looking. Give me the old look, with the new maps please.
I wonder if "1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA " will be censored out??
i like bing maps it gives you places to look for like gas stations to look for in its directions... i don't if google maps gives you this though. havent tried it
The nice thing about Bing Maps is the Silverlight support. It makes for a much nicer presentation for web applications (and seeing as silverlight can be used offline as well, it's a bonus).
silverlight is a much stronger language than JavaScript, and more powerful.
@NinjaMonkey "silverlight is a much stronger language than JavaScript, and more powerful."
Everyone has opinions... your opinion seems to be backed by nothing but marketing though...
@Andir
The problem with JS is it's 100% reliant upon the users browser. Until HTML5 is released, and all browsers support it, Silverlight/Flash will always overpower Javascript.
javascript cries when doing massive amounts of trig/calculus functions. Flash/Silverlight can do these with ease. Strong graphics support and CPU support.
Navteq is the best map provider in today's USA maps market.
Garmin using it, and so Microsoft.
Google ever used it but not now, so now it sucks. 5 out 10 will direct you to a wrong place even if you give it right address to search.
Navteq go!
@E71
So you think 2 huge companies (Microsoft/Google) wouldnt know how to scale there services?
i somehow find that hard to believe!
I love the new Bing Maps. Much better than Google's.