MapQuest Platform 6.0 Includes Suite of Web Services for Simple Access to Powerful Location-Enabling Functionality
DENVER, March 10, 2009 – As part of the company’s presence at this year’s SXSW Conferences and Festivals, MapQuest is showcasing the latest expansion of its developer platform and demonstrating the company’s newest easy-to-use, developer friendly tools. MapQuest Platform 6.0, MapQuest’s suite of web services, is aimed at making it effortless for developers to location-enable their applications. The 24th SXSW will take place March 12 – March 21, 2010 in Austin, Texas.
MapQuest is using web services to take advantage of standard data formats, including JSON and XML that are usable by almost any programming language, to match the way developers work today. MapQuest Platform 6.0 allows developers in many cases to use only a few lines of code to add powerful location features to their web or mobile application.
“MapQuest wants to make it easy for developers to add location capabilities to their applications, no matter what language or tools they choose,” said Christian Dwyer, Senior Vice President and General Manager of MapQuest. “With the popularity of location in social and mobile services, we’re excited to bring our developer-friendly suite of web services to our mapping and location toolkit.”
MapQuest will offer demos of MapQuest Platform 6.0 at SXSW from March 13-15 in booth #401.
The MapQuest Platform 6.0 provides a wide range of web services, each of which contain compelling, and in some cases, first-to-market features, including:
Static Map Service
Place a map anywhere, with no code, just a web address
Supports web, wireless and printed map applications
Show points using a variety of MapQuest-provided icons or your own icons
A wizard to help create and customize the map image
Directions Service
Generate driving or walking directions for up to 50 locations at once
Find the fastest or shortest routes
Option to automatically re-order routes for the most efficient journey
Support for draggable routes, provide multiple alternate routes or routes based on time of day
Geocoding Service
Find the coordinates of a street address (geocode), or the street address from a set of coordinates (reverse geocode)
Provide up to 100 addresses at once in a single request (batch geocoding)
Ability to output results in a variety of easy-to-import formats for office tools
Traffic Service
Real-time traffic flow and incident reports to overlay on maps
Geographic Search Service
Search a radius, a map area, or a custom-defined polygon
Search along a route, by drive time, distance and by area
Use street addresses, map coordinates, or even IP addresses as the basis of search areas
Search within MapQuest provided data, or host data at MapQuest to be used in the service
“The MapQuest Platform is so powerful and doesn’t tie you down to one language,” says Chris Adamson, author of iPhone SDK Development and developer of the iPhone app Road Tip. “JavaScript is great for browsers, but an iPhone app can’t use it. MapQuest’s full API is available through an http-based XML protocol and some new web services, both of which I used throughout my Objective-C and C code, and which could be easily ported.”
The MapQuest Platform also supports application development in native environments with full SDKs available for JavaScript and ActionScript, enabling developers to build Rich Internet Applications using AJAX, or Adobe Flash technologies. Additionally, MapQuest delivers SDKs for Java, C++ and .NET.
The MapQuest Platform is available in both Free Edition and Enterprise Edition. Free Edition powers consumer websites based on the engine that powers MapQuest.com. Enterprise Edition offers similar functionality with additional features important to businesses with functions such as Support, System Performance Levels and Resale Rights.
To learn more about the MapQuest Platform, and to obtain a MapQuest Platform license for either Free Edition or a development license of Enterprise Edition, visit: http://developer.mapquest.com.
To learn more about how MapQuest can help your business, visit: http://platform.mapquest.com
About MapQuest
MapQuest provides Internet, mobile and business solutions delivering on the promise of helping people research and discover: where is it, how I get there and what’s nearby. MapQuest is one of the leading mapping brands online, offering maps and directions, reaching more than 37 million users in January 2010, according to comScore Media Metrix. MapQuest’s mobile solutions are compatible with a variety of mobile devices, including iPhone and BlackBerry devices. MapQuest, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL Inc, is based in Denver, Colorado.
About AOL
AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) is a leading global Web services company with an extensive suite of brands and offerings and a substantial worldwide audience. AOL’s business spans online content, products and services that the company offers to consumers, publishers and advertisers. AOL is focused on attracting and engaging consumers and providing valuable online advertising services on both AOL’s owned and operated properties and third-party websites. In addition, AOL operates one of the largest Internet subscription access services in the United States, which serves as a valuable distribution channel for AOL’s consumer offerings.
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